Choosing a surgeon to perform a total hip replacement based on Yelp reviews is probably not a wise plan. However, that's what I did, and I'm delighted with the outcome. All the rave comments you'll read here about Dr. Miller, his PA Gracee, his office manager Michael, and the rest of his office staff are absolutely true. I was looking for a very experienced but youngish surgeon associated with a teaching hospital who has tons of experience doing hip replacements. Dr. Miller fitted the bill perfectly. The fact that he operates at El Camino Hospital in Los Gatos as well as at Stanford was an added plus. El Camino is a wonderfully friendly but efficient place, convenient to my home in Santa Cruz, and with the added benefit that Dr. Miller does all his own surgery there--I knew my operation wouldn't be performed by a student under Dr. Miller's supervision!
My new hip is 3 1/2 weeks old now and we're getting along great. I'm walking a lot, I'm off the strong pain meds, and I'm generally pain free. The hip precautions are still in effect, so I can't tie my right shoe and getting dressed in the morning is a bit awkward as I try to line up my right foot with my pant leg. The only pain I experience is when I'm being a bit cocky and start to violate the hip precautions--for example, leaning too far forward.
I nearly didn't write this review, figuring that Dr. Miller doesn't need another 5 star rave-up review. But then I realized that I learned a lot from reading and rereading the 17 reviews that influenced me to choose Dr. Miller. So, let me share with you some tips:
- Get as fit as you can prior to the surgery. My pilates instructor suggested exercises for me to do (clam shells, cross-over crunches, and a wonderful exercise where I draped myself face down over an exercise ball in a frog position with forearms on the floor and then squeezed my glutes, making my frog legs twitch satisfyingly. You can't overdo the glute squeezes!). I also walked a lot in the weeks leading up to the surgery, even the painful 10 days before the surgery when I couldn't take any SAIDs.
- If possible, have your care giver accompany you to the pre-surgery appointment with Dr. Miller. If the hospital offers a joint replacement class (as El Camino Hospital in Los Gatos does), both of you should attend to learn about the pre- and post-op procedures, the drugs you're likely to receive, and the assistive devices the hospital provides (these include the marvelous sock aid, a grabber, a long shoe horn, elastic shoe laces, a foam wedge for separating your legs in bed, and (for Dr. Miller's patients) a simple device to lift and move the surgical leg in and out of bed). After three and a half weeks, I'm still gratefully using the sock device and the shoe horn.
- Arrange all your other assistive devices ahead of time. Prior to the operation, I bought a toilet seat riser with handles at a thrift shop (an essential piece of equipment!). I wish I had also purchased a walker--due to a screw-up at the hospital, I had no walker for the first two days at home. Believe me, a cane is no substitute! By the time my husband brought home the walker, I hardly needed it.
- Arrange outpatient PT early on because (1) a good PT provider will be booked well in advance, and (2) health insurers love to delay--UHC quoted a wait of 5 to 15 days for authorization! The homecare PT I received through Visiting Nurses was very basic and not particularly helpful. I hope my experience isn't typical.
- Don't expect your post-op experience to be entirely pain free! I feel that Dr. Miller does a great job with pain management, but a certain amount of pain is guaranteed, especially initially. I would say that mine never exceeded 4 out of 10, and I experienced it mainly when getting in and out of bed and in and out of the car.
Now that I have my new hip, I can tell that it won't be too long before my right knee will need to be replaced. At least I know exactly the right person--and right hospital--for the next surgery. read more