5/25/08 - First visit with Dr. C

Went in, had xrays done, etc. The helper guy, I think he said he was a DO, came in to get information, check pain, range of motion, write some things down. Then the doctor came in with the xrays. The first thing out of his mouth was, "You were a first born girl, right?" Well, yes. So, to make a long story short, I don't have enough bone covering the hip joint, so it relies on whatever soft tissue is above it for support, which will eventually wear down, leaving me with bad arthritis by my 40's. Arthroscopic surgery probably wouldn't help (his specialty) but we might do an MRI later to see if that might be an option. He said I need this other surgery, which is a major open surgery (periacetabular (Ganz) osteotomy), and nobody in the Pittsburgh area does it, I'd have to go to either Philly or Boston. They cut bone and shift it around, using your own bone and tissue instead of replacement.

Now I'm going to go to PT for the next 8 weeks, and go back to him again afterward. He was very nice, though. After he told me everything, he just stared at me for a minute and said, "you look sad." I said, "Well, yeah." He was very good about explaining everything, answering questions, and acting concerned, unlike the guys I saw in AL.

A couple minutes after he left the room, he came back with the DO, because apparently my condition was spectacular enough to warrant a mini training session. He twisted my legs back and forth, showing him my range of motion, quizzing him on different technical medical things (it was like they were speaking another language!). My favorite parts were "...if I moved your leg like this, you would tap out by now. But see, this doesn't hurt her!" and "..so from now on, when you think of hip dysplasia, think of her, and remember these xrays."

Also, the topic of childbirth came up, and he said that in the 80's and 90's, someone with my condition was told not to even think about getting pregnant. He said now it's really a non-issue, but it's going to be really painful because of the added weight. He said the only reason I'm not in more pain right now is because I'm thin (he must have said 20 times "well, you're thin" "since you're thin" throughout the visit). He did say I'll probably have to have a c section.