'I wish I’d done it 15 years ago,’ says a satisfied hip replacement patient.
Sparta resident James Bizarro, 62, had always had an active lifestyle: practicing martial arts, lifting weights at the gym and running on the treadmill. Fifteen years ago, however, he was told he needed a hip replacement.
He decided to put off the procedure and push through the pain. “I had never had an operation,” James explains, “plus I didn’t want to interrupt my career and stop doing the things I like to do.”
By November 2020, however, James could not wait any longer to take action. “The pain had become so bad that I had a hard time even trying to put on my socks,” he says.
He met with Frank Liporace, MD,Chair of the Department of Orthopedics at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. “As soon as I met Dr. Liporace, I knew I wanted him as my doctor,” says James. “He made me feel confident. He told me I was in great shape and would be fine—afterward, I wouldn’t even know I’d had the hip replacement done.”
Under Dr. Liporace’s care, James had a successful total arthroplasty on his right hip, a replacement of the joint with an artificial one.
“James suffered from hip dysplasia and his X-rays showed a slightly abnormally shaped hip as well as an abnormally positioned femur,” says Dr. Liporace. “We used an atypical implant on his femoral side to accommodate for the mismatch.”
UP AND ABOUT
By 4:00 a.m. on the day after the surgery, James was ready to start moving. Walking laps around the hospital floor, he felt so good that his care team had to stop him to prevent damage to his new hip.
With no pain and some minor discomfort, James was discharged home with over-the-counter pain medicine that he took only for a couple of days.
“Everyone at Saint Barnabas Medical Center was wonderful—the staff, the hospital, Dr. Liporace, the whole nine yards,” James says.
As James continued through physical rehabilitation, he started to run again. “My hip had been so bad for so long that I forgot how to run properly,” says James. “I was so used to limping, I had to train myself not to do that.”
Two weeks post-op, James was doing yardwork at his house, and three weeks post-op, he was dancing with his wife. James has since gone back to his daily routine of spinning, running and lifting weights, all pain-free.
“My new hip has made a remarkable difference in my life,” says James. “If I knew I would feel like this, I would have done it 15 years ago. My advice to other people is, if you’re in pain, don’t delay hip replacement. You’ll be surprised at how fast the recovery is.”
Says Dr. Liporace, “It’s always so uplifting to see patients return to the life they once had.”
To learn more about orthopedic services at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, call 973.322.7005.