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Professor Damian Griffin OBE TD VR BM BCh MA MPhil FRCS(Tr&Orth) 2021-07-12 Person 5 5 0

I first noticed a dull ache in my left hip around 5 years ago. After a number of physio visits and no real improvement I went for a X-ray at the local hospital. The orthopedic surgeon reviewed my x-rays and said I had Osteoarthritis and he could “chop my hip off and put a new one on” Being in my early forties it was a big shock. Relaying the diagnosis to my physio he suggested I go see the Prof. On my First visit to see the professor I had a scan and MRI which confirmed my hip was deteriorated to point it had no cartilage and I had only two options , THR or Hip Resurfacing. Damian talked me through the pros and cons of each and said when your ready come back as at the time I could manage the pain and do most of the things I wanted to do. Over the years the pain increased and I think what finally gave me the push to get my hip fixed was watching the Andy Murray documentary Resurfacing and I thought why am I putting up with this lets get it sorted. So I got booked in for my Hip resurfacing operation October 2020. I decided on Hip re-surfacing as I think it’s a good option for “Younger” men allowing a return to a physical life style and reading a number of articles around sports men who returned to high levels of activity post re-surfacing. I was also keen on bone preservation and if I needed a THR as I got older due to wear of the resurface implant I still had the option. Damian spoke with me pre-op and put me at ease in his usual calm manner. The operation was a total success and I spent the next five nights in hospital wearing ice shorts to reduce the swelling. The first couple of days are tough getting out of bed was physically challenging and getting the hip moving in Physio was not easy but I knew it was just short term discomfort. On discharge I had to spend the next 6 weeks on crutches until the bone had healed sufficiency to allow full weight bearing. During the first 6 weeks I was doing low level physio which stepped up after I got the ok for full weigh bearing. From my experience doing the physio is as important as the surgery indeed Damian talks about team work between himself and physio James. The Physio got the strength back in my leg and I did it everyday and still do , make time for physio , do the Physio , do the Physio you will benefit massively from it. Not long after getting the ok for full weight bearing on no restrictions I was back out on my mountain bike it felt great to be pedaling with no pain and two working legs. My general life is much improved ,sleeping , exercising and walking the dog all pain free. From my very first meeting with Damian he answered all my questions and filled me will complete confidence he could carry out the operation with the successful outcome I wanted , he delivered that and my leg continues to get stronger.