Clifton, LINEAGE® Ceramic Hip Recipient
Clifton was only 26 when his right hip started hurting. He assumed it was something simple like a pulled muscle. So he took ibuprofen, stretched it a lot, and soon went about his business as a Peace Corps volunteer on assignment, with his wife, at the tiny South Pacific island of Tonga.

But it didn’t get better. It got worse.

“I had it checked out and we discovered I had a very arthritic right hip, but we didn’t know why,” Clifton said. “I needed a complete hip replacement but I decided to tough it out for a while because I wanted to stay in my country of service and fulfill my two-year assignment for the Peace Corps.”

The hip continued to worsen throughout his two year stint at Tonga, and before long he was walking with a limp. Then he could hardly walk at all. The pain kept him from getting a full night’s sleep, and the affliction took a toll on his and his wife’s emotions.

Turned out it wasn’t something simple. During his hip replacement surgery while on leave in Chicago, orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Stephen Gitelis discovered that Clifton was struck with Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis (PVDS), a rare joint disease that affects about one in 800,000 people, usually in their mid-30s, and destroys a bone joint’s fluid, in turn destroying the joint.

Clifton’s hip joint was “completely shot,” he said, and it had worn a hole in his pelvic bone the size of his thumb, which required a bone graft during the surgery.

Clifton and Dr. Gitelis had researched replacement joints and determined the best choice for him would be Wright’s Ceramic-on-Ceramic implant.

“It was a matter of, at my age, needing something that would last a long time and offer the kind of durability for my active lifestyle,” Clifton said. He was 29 years old when he had the surgery on August 4, 2005.

He was on crutches for about six weeks, and his recovery was probably a little slower than most because of the bone graft. But on September 20, six weeks after surgery, he put down the crutches and increased his physical therapy to regain strength and range of motion.

“I can do normal things now, like tying my own shoes – it feels so good to be able to do that,” Clifton said. “I still have a bit of a limp, but I think that’s because I limped for two years and it’s like muscle memory. It hasn’t been that long since my surgery.”

His pain is almost completely gone, he said, and he can tell that the pain will eventually be gone for good. His physical therapist said he should have full recovery by this spring (2006). Emotionally, he said, he feels like a huge weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

“To be able to go out and walk around a park with my wife, it feels like a huge gift,” he said. “I have a great appreciation for what medical technology has been able to do for me. You know, fifteen years ago doctors probably would have told me to just tough it out, and I would have become disabled. Now I’m able to do everything I want to do again.”

These results are specific to this individual only. Individual results and activity levels after surgery vary and depend on many factors including age, weight and prior activity level.
There are risks and recovery times associated with surgery and there are certain individuals who should not undergo surgery.
Only a physician can tell you if this product and associated procedure are right for you and your unique circumstances. Please consult with a physician for complete information regarding benefits, risks and possible outcomes.