Richard Morrison
Richard has always been very active. Not only does he enjoy fishing, camping, bowling, and gardening, he also tends to his 10 acres of land on which his home sits. His profession requires him to walk outside on various terrains as he surveys for soil and water conservation practices.
Richard's active lifestyle was endangered years ago while he was still in college. After a fall on some ice, he saw his family physician because of lower back pain. After learning the pain wasn't from his back, but his hips, Richard learned he would probably develop arthritis one day.
Some years later, the pain from arthritis appeared in Richard's right hip. But it wasn't until the pain in his left hip began to grow severe that his daily activities became a challenging hurdle. He had difficulty getting on his hands and knees and getting back up without any aid. Richard says, "...I would have pain shoot down my legs to my knees and I also started to get dull aching in my lower back."
Richard knew he would eventually have to get hip replacements, but was deterred by his age of 58 at the time. He says, "I knew... it would be suggested that I wait as long as possible to have my hips replaced because of the possible wearing out of the components."
Before meeting with a surgeon, he extensively researched what different replacement components were available to him. When he met with his orthopedic surgeon, they decided that both hips would need to be replaced. His surgeon introduced him to the M2a-Magnum™ Metal-on-Metal hip component. Richard's expectations about the surgery and recovery were very high, because of the M2a-Magnum™ hip's reduced risk of dislocation and high resistance to implant wear.1-4
Richard received more information from Biomet's website and his surgeon and says, "He was very informative as to exactly what is involved in the replacement, how to prepare for it, and what to expect after the operation." He began to do leg muscle-strengthening exercises before the surgery and still continues to do therapy exercises, along with stationery bike riding and stretching.
After the double hip replacement surgery, Richard was up the next day. He says, "I could tell the morning after surgery that the arthritic pain in my joints was gone," Richard continues, "It was a great relief." He found the entire experience "not surprising, but very satisfying."
Richard returned to work after a mere 8 weeks and is also doing simple chores around the house and garage. He says, "My quality of life is much better now and I feel that I will be active much longer in life." He goes on to say, "I am also glad that I was able to find a surgeon [very confident of the success of Biomet® components] to do this surgery with the Biomet® [M2a-Magnum™ Hip] replacement."
The decision to have joint replacement can be intimidating. We hope Richard's story gives you valuable information regarding joint replacement surgery. When asked how joint replacement surgery has impacted his life, Richard replies, "The [M2a-Magnum™] hip replacement has improved my life tremendously. I now have a smile on my face instead of a painful frown."
For more information on the M2a-Magnum™ Hip from Biomet®, click here.
M2a-Magnum™ is a trademark of Biomet Manufacturing Corp.
This article is meant solely for educational use and is not meant to replace or promote one orthopedic surgeon's advice or practice over another. Individual results may vary. Surgery involves potential risks and requires recovery time. The life of any joint replacement will depend on your age, weight, activity level, and other factors. For patient risk information, please click here to view risk information. Only an orthopedic surgeon can determine if surgery is right for you. Please click here to search for a local orthopedic surgeon.
The person named in this article has consented to be named and has given Biomet, Inc. the exclusive right to use his personal and medical information for educational purposes.
1 Note: Lab test results may not correlate with the actual performance in the body.
2 McKellop, et al.: In-Vivo Wear of 3 Types of Metal-on-Metal Hip Prostheses During Two Decades of Use. CORR, 329, pp. 128-140, August 1996.
3 Head, W.; et al.: "Mechanical Properties and Clinical Evaluation of Isostatic Molded Arcom® Polyethylene" SICOT, San Diego, CA, August 2002.
4 Orthopedic Network News: "2003 Hip and Knee Implant Review." Volume 14, Number 3, July 2003.
