I am used to living a very active life. I like to hike and be outdoors. I play squash and tennis. In my younger days, I played varsity squash at Harvard College and played number 3 on the team when we won the National Intercollegiate Squash Team Championship in 1976.
I began training in Karate in New York City when I was 10 years old in 1961. I was very blessed because someone took me off the streets of the South Bronx and placed me in their karate school to train free of charge. Karate training at that time was extremely strenuous and the discipline was rigorous. I trained 7 days per week at a minimum of 2 hours per day. The only days off were Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. The idiom that reverberated off the dojo (karate school) walls was, "No Pain, No Gain!" I trained very hard and became extremely proficient.
Robyn Benincasa is a full time firefighter by profession and she has a full time passion. She is a World Champion Adventure racer that has completed 10 Ironman competitions and 36 "expedition length" adventure races. She has been in Sports Illustrated, Vogue, The New York Times, Hooked on the Outdoors, Adventure Sports and Inside Triathlon magazines, to name a few.
Robyn had her right hip resurfaced on August 29, 2007 by Dr. Kimball in San Diego. She was back to full duty fire fighting and was actively involved with battling the blazes in the Rancho Bernardo fires, at only 5 weeks post op! Then she had her left hip resurfacing by Dr. Su on July 30, 2009 and was back to full duty at only 4 weeks post op!! A personal interview with Robyn is below. Here is her bio and an update below:
I love this subject. I searched the web for months before my surgery back in nov of 06 for info. There was less back than and it wasnt until Corey started posting about his running that this took off.
I have been racing since 5 months after my surgery. I did Mt Washington at 7 months and my first marathon at 1 year. Now I am racing once a month, usually a 10 miler or half marathon and my times are improving.They aren't what they were when I was 25 but my half marathon time is down to 1:36 since my surgery and at 55 I feel good about that. I also run on all surfaces. I don't have a problem on pavement. I tend to think its not the surface that is the problem but the way I run. When I run across the ground as opposed to into the surface I find I create less stress on my body. It also seems as I go faster its less stressful. So running a 7 min pace although is more tacking aerobically it feels better when I am done. I also did no physical therapy after my surgery and I don't warm up before my runs.
"I think you've 'hit the mark' that Vicky was referring to in her post to you, unless there's another "Mark" who skied (VERY gently - long story - not recommended) less than 4 weeks out of a LBHR with Dr. Edwin Su who works out of the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC."
I am 55 years old and reside in Douglas, Alaska. I recently had a Left Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Device (LBHR) installed by Dr. Su at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City on 9/29/08.
Started running to lose weight July of 2006 at the age of 47. I was an overweight couch potato who never was athletic, however enjoyed bike riding, sailing, kayaking and snowboarding. The last time I ran was at age 16 during soccer practice. The furthest was about two miles and used to feel ill after that. By the summer of 2007 was up to four miles six time a week, bike riding about 12 miles four or five times a week and swimming 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile four times a week. I had completed the Red Cross life guarding class and was contemplating doing that a few times a week. I had lost 55 lbs. Towards the end of that summer felt hip pains and stiffness, figured some type of "itis" but not arthritis.
At 47 years old, my doctor in Pittsburgh had nothing to say to me other than, "It's your call, when you cannot tolerate the pain anymore, and the pain is taking you out of your life, the only thing that we can do is a total hip replacement." Wow! I was already at least five years weathered and torn, no sleep and slowly taking me out of the gym…my oxygen. A cortisone shot gave me a bit of relief in November 2007; I had another one in May 2008, and it did nothing for me. But I kept on keeping on. As a hairdresser of 29 years, I continued in pain to dress hair. It got harder and harder to hide the pain in my face. As a Personal trainer of 2 years, I could no longer demonstrate to my clients. I kept revising my work outs to get "something done" and rest my mind.
Bilateral Hip Resurfacing
(Member of DAST Intl. Board of Directors)
As a television medical correspondent for decades on shows like Today, Dateline and the CBS evening News and author of 12 books on consumer medicine, I have to admit it. I have never faced a more vexing decision than that choosing between a total hip replacement and hip resurfacing.
The claims and data appeared wildly contradictory and each surgeon's take was miles apart from the others. I called great friends in orthopedics at the leading Harvard hospitals and in NY, Baltimore and Los Angeles. The word I got was emphatic.
The last few weeks have been a bit of an odyssey, so I thought I should take a moment or two to chronicle my thoughts. Even though the odyssey has only started, it feels good to get my thoughts down while they remain fresh.
