An interesting visit to the surgeon’s office

Every year, I go to see my surgeon at the Repair Factory, and every year, he isn’t there. He sends one of his “fellows” or minions. This year it was no different; except, it was.

I arrived at the hospital at around 9am for a 9.15 appointment. I was registered very quickly and sent for my x-rays. These too were very quick. By 9.15, the time at which I was due to arrive, I was back in Module O (for “Orthopaedic”) being checked in for the second part of the visit, which was the meeting with the surgeon. Or his fellow. Two minutes later, I was in the small office/room than serves as the consultation place, and I was sitting and reading my book (Bookworm, by Lucy Mangan, all about childhood reading: it’s good, but not more than that). Fifteen minutes later, in walked a slight, smiling man, who introduced himself as Dr. Kim’s fellow. He was German. His English was, as with most Germans, impeccable. He asked me questions about how I was doing, levels of pain, etc., - all the usual stuff. I started to tell him about my mobility issues – how in Canada I can only manage a couple of blocks, but when I get over to Europe, I can gambol around like a new born lamb. He stopped me halfway through.
 
“I know,” he said. “I am exactly the same. I come over here for several months at a time, and by the time I have arrived, I am sore and stiff and in a thoroughly bad mood.”
 
I looked at him, trying to ascertain if he was taking the piss. For the past 8 years, I have been telling anyone who will listen how Canada doesn’t agree with me physically, and they have all looked at me as if I were insane. Now, here was a person in a position of responsibility telling me that it wasn’t psychosomatic, and that he too suffered from the same issue. I was gobsmacked.
 
Anyway, we looked at the x-rays and he said that there had been little change in the ball and cup at the top of the femur. My right hip, which I had done first, in 2005, was really good. The left one was at an angle still, “but,” he said, “it still seems to be where it was when it was first done.” I told him that there had been a recent increase in pain – nothing excessive, and I take nothing more than the occasional Tylenol as pain relief. I asked him if he could tell if there had been any movement at all in the location of the cup. So, he checked. He had all of my x-rays on file, so we compared the 2019 one against the 2025 one. It showed a movement of some degrees. So, he compared the 2005 one (you could still see the staples in my wound in the x-ray) to the 2025 one.
 
“Oh,” he said. “There has been movement.”
 
Indeed, there had. When the cup had been placed at the top of the femur, it had been at an angle of 117º. Now, compared like to like, it was at 98º. Now, you probably have no idea what that means, and nor do I. All I can say is that any prosthetic that moves from its position by 19º is not stable. At some point, it is going to move to a position that causes constant and intense pain, and then I am going to be in need of an emergency total hip replacement. This, of course, could all have been seen by previous fellows at an earlier date. But, I’ll take what I can get. This guy was helpful and concerned, and chatted for a further 15 minutes or so about the various possibilities. The upshot is that when the surgeon gets back from his holiday (for that is where he was), they will discuss my case and arrange a follow-up phone consultation. This was then booked for one month’s time.
 
I’m not sure what I make of all this. Part of me, the dominant cowardly side, does not want a change to the status quo. I’m not in a lot of pain, why pre-empt anything? But the more logical side thinks that there will be an issue sooner (rather than later, as he said), so be proactive. And that is where we left it. I’ll talk to the surgeon, and see what he thinks. Then I’ll see what his fellow recommends…
 
Back home after that. Mrs. Ottawacker was out at the casino this afternoon, attending the launch of the “Outaouais Community Foundation”. Ottawacker Jr. had invited his friend Lucas over for tea, and then they were both going out to soccer practice. So, I gave them some xBox time, listened to them playing dining room football, cooked them chicken nuggets and chips, and then drove them to practice for 7.15pm. Then I went to get them, dropped Lucas off at home, and came in to relax and watch Auf Wiedersehen, Pet with the newly returned – and none-the-richer – Mrs. Ottawacker. “I didn’t gamble, honestly,” she said.