So I wait again

I saw the surgeon yesterday.

My 1:45pm appointment finished just before 3:30pm (I didn't actually see him until shortly after 3:00pm!).

He wants a second opinion.

It seems that my x-rays don't show severe enough degeneration to warrant hip replacement.

BUT, that's not always the indicator.

And on examination, and based on my history, and given the fact that I got such significant relief from the steroid injections (which prove to be very diagonistically beneficial), he could comfortably proceed with hip replacement in my case.

He just thinks it would be prudent to get another opinion from  one of his colleagues.

I asked about the surgical method (anterior vs posterior vs lateral) and how it is determined which approach is used.  "Surgeon preference," he replied very readily, "and I trained using the lateral method, so that's what I'm comfortable with."

We discussed the matter of my fibromyalgia and the impact the surgery would have on it.  ("It will get worse as a result of the surgery," he cautioned me.)  I expressed my concern about the impact the lateral incision could have on those fibro trigger points.  He admitted that he didn't know if anterior would be better than lateral or posterior and he offered that the question had never come up in any of the meetings the surgeons have.  He did agree that it sounded like a valid concern for fibromyalgic patients.

While he had wanted to refer me to one of his colleagues at his hospital, since none there performs the surgery using the anterior approach, we agreed that the second opinion would be sought from one of the two surgeons in Ottawa who use that method.

So, now I wait again.

The Queensway Carleton Hospital's Joint Assessment Clinic will send a request to the Ottawa Hospital, General Campus Clinic, asking that I be seen at the earliest opportunity by one of the two surgeons there who perform hip replacement surgery using the anterior approach.  And if that surgeon agrees that I am indeed a candidate for hip replacement, I guess it will be done at the General Campus.

Not as convenient a location as the Queensway Carleton Hospital would have been, but what price my end comfort and recovery potential?