For the last several months I have been limping. I noticed an ache in my left groin and have felt stiffer than usual. Trouble lifting my left leg over the top tube on my bike, and tighter playing tennis. Not easy to cross my legs. Haven't felt like running for months. Thought it was a pulled groin muscle, and like all pulls, it would get better with time. It didn't stop me from climbing 17 miles up the back of Half Dome or playing 5 hours of soccer. But the aching continued. And the limp worsened.
My name is Thomas Marchese a 42 year old Physical Therapist from Brightwaters New York. I was very active, participating in adult ice hockey, skiing, surfing and, mountain biking, prior to that all familiar "groin" pain that never seemed to be alleviated with stretching or R.I.C.E . In 2006 while skating at my local pond I got my skate caught in a rut when trying to stop quickly, felt a pop and had two really painful nights. I recall looking back thinking this is when my left labrum was significantly torn. After seeing an orthopedist specializing in hip arthroscopy I was informed that I had femroacetabular impingements of both hips with the left labral tear in need of repair.
Years ago when I set out to buy a new car I searched near and far for the best car available. I looked at the various technologies, manufacturers, fit and trim, and maintenance records. In the end I think I ended up with one of the finest cars available. To this day it continues to bring me satisfaction and joy.
"When you are ready to get new hips, we'll send you to Dr. Barrett at Valley Medical," said my sports medicine doctor as he was writing a renewal prescription for Celebrex. "Okay," I replied, wondering to myself just who was this orthopedic surgeon that was so highly regarded. As I soon discovered, he was one of the area's prominent Total Hip Replacement (THR) surgeons.
Adil Mjadli (DAST candidate) See Adil's update below at one month post op now
3/27/09 Dr. Edwin Su
DAST International has selected it's fourth candidate to receive financial assistance with hip resurfacing surgery with Dr. Edwin Su at the Hospital for Special Surgery. 27 year old Adil Mjadli from Orlando Florida is scheduled for surgery on March 27, 2009.
Ben found me on my Surface Hippy Myspace page and emailed me, the rest, as they say.....is history.
I'm a Surface Hippy Now!
I was twelve years old when I first learned that I had hip problems. I'm now coming around the corner on thirty-two. That's twenty years of pain and restrictions. A twenty year long chapter of life that is finally coming to an end!
At age twelve I took a fall on my left hip. I had no pain, but a few days later I found out that I couldn't get up into a run. Three months of doctors visits finally led to a diagnosis of a Slipped Epiphysis. The growth plate on top of my left femoral head was sliding off. Surgery was scheduled to pin it up, and one year later I had surgery to remove the pins.
Here was the first message I received from Jessie on myspace on Apr 26, 2008 10:59 AM:
I am so glad to have come across your page. I am a 33 yr old female who had Juvenile Rheumatoid arthritis and the damage in my hips left me without any cartilage in my right hip and very little in the left. I have been to many doctors hoping for a better alternative and solution than replacing the hip and I get the same answer over and over. I will need a THR. I put it off for years now and I am always looking on the internet for some answers but when I woke up today barely able to walk I got back on the net and searched myspace and found your page. I am going to take a look into this and hope that it is something that is possible for me. I am only 33 and I would like to have somewhat of a normal life and able to do normal everyday things without pain. I could never cross my legs that is something i just learned to accept as thing i can not do. Thank you. BTW 50 yrs old I would never believe it. You look my age for real.
I had bilateral BHR surgery with Dr. Su on Thursday, May 14, at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NY. I had come in the prior Monday for the mandatory hip class that HSS runs, pre-op with Dr. Warshauer (cardiologist) and x-rays. I traveled to NY on Wednesday night and stayed at a hotel in Times Square. The scheduling department called Wednesday afternoon and said to arrive at 9 am on May 14. This turned out to be a mistake, and my surgery did not take place until about 2:30 pm.
I wanted to thank you for your assistance in getting in to see Dr. Su and give you an update on my bi lat resurfacing.
I originally was scheduled for surgery on 11/23/08. About 4 weeks before a filing in my molar fell out and part of the tooth broke off. I got an appointment with my dentist about 10 days later but the dentist sent me to a specialist b/c the root was cracked. My appointment with the specialist was on the Tuesday, 3 days before my surgery.
I am a 53 year old female and had right hip resurfacing at the Hospital for Special Surgeries on July 6, 2007 with Dr. Edwin Su. Prior to that surgery I had had arthroscopic surgery (Also at the Hospital for Special Surgeries) to my right hip in 2002 for a labral tear that I had probably had for 30 years. I was a gymnast in college and had on and off pain since then. After the arthroscopic surgery at the HSS I diligently worked to get the range of motion and seemed to progress but never became pain free. I had right foot issues and got orthotics to correct that problem and since then I deteriorated and became bone on bone.
