Hip Replacement: Susannah's Story
November 27, 2019Putting the Swing Back in Susannah's Step
“I am grateful that my primary care physician and surgeon, who are both with Holy Cross, worked together seamlessly to care for me during my joint replacement journey.”
- former dancer, Susannah Newman
Susannah Newman, 73, is no stranger to overcoming debilitating joint problems. Even after two total hip replacements more than 27 years ago, when she was still in her 40s, she continued to enjoy an intensely physical lifestyle as a professional dancer, choreographer, university professor of dance and guest artist.
But when both of her old hip replacements were failing, Susannah turned last spring to Douglas Murphy, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Holy Cross Germantown Hospital, for help.
“My hips would make a lot of noise when I walked, like a machine grinding,” Susannah says, recalling years of deterioration she endured before her hip replacement last July.
It turned out that the grinding sound was due to a dangerous breakdown of her old hip replacements.
According to Dr. Murphy, “Fragments had broken free and were eroding into the pelvic bone, and causing chronic inflammation.”
Although both hips needed to be replaced, Dr. Murphy began with the left, which was more severely damaged. The three-hour procedure required grafting to replace eroded bone, and Susannah had to spend more than eight weeks in a full leg brace to allow the hip to stabilize so it wouldn’t dislocate.
“She was the role model of a positive attitude in rehabilitation and recovery,” says Dr. Murphy, who also performed replacement surgery on her right hip in February, with excellent results and no leg brace needed afterward.
Comprehensive Joint Care
A resident of Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg, Susannah describes her experience through planning, joint replacement and recovery from both operations as seamless. She is particularly grateful for the fact that her primary care physician, Yelena Melyakova, MD, at Holy Cross Health Partners at Asbury Methodist Village, was in communication throughout with Dr. Murphy in an effortless continuum of care.
“Our comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to care guides the patient from planning through recovery,” says Zohair Alam, MD, medical director, Joint Center, Holy Cross Hospital.
Rehabilitation, exercise classes, home health services, and health and wellness programs round out Holy Cross Health’s commitment to long-term joint health.
Susannah is still recovering from her second replacement—and says she is taking her rehabilitation, literally, one step at a time.
“I know my body, and I have complete confidence in Dr. Murphy and my physical therapists at Asbury. This isn’t my first rodeo,” she says. “I am going to keep doing what feels right, and I will get there.”
Douglas Murphy, MD
Yelena Melyakova, MD
Zohair Alam, MD