With approximately 36 hours until I have to be at Hospital for Special Surgery, I am truly in the final stretch leading up to my Open SDD surgery. I will receive final confirmation tomorrow on the time but am anticipating that the surgery will be at 2pm on Wednesday the 8th and I should be in until at the earliest the 10th and more likely the 11th.

I met with my surgeon today to discuss the results of last week’s MRI exam. As I had previously been told, I have tendonitis in my iliopsoas and abductor muscles/tendons and it’s likely a labral tear in my right side. I might eventually need an arthroscopic procedure on my right side to fix the labrum / shave down some more bone if the pain persists at 9-12 months post-op, but again, that’s all hypothetical and not the main attraction of this week.

Ideally, I would be pain free and fully healed before moving onto the left. Honestly, if time were not an issue, I might consider waiting to move forward with the SDD surgery (as was encouraged by my surgeon and his PA to consider doing). As my surgeon pointed out, at less than 5 months following my PAO my right hip is still in pain and although the pubis bone appears to actually be growing together (YEA!!), it’s not fused. While it is safe to do the left side and while it’s not clear what impact the left surgery will have on my right hip (good, bad, or indifferent), waiting would be the ideal course of action.

However, time is an issue because I have to get back to law school (I took the spring semester off expressly to focus on healing). As it stands, I am hopeful (though not totally confident) to be back for the fall semester, though only time — and my healing — will tell. I also believe (and my surgeon thinks it is possible) that my right hip will benefit from all of the rest I will get from sitting on my butt for 8+ weeks. In any event, I am in pain and my mobility is dramatically reduced so it doesn’t make much sense to wait.

One cool thing that did happen at today’s appointment is that my Dr. helped to set me up with a bone growth stimulator! It’s kinda crazy because it’s a little machine about 2/3 the size of an iPhone that you can clip onto your clothes, and that connects through two wires to electrodes that are stuck on either side of my (slowly healing) pubis bone. I wear it 24 hours/day, every day (except while i’m in the hospital), and the wires (though not the machine) stay on even when I take a shower. It feels like NOTHING — no buzzing, no electrical stim feeling. I have basically no idea what it’s doing but I really hope it works.

So that’s it until the big day. Tomorrow will be filled with a liquid diet and final preparations. I’m pleased to report that I am not a bit nervous (a pleasant surprise). I’ll be sure to update from the hospital as much as I can — as always, wish me luck!