My story begins way back in my early childhood. I had congenital left hip dysplasia that resulted in me not being able to walk as a toddler. At age 18 months, I underwent a surgery whereby a piece of my pelvis bone was wedged into my hip socket in an attempt to build it up. The surgery was somewhat successful, but it did not entirely resolve the dysplasia. So at age 5, I underwent another surgery whereby a femoral osteotomy was performed and the head of the femur was rotated and turned in towards the socket. I spent two months in a body cast, rolling around on a mechanic's cart, but the surgery was successful.
The old saying "Wait until you can't stand the pain any longer" holds true ONLY if you are going to have a THR. It is not the case with hip resurfacing. With hip resurfacing there is a window of opportunity and ONLY a qualified and experienced hip resurfacing surgeon can tell you for sure whether or not you can afford to wait.
Here is a patient (with his permission) that posted on the surface hippy message board inquiring about hip resurfacing, then waited and posted again, and continued to wait and wait, until unfortunately his hip deteriorated to the point that he no longer qualifies for hip resurfacing. I am sure Richard will be very happy with his THR's if that is what he ends up getting, we will post updates to his story as it unfolds. But for those of you thinking that you should wait, you should read this. Thank you Richard for sharing your story.
I began training in Karate in New York City when I was 10 years old in 1961. I was very blessed because someone took me off the streets of the South Bronx and placed me in their karate school to train free of charge. Karate training at that time was extremely strenuous and the discipline was rigorous. I trained 7 days per week at a minimum of 2 hours per day. The only days off were Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. The idiom that reverberated off the dojo (karate school) walls was, "No Pain, No Gain!" I trained very hard and became extremely proficient. 
Robyn Benincasa is a full time firefighter by profession and she has a full time passion. She is a World Champion Adventure racer that has completed 10 Ironman competitions and 36 "expedition length" adventure races. She has been in Sports Illustrated, Vogue, The New York Times, Hooked on the Outdoors, Adventure Sports and Inside Triathlon 
I love this subject. I searched the web for months before my surgery back in nov of 06 for info. There was less back than and it wasnt until Corey started posting about his running that this took off.
Started running to lose weight July of 2006 at the age of 47. I was an overweight couch potato who never was athletic, however enjoyed bike riding, sailing, kayaking and snowboarding. The last time I ran was at age 16 during soccer practice. The furthest was about two miles and used to feel ill after that. By the summer of 2007 was up to four miles six time a week, bike riding about 12 miles four or five times a week and swimming 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile four times a week. I had completed the Red Cross life guarding class and was contemplating doing that a few times a week. I had lost 55 lbs. Towards the end of that summer felt hip pains and stiffness, figured some type of "itis" but not arthritis. 
Bev Hobaugh, 47 years old, Pittsburgh, Pa
Bilateral Hip Resurfacing
September 29th, 2009
My name is Thomas Marchese a 42 year old Physical Therapist from Brightwaters New York. I was very active, participating in adult ice hockey, skiing, surfing and, mountain biking, prior to that all familiar "groin" pain that never seemed to be alleviated with stretching or R.I.C.E . In 2006 while skating at my local pond I got my skate caught in a rut when trying to stop quickly, felt a pop and had two really painful nights. I recall looking back thinking this is when my left labrum was significantly torn. After seeing an orthopedist specializing in hip arthroscopy I was informed that I had femroacetabular impingements of both hips with the left labral tear in need of repair. 
Shopping for New Hips 
Adil Mjadli (
Ben found me on my Surface Hippy 
Reaching out to spread the word.
I had bilateral BHR surgery with Dr. Su on Thursday, May 14, at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NY. I had come in the prior Monday for the mandatory hip class that HSS runs, pre-op with Dr. Warshauer (cardiologist) and x-rays. I traveled to NY on Wednesday night and stayed at a hotel in Times Square. The scheduling department called Wednesday afternoon and said to arrive at 9 am on May 14. This turned out to be a mistake, and my surgery did not take place until about 2:30 pm.
Nancy's Story to a Cementless Biomet
My story begins way back in my early childhood. I had congenital left hip dysplasia that resulted in me not being able to walk as a toddler. At age 18 months, I underwent a surgery whereby a piece of my pelvis bone was wedged into my hip socket in an attempt to build it up. The surgery was somewhat successful, but it did not entirely resolve the dysplasia. So at age 5, I underwent another surgery whereby a femoral osteotomy was performed and the head of the femur was rotated and turned in towards the socket. I spent two months in a body cast, rolling around on a mechanic's cart, but the surgery was successful. 
