On August 9, 2012, Brad Hartwell, 57, was cleared by his doctor to return to full active duty for the Long Beach Fire Department – a mere four months after having surgery to replace his right hip. “By August 13, I was back on the fire truck,” says Brad.
Brad had been suffering with pain for a few years. In 2008, he began to notice occasional clicking and popping in his hip followed by a loss of range in motion during certain exercises and stretches.
“I was constantly uncomfortable,” says Brad. “My job at times can be very vigorous, climbing up and down the fire engine. If we had to go from the fire engine up to a fourth floor, that was hard.”
Walking became difficult and Brad developed a severe limp. “After some time I was unable to disguise it, people started noticing and asking why I was limping all the time.”
In addition to his career as a firefighter, Brad has water skied competitively for more than 40 years. During the season, he is on the water two to three times a week and regularly competes in tournaments.
Curious about his hip pain, Brad went to see Douglas Garland M.D., Medical Director of the MemorialCare Joint Replacement Center (JRC) at Long Beach Memorial. After an x-ray, Dr. Garland had no doubt what the course of treatment would be. Brad was suffering from severe hip dysplasia, which is an acquired deformation or misalignment of the hip joint, typically caused by multiple factors. He would need a total hip arthroplasty – surgery that would replace his hip joint with an artificial implant.
Brad hadn’t suffered any major injury, but the combination of years of water skiing and a physically demanding job caused gradual damage to his hip. “I was floored that I needed a new hip at age 56,” says Brad.
It is virtually unheard of to do a total hip replacement as an outpatient procedure, but with careful planning Dr. Garland and the JRC team determined that Brad was a good candidate since he is young, strong and in good shape.
Brad went into hip replacement surgery at 7:30 a.m. on April 16, 2012; by noon he graduated to crutches; and was on his way home by 7 p.m. – all in the same day.
Before surgery Brad participated in the JRC’s pre-op education class. “When you’re doing something new you have to have confidence in your physician and yourself,” says Dr. Garland. “Our pre-op education is such a confidence builder, most of the patients come away from it knowing what to expect and knowing they can handle it. What has really changed about surgery is the preparation and getting patients through the recovery – we emphasize that we’re on the move,” says Dr. Garland.
On the move is exactly what Brad was after surgery. A unique part of the JRC program is the emphasis on rapid recovery, which is translated to its patients through a cruise ship theme, “Cruising to Recovery.” On the JRC recovery floor there is a “walking board” that patients use to track their walking progress. Each patient uses a compass magnet to visually track their progress along the board.
“I took my first walk down to the end of the hall and back with no pain or discomfort,” says Brad. “By the afternoon, my compass was all the way down the board (3000 ft) and by 7 p.m. I was home and walking up the stairs in my two story house.”
Dr. Garland’s average recovery time for joint replacements is 2.1 days. “Thirty years ago, I never thought I would be doing a hip replacement as an outpatient procedure,” says Dr. Garland. “When I received training, joint replacement meant 7-10 days in the hospital, followed by months of rehab and therapy.”
Brad is only the third patient to go home on the same day as surgery. “My biggest fear was that my hip would never be the same, but Dr. Garland assured me that I would be able to return to all the things I love,” says Brad.
It’s been several months since his surgery and Brad is back in the gym, back on the water and going on 26 years of service as a firefighter.
For more information about the MemorialCare Joint Replacement Program at Long Beach Memorial, call (562) 933-4014.