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Methodist Dallas Medical Center
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Winter 2014 – 2015
A
dull ache. Soreness in the hips
that worsened at bedtime. Sleepless
nights. These were the symptoms that
gradually intensified over 2½ years and
eventually led Gerald Brown, 56, to hip
replacement surgery.
The pain became so unbearable two
months before his surgery that Gerald,
then a high school football coach in
Colleyville, began coaching games
on crutches.
Search for a solution
Gerald’s primary care provider suggested a
right hip replacement.
“After doing my research and talking
with family and friends who’d had hip
replacement, I decided on the anterior
approach,” Gerald says. From the anterior,
or front, of the hip, the surgeon can
operate between muscles, while the
conventional posterior approach (from
the back) requires cutting muscle.
Gerald interviewed several surgeons
in the Arlington–Fort Worth area where
he lived and in Dallas before choosing
Jason Lowry, MD, orthopedic surgeon
on the medical staff at Methodist Dallas
Medical Center.
Preparing for surgery
Thanks to the Joint Academy at
Methodist Dallas, Gerald was well-
prepared for his surgery. The academy is
a free educational workshop that helps
ready joint replacement “students” both
mentally and physically for not only a
joint replacement procedure, but also for
how to achieve the best possible surgical
outcome and return most quickly to their
normal daily activities.
“Attending the Joint Academy
made me feel much more comfortable
about my upcoming surgery,” Gerald
says. “I was looking forward to
getting relief.”
Fast healing
His surgery on Dec. 3, 2013, began at
7 a.m., and by 1 p.m. he was walking with
a walker. The next day, he was walking
up the stairs. Although rehabilitation was
offered, he didn’t need it.
“I had an extremely quick recovery,”
Gerald says. “It was almost too easy. My
friends and family couldn’t believe it.”
Gerald was back to coaching three
weeks after surgery and back to normal
activity after only five weeks. Three weeks
after that, he was biking 10 to 15 miles
a day and walking 7 to 10 miles a day
around the campus and golf course in his
new position as high school golf coach at
Colleyville Heritage High School.
He credits Dr. Lowry and the staff for
things working out so well.
“The Methodist Dallas staff was
wonderful, and Dr. Lowry was congenial,
knowledgeable, and patient,” Gerald says.
“I made the right choice.”
Sidelined by hip pain, coach Gerald Brown called for the anterior approach
YOU’RE IN GOOD HANDS
The hip and knee replacement
programs at Methodist Dallas
have both been certified by
The Joint Commission. To learn
more about our services, visit
MethodistHealthSystem.org/ JointAcademy .Off
the bench
Gerald Brown was amazed
at his rapid recovery from
hip replacement surgery at
Methodist Dallas. “My friends
and family couldn’t believe
it,” he says.
JOINT HEALTH
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