Pain-free for the first time in years, Steve Schaner lost no time getting back to his active lifestyle.

The Region’s First Single-Session Bilateral Hip Replacement

Each year, nearly 200,000 Americans living with debilitating hip pain find relief by having a total hip replacement. If both hips need to be replaced, they typically undergo the two surgeries several months apart, each with its own recovery period.

In April, Steve Schaner, 52, of Grand Rapids, had both hips replaced in one day at Holland Hospital. He was standing and taking his first post-surgery steps later that same day, and by June he was back on his boat fishing—something hip pain had prevented him from doing for a long time.

“I feel like a million bucks,” he reports.

Holland Hospital is the first hospital in our region—and one of the few in the nation—to replace both hips in one surgery session. The single-session bilateral total hip replacement was performed by orthopedic surgeon Derick Johnson, DO, of The Bone & Joint Center.

Dr. Johnson’s training and experience with the anterior approach for hip replacement make him specially qualified for the double procedure. With this approach, the hip joint is reached from the front (anterior) rather than the back or side, allowing both hips to be replaced at once. The patient then has only one recovery period.

“A big benefit of the anterior approach is that instead of cutting or detaching muscle, we work through the natural separation between muscles,” explains Dr. Johnson. The result is a smaller incision, less pain and faster return to full function. “There are really no restrictions or limitations after the surgery,” he says.

Schaner was Dr. Johnson’s first patient to have both hips replaced at once. The avid sportsman had begun experiencing joint pain in his legs about five years ago. By last year, he described his pain level, on a scale of one to 10, as “usually 8, but by the end of the day it’s 10. I sit in the chair and I don’t move.” Testing by Dr. Johnson confirmed that Schaner had complete cartilage loss in both hips, resulting in bone rubbing against bone—and significant pain.

Recovering at Holland Hospital’s Joint Replacement Center after his three-hour surgery, Schaner noticed the results immediately: “When I woke up, the joint pain was gone in both hips.”

Two months later he stood on his boat as it rocked in the waves. “I’m down at the gym lifting heavy again. I’m out fishing a lot, and I feel great. I haven’t felt this good in a long time,” he says.

For more information, visit The Bone & Joint Center or call (616) 738-4420.