Dr. Toma & his team performed anterior total hip replacement (THR) surgery on my arthritic hip 5 months ago & changed my life! I'm so glad that I chose Dr. Toma to be my surgeon- he has many years of experience doing this procedure / has performed thousands of hip replacements, is super down to earth & easy to talk to without an ounce of pretension & has a great team of caring pros helping him accomplish medical miracles! I was diagnosed with moderate osteoarthritis in my hip @ age 47 after having participated in various different sporting activities throughout my life (softball 10+ years, competitive swimming for 10+ years, downhill skiing for 30 years, cycling, dancing, yoga, hiking & backpacking all over CA & other places). I had always identified as a physically fit, agile/capable & athletic person, was in denial about my condition & had never before undergone surgery. Although I was still working, I was in constant pain, had to give up all physical activities except bike riding (which I shouldn't have been doing in my condition...) & was limping so severely that strangers who were walking near me on the sidewalks downtown where I worked were asking me on a regular basis if I was ok or needed help. My osteoarthritis progressed from moderate to severe bone-on-bone within one year- I was given a cane (embarrassing!), a disabled person parking placard & was told that I would eventually have to undergo THR- it was just a matter of time. Unfortunately for me I refused to accept the medical facts- who ME??? But I'm only 47 years old & have never had any serious medical conditions despite years of physical activity! I've never had even one surgery & have only broken 1 bone (clavicle) 25 years ago! This cannot be right- these dr's are jacking with me / just trying to get my $$....NOT!!! Lol. Retrospectively / if I could do it over again, I would go to Dr. Toma immediately upon dx & have the surgery rather than waste 2 years & over $5000 on PT & stem cell injections that did absolutely nothing to help my condition. Fellow osteoarthritis of the hip patients, heed my warning: do NOT bother- I repeat DON'T waste your time or $$ on stem cells- they do not work for hip osteoarthritis! Have you heard the old saying "if it's too good to be true then it probably is"? Yup- stem cells are too good to be true. By the time I met Dr. Toma I had done EVERYTHING that I could possibly do to avoid going under the knife & was terrified of the whole procedure. After all, it's not every day that you let someone put you to sleep, cut open your thigh, saw off the top of your femur, drill a big hole in your bone & stuff a giant titanium rod in there...I was a nervous wreck about the whole thing but Dr. Toma calmly reassured me that I was an excellent candidate & would more than likely by very happy with the results, would be able to resume most of my physical activities & would be pain-free post surgery & guess what- he was right! I had 3 pre-surgery appts. in which he & his staff (his nurse Christina is awesome- also super nice & knowledgeable) answered my myriad of questions, calmed my nerves & kept me focused on my end goals. They do the surgery either in their office building on an outpatient basis or in the hospital where you have to stay overnight & I chose the hospital (John Muir Medical Center) due to insurance issues. The staff at the hospital were amazing, too- so nice & attentive & really on top of everything. They even have pre-surgery classes- I attended 2 of them- in which hospital staff go over every aspect of the surgery & recovery process, give you medical supplies & answer all of your questions. This sounds so nutty but I feel that my surgery was actually a pleasant experience thanks to all of the awesome people who worked on me! I was totally freaked out the day before surgery & called Dr. Toma's office to find out what would happen if I cancelled & they were so nice about it- Dr. Toma himself called me back while I was eating dinner at a restaurant near the hospital to talk me through it & let me know that it was totally my decision whether or not to do it. The surgery itself was short- less than 2 hours- & honestly the worst part of the whole thing was waking up in the post-op room & not being able to feel my legs for 4 hours due to the spinal block. Thankfully the nurses gave me plenty of Fentanyl to get me through & before I knew it I was cruising around the hospital in my walker! I only stayed 1 night & they made me demonstrate that I could walk up & down a mini staircase before they released me. I started home PT immediately, did it for 1 month & then did outpatient PT for 3 months & am now totally recovered 5 months post-op! I've been dancing, bike riding, traveling / flying & doing short hikes with no problems, am basically pain free & can barely feel the titanium device. Thanks for reading about my THR experience with Dr. Toma- he truly gave me back my life & can do the same for you! read more