64 year-old Kay of Rosemount, MN has run a daycare for more than 40 years. Taking long walks and playing with children is part of her everyday routine, but when she began to experience pain in her hips, Kay worried that she would have to make some unwanted changes to her lifestyle.
The pain started in September 2011. “I exercise every morning and over time I started feeling some tightness in my hip. I thought it was a pulled muscle so I tried to be more careful when I was on the treadmill,” Kay explained. The pain progressively got worse over time and Kay reached her tipping point in January 2012, when she was unable to go up a set of stairs at a friend’s house. She knew that something needed to be done.
An MRI revealed that Kay had arthritis in both hips. She received cortisone shots but experienced only temporary relief. On the advice of her primary care physician, Kay scheduled a consultation with Dr. Dean Olsen, an orthopedic surgeon at Saint Francis Hospital in nearby Shakopee.
Dr. Olsen explained to Kay that her right hip was deteriorating at a rapid rate and she would be a good candidate for the SuperPath® Total Hip Replacement technique by MicroPort, a method whereby the implant is built inside the body, so the hip is not dislocated or twisted into unnatural positions during surgery, which is a common element to many other hip procedures. Dr. Olsen indicated that this approach often results in a fast hospital recovery and, because it spares all hip muscles from being cut, causes minimal postoperative pain.
In June 2012, Kay received her new hip via the SuperPath® technique. Just four hours after the surgery, she was walking around the halls of the hospital. “I had no pain at all when I woke up,” Kay recalled. Two days later, she was discharged from the hospital.
The first week at home, Kay occasionally used a walker for extra support while getting around and then transitioned to a cane. Within two weeks of surgery, Kay was walking with no assistance.
After completing five weeks of physical therapy, Kay was told by her therapist that by the Fall, she would be able to resume her normal daily activities. However, by the end of July, just over one month after her surgery, Kay set out on her first daily walk in months. She walked two miles that day, and every day since!
“I feel amazing,” Kay said. “Before the SuperPath® procedure, I wasn’t able to bend down to pick up the kids’ toys, let alone walk my dog and now I’m back to doing everything! It’s incredible, this has changed my life.”
Kay, SUPERPATH™ Technique Recipient
64 year-old Kay of Rosemount, MN has run a daycare for more than 40 years. Taking long walks and playing with children is part of her everyday routine, but when she began to experience pain in her hips, Kay worried that she would have to make some unwanted changes to her lifestyle.
The pain started in September 2011. “I exercise every morning and over time I started feeling some tightness in my hip. I thought it was a pulled muscle so I tried to be more careful when I was on the treadmill,” Kay explained. The pain progressively got worse over time and Kay reached her tipping point in January 2012, when she was unable to go up a set of stairs at a friend’s house. She knew that something needed to be done.
An MRI revealed that Kay had arthritis in both hips. She received cortisone shots but experienced only temporary relief. On the advice of her primary care physician, Kay scheduled a consultation with Dr. Dean Olsen, an orthopedic surgeon at Saint Francis Hospital in nearby Shakopee.
Dr. Olsen explained to Kay that her right hip was deteriorating at a rapid rate and she would be a good candidate for the SuperPath® Total Hip Replacement technique by MicroPort, a method whereby the implant is built inside the body, so the hip is not dislocated or twisted into unnatural positions during surgery, which is a common element to many other hip procedures. Dr. Olsen indicated that this approach often results in a fast hospital recovery and, because it spares all hip muscles from being cut, causes minimal postoperative pain.
In June 2012, Kay received her new hip via the SuperPath® technique. Just four hours after the surgery, she was walking around the halls of the hospital. “I had no pain at all when I woke up,” Kay recalled. Two days later, she was discharged from the hospital.
The first week at home, Kay occasionally used a walker for extra support while getting around and then transitioned to a cane. Within two weeks of surgery, Kay was walking with no assistance.
After completing five weeks of physical therapy, Kay was told by her therapist that by the Fall, she would be able to resume her normal daily activities. However, by the end of July, just over one month after her surgery, Kay set out on her first daily walk in months. She walked two miles that day, and every day since!
“I feel amazing,” Kay said. “Before the SuperPath® procedure, I wasn’t able to bend down to pick up the kids’ toys, let alone walk my dog and now I’m back to doing everything! It’s incredible, this has changed my life.”