Problem: Hobbling around with a cane due to severe hip pain
Treatment: Anterior hip replacement surgery
Result: Walking on her new titanium hip without a cane and getting stronger every day
Yolanda Davis had her first joint replacement surgery in 2016 after degenerative osteoarthritis destroyed the cartilage in her left hip.
About a year ago, her right hip started acting up. A dull ache soon progressed to shooting pains. At 60, Davis found herself hobbling around with a cane. The Huntsville resident knew she probably needed a second hip replacement but wanted to try a non-surgical fix first. When stem cell injections provided “zero relief,” Davis went to The Orthopaedic Center (TOC) near Huntsville Hospital. X-rays confirmed that the cartilage in her right hip was almost gone.
“As soon as they showed the X-ray, I knew I couldn’t put off surgery any longer,” she said.
Davis chose to have the procedure done by TOC orthopaedic surgeon Christopher Parks, MD, based on “rave reviews” from a friend.
Then COVID-19 arrived in North Alabama, and Davis hesitated. She wondered if it would be safe to have joint replacement surgery in the middle of a pandemic.
But when she reported to Madison Hospital on July 21, the surgical team’s obvious commitment to safety and cleanliness eased her mind. “Once I met the staff, I wasn’t concerned at all,” Davis said. “They were beyond great and made me feel very safe.” Dr. Parks used the anterior surgical approach, accessing Davis’ damaged hip joint from the front, which allowed for a smaller incision and less muscle trauma. Barely a month later, she is walking on her new titanium hip without a cane and getting stronger every day.
“I tell people now that there’s no reason to put off joint replacement surgery,” Davis said. “Just do it.”
Dr. Christopher Parks is a member of the TOC General Orthopaedics and the Joint Replacement Centers of Excellence. Dr. Parks earned his medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama. He completed his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas where he served the University of Arkansas football team as a sideline physician. He continued his education and training by completing a fellowship in Adult Hip and Knee Reconstruction at the Southern Joint Replacement Institute at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Parks is one of only 3 surgeons in North Alabama who are fellowship trained in total joint replacement.