| The article given here was written by David.
Whilst the onset of osteo-arthritis was, in the end, the reason why he stopped
teaching aerobics, it is worth emphasising that both his consultant orthopaedic
surgeon and his general practitioner said independently that his being so
active (he also played badminton regularly) was not the cause of the
osteo-arthritis. On the contrary, they said that if he had not been so active
the problem would almost certainly have arisen sooner. |
| However, in due course it became necessary to
have first one and then the other hip joint replaced with artificial ones. The
following article was written following the first operation (with an update
following the second operation and a further update some years later): |
| "Hip
Replacement - A Patient's Experience" |
| It is now nine years since the second operation
and from only a few months after that operation David has been more or less
completely back to normal. Whilst he can do pretty much anything he could do
before, it is advisable not to run or jump or carry heavy weights so as not to
cause undue wear of the new hip joints, but other movements (such as bending
steeply at the waist and twisting into extreme positions, which were not
recommended in the year following the operations) can be undertaken again and
David continues to visit a gymnasium regularly for twice-weekly 90-minute
sessions using both cardiovascular and strength equipment. |
| For those in the medical profession or
otherwise knowledgable about hip replacements, the technical details are as
follows: both the femoral and acetabular components are made of cobalt-chrome
and are type Ultima; the femoral components are cemented with Palacos-R; the
acetabular components are not cemented; whilst the femoral components have
identical head diameters, the acetabular components differ in size by 2mm. The
operations were carried out in 2000/2001 by Mr Richard Villar who has his own
practice at the Spire Cambridge BUPA Lea Hospital (see
The Richard Villar
Practice). |
