Right Groin & hip pain

@bettes
It’s so tricky to trust a good surgeon Should I try Mayo Clinic?
Thanks for uplifting my spirits .
I will have to go under that surgery. Never had any one of any type before

@ligol
Well, I had to have an unexpected colostomy in March--two weeks in the hospital in Gainesville and almost died. So my hip surgery was far less traumatic, and you will be fine. I would absolutely try Mayo Clinic. I would have if I hadn't been rushed in as an emergency for the colostomy. My husband used Mayo a couple of years ago for carotid surgery, and it was brilliant. Do not be afraid--you will be ever so much better off post surgery than you could have dreamed of being. Bette

@bettes
Thank you so so much !!! Your Words mean a lot to me 🥰

@ligol
If you are willing to travel, come to Phoenix and see Dr. Jimmy Chow. Dr. Chow is the primary inventor of the Superpath method of minimally invasive hip replacement. He did mine three years ago and I had zero post surgery pain. He replaced my badly misaligned right knee October 1st and lo and behold, again no post surgery pain. He has an international practice. But be aware that he doesn't take Medicare nor insurance.

Where are you? There are other excellent options as well. The Hospital for Special Surgery in NY has some great hip surgeons. Also the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, etc.

@steveinarizona
Is he really that good? I will goog info about that surgery method right away.
I am in Dallas, TX . Tons of surgeons but no one gives me complete trust. All I’ve visited say same thing as robots , out patient robotic anterior hip
surgery.
Forgot to ask any if it’s real you get bursitis after surgery as someone stated in the Pain blog .
Thanks for anawering me

@ligol
In my opinion he is. He trains other surgeons (a fellowship program) and there are others who now do the procedure. The advantage to others is that most of them will take insurance; the disadvantage is that they haven't done thousands of them like Dr. Chow has.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34536596/
No matter how good a surgeon is, there is still some matter of luck and uncertainty. I have a friend in Scottsdale who had a superpath from another surgeon who does a lot of them: Judd Cummings (who does take insurance). He had previously had a traditional hip replacement on the other side. He is having a lot of problems on the traditional side but not on the Cummings side.

A skilled and experienced surgeon doing anterior is ahead of the game compared to the traditional posterior. But I do believe that Superpath is an improvement on that.

There may be Superpath surgeons in Dallas or Fort Worth. i don't know. If there are, you would want to find out how many they have done.

Bottom line: If you want the absolute best, go to Dr. Chow. If you are satisfied with close to that, there are other surgeons. I was chatting with Dr. Chow a while back and although he is the primary inventor of Superpath, and holds a number of patents, he believes that extensive experience doing a particular procedure is the most important criteria.

@steveinarizona

@ligol
So nice of you for taking the time in wisely illustrate me. I am real thankful!
So it will have to be Yes or Yes!

Hi Hope,

Thanks for your very touching reply. It's hard to think back to days when our bodies were so pliant. I ran marathons in my 30s and 40s and I loved all of them. I also loved the camaraderie developed preparing for and doing the marathons. I'm 71 now with two knee replacements, so those marathon days are long in the past. I spin about 5x/week now. It's a decent substitute for the endurance running I miss. No regrets though. Regrets are a luxury I can't afford!

Good for you for getting a great massage! That seems like a luxury, but it isn't. It's a necessity. Please do treat yourself well.

As for acupuncture, I have since learned that "dry needling" may be even more effective at relieving tight muscle knots directly. Medicare Part B covers these treatments for the lower back only. I was very happy with the acupuncture results and plan to try dry needling.

I would ask your health insurer about coverage for acupuncture and dry needling. It is only covered for the lower back (Medicare Part B), but that's where a lot of people feel tightness.

I don't know if you are on Medicare (not everyone is as old as me.....). If not, your insurer should still cover some treatments. A referral from your Dr will help too.

I wish you all the best Hope. And please keep up with massage and let me know what you find out re: acupuncture/dry needling.

Joe

Hi Ligol,

First ion all, please don't be terrified.

I moved in 2018 and had to find new Drs and orthopedic surgeons . I'm sure you have many good ones in your area.

My criteria for finding a good ortho surgeon is as follows: 1) find a surgeon in their mid/late 30s to mid 40s. They are young and ambitious and armed with the latest surgical know-how, 2) select a surgeon with a good med school and residency/fellowship pedigree. The best ortho surgeons will gave completed a residency AND fellowship in a specific area of orthopedics, like hips, knees, shoulder. spine, and on.

I did this and found some great surgeons. Since 2018, I have had both knees replaced (2023) and this year (2025) had my right hip and left shoulder replaced. All were extremely successful and eliminated the pain I was in. I was very active in rehab and did everything that I was told to do as far as rehabbing at home.

Hips are supposed to be the easiest replacement surgery, and mine certainly was. I would advise getting a hip replaced with an "anterior" incision rather than posterior or lateral. The anterior approach spares all the muscles and results in a faster recovery.

Hope that helps, and all the best to you!

Joe