The Barber

I mean, the surgeon.  Ahem.  The Royal College of Surgeons leaves out the bit about barbers, but I like to think they might have cut your hair at the same time they chopped up your liver.

Nine months after being originally referred to orthopedic teams, I had my initial consultation with Mr. A, my orthopedic surgeon, on Thursday.  He re-took the x-rays that my first shitty GP ordered, this time with the appropriate views.  Indeed, this time a cam impingement showed up on the right hip.  He also noted that I have several hip issues (the bone islands again, plus short femoral necks that reduce the integrity of the lever-action and thus put more stress on the joint).  Upon examination, he noted signs of impingement in my left hip as well. Great.  Just great.  Until it gives me a problem, however, we're ignoring it.  It worries me, however, because four other people have done that same exam over the past 18 months, and never has my left hip hurt till now.  I could be back here again next year...

Anyway, given that I'd done my research about FAI, about Mr. A, and about the surgeries, there wasn't much to discuss.  He recommended open hip surgery, which I know and he explained has a similar recovery time (overnight in the hospital, go home the next day, 2-3 weeks back to work, 2-3 months PT) and a similar success rate (80%) to arthroscopic surgery, but the surgeon is far more able to see issues during open-hip surgery that didn't show up on the MR-anthrogram.  So it's less likely the surgery will have to be repeated.  I'm all for that.  I don't care about scars.

So I'll go in for the MR-arthrogram when I get back from the States in September, have a pre-op clinic sometime in late October/early November, and surgery as close to the end of Semester 1 in mid-December as we can so that I have time to recover before Semester 2 starts.

Now it's just more waiting, and more meds.  I have, however, already ordered my crutches.  No way am I dealing with the crappy forearm crutches the NHS issues - after an hour of use, my hands are so bruised I can't bear to touch them.