Matthew Beal Hip Replacement

[Music playing]

[Text on screen: Dee Miller
Former Ohio State Football Buckeye
Hip replacement surgery patient]

Dee Miller: My name is Dee Miller. I played wide receiver and I'm class of 1994 however I red shirted, so I played 1995 and 1998. I was having some back issues and that's when I had my hips X-rayed and she kind of informed me that for my age, I had a lot of wear and tear on my hips. And when I started trying to golf a little bit more, that's when I really started to feel the pain. After I was playing, when I was walking, getting dressed, all those things, my hip would just give out. I would just be walking and it would just give out. And that started to scare me.

[Text on screen: Matthew Beal, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon, Adult Reconstruction
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center]

Matthew Beal, MD: For a guy who's a pretty athletic, young, you know, in shape guy, he was having a lot of difficulty just walking down the hall. I think a hip replacement gave him the best chance to be functional and pain free so that he could be back to kind of his normal active day-to-day life.

Dee Miller: It was kind of humbling. You know, I've heard about joint replacement. My mother just had a knee replacement. You know, she's 73. You know, I coached with my son, still like to run around with him and play football. I was watching like some of our games and I would be like limping up, limping up the sidelines. So for me, it was just wanting to get better.

Matthew Beal, MD: Younger patients are looking for hip replacement surgery because they want to maintain that high level of activity. They don't want that particular joint to slow them down. There's a lot of patients that are interested in same day surgery because they like the idea of being able to go home as an outpatient and not having to stay in the hospital. Folks that are ambulatory, not using anything to walk with, not using a cane and crutch, but just have a bad joint. That's the group that probably could be done as an outpatient. Hip replacement surgery in general, the outcome data is so good and it's pretty short term as far as the recovery. Most patients within four to six weeks will do really well.

Dee Miller: I would have thought that I was going to be in the hospital at least a day or two, but he said no, it's in and out. I forget how many hours it was, but you know, I woke up, my mom and my wife was by me and got home and, and just started the recovery.

I was recruited by every university in the United States. And my father, he felt that my life after football would be better if I attended Ohio State. He passed away five years ago, but the decision was solely off of his recommendation. And I'm glad I did it. I'm glad I did it. You know, Ohio State's been taking care of me since I came here in 1994. Met my wife here, still have all my friends here, reside outside of Columbus, and man, I'm just glad I listened to him. I wish he was alive to see Ohio State's care for me.

[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
For more information, visit: health.osu.edu]

[Music fades]