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Mr. Brian Deatrick からの声

Background

My right hip pain had grown increasingly worse for several years. I could not sleep on my right side, endured constant pain, and encountered difficulty walking normally. When it reached the stage where turning a certain way would cause me to nearly fall, I knew it was time to face hip replacement surgery.

Finding Ishibe Clinic

Online research about total hip replacement in Japan revealed a study showing that surgical success is related to the number of surgeries performed at a medical institution; i.e., experience really does count. More research led me to the institution with the most hip surgery experience of all: Ishibe Clinic. Dr. Ishibe practices "minimally invasive" surgery when feasible, enabling quicker healing and recovery. I was anxious to be accepted as his patient.

Initial Exam

Before my visit to Ishibe Clinic I had been examined at several clinics and hospitals both Japanese and American. The Ishibe Clinic's exam and Dr. Ishibe's consultation were the most comprehensive and qualified me for the minimally invasive procedure. I was strongly impressed that Dr. Ishibe views the patient as a fellow living human being and not just as the bones seen in the x-ray. The thorough exam, the experience of thousands of surgeries, and his holistic approach to the patient gave me the confidence to proceed with the operation.

Operation

The operation was performed at Sapporo Geka Kinen Hospital. Current American practice discharges the patient a day or two after the operation but Dr. Ishibe's method includes recovery and rehabilitation treatment in the hospital before returning the patient into the physical challenges of everyday life. This is particularly important to prevent deep vein thrombosis - blood clots. In America I was told I couldn't travel by air for six weeks after the operation because of the risk of this problem. I flew home from Sapporo the day of my hospital release, only eight days after the operation. I believe that extra treatment time in the 24-hour hospital care environment was very important to my safe and quick recovery.

One hears that hip replacement is "routine" because thousands are done annually, but no matter how routine the operation may be, there is nothing routine about it when it happens to YOU. I'm very grateful for the kind and dedicated treatment I received from the hospital staff as well as from Dr. Ishibe and his operating team. It is only their caring and professional service that enables the patient to view the operation as routine. When I was discharged I actually felt a touch of sadness to part from my new friends.

Rehabilitation

The Ishibe Clinic teaches the patient how to perform daily rehabilitation at home and I've followed those instructions. Of course, Ishibe Clinic advice and assistance is only a phone call or email away. The 60-day checkup showed good progress and encouraged me to exercise harder and be more physically active.

Six Months Recovery Report

I am writing this exactly six months after the operation. I do not need a cane or other supportive device. I walk normally and most of the time I forget that I had an operation at all. I only have to remember not to bend my knee to less than 90 degrees to my body, and if I forget, my hip reminds me. Otherwise, there is no pain. I can't sit cross-legged but being an American that was always difficult for me, so I don't miss it. I was advised to give up my hobby of sea kayaking but found that with a little care getting in and out of the kayak I'm paddling as happily as before the operation, twice on the Sea of Japan within the last week. As the attached video shows, I can even do an amateurish country style tap-dance. Ballroom dancing lessons are in my near future plans.

I only have one regret about my hip replacement operation: I wish I had done it sooner! Thank you, Dr. Ishibe, and all the kind people at your clinic and the Sapporo Geka Kinen Hospital.

Brian Deatrick
Kyotango, Japan

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