Posted , 5 users are following.
Has anyone had experience with a surgeon in Wichita, Kansas called Dr Robert Cusick? He is who I'm going to use but can't seem to find much feedback !! Thank you !!
1 like, 13 replies
We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.
Ducksoup kathyk
Posted
kathyk Ducksoup
Posted
Guest kathyk
Posted
I haven't used him (I'm in the Seattle, WA) area, but you can research him online. He doesn't have any complaints against him, and has a good patient rating. He was voted one of the top regional doctors in his field in 2014. And it looks like he has an excellent education.
If it were me personally I would trust him based on his education.
Here - I'll tell you a really weird story about my pre-surgery. I started out with a sports medicine doctor and after x-rays and and MRI he said my joint was so damaged he wanted to refer me to a surgeon for hip replacment. I saw Dr. Cannon here in Seattle. He also had an amazing education and background and is the same age as your surgeon.
The day of my appointment I was sitting in the waiting room and I struck up a conversation with an older woman and said I was getting a consultation for hip replacement. She asked who with and I told her and she said, "He is a butcher! Promise me you won't use him! He will destroy you!" I thought that was odd and got called into my appointment and didn't get more information from her. During the appointment I sized him up, I asked a million questions and my gut told me he was ok.
Well, he did a fabulous job on my surgery - and it was apparently a bit of a difficult one because my joints and bones turned out to be smaller than an adult my height so he had to really work it out to make sure he had the exact right size replacement to put in there - the one they'd use for a woman my height and build turned out to be way too big. He did a wonderful job, it is healing up great, already had one set of post surgery x-rays and it looks great. His bed side manner is wonderful and he even took a photo of the top of my femur after he took it out and brought the photo to me himself after surgery.
Everyone has their own opinion of people and everyone has a story. I'd say go with the education and the experience of the surgeon and it looks like this guy has a lot of it.
kathyk Guest
Posted
Thank you so much!! I really needed to hear that😊. I see you are a horse person??? How long before you were riding again?
Guest kathyk
Posted
Second thoughts are so normal! I had all sorts of scenarios running through my head before surgery. It was hard to eat and sleep the last couple days I was so nervous! I started worrying because my will wasn't up to date with all my horses and what if I died? And what if I was paralyzed from the spinal anesthesia? What if it didn't work and I was worse off than before? Lots and lots of scary thoughts! And on top of it, I work in a skilled nursing unit and one of our prominent horse trainers in my area showed up in my section because of a blood clot after her knee replacement three weeks before my surgery and I started panicking about what if I couldn't go home and I ended up in my own skilled nursing unit? Aaaaagh!
I just five weeks into recovery so I'm not riding yet. My surgeon said I'm cleared to ride horses at a walk at 6 weeks, but he wants me to put off trotting/posting/cantering till 12 weeks. Honestly, I'm still so sore and stiff right now I can't imagine trying to mount a horse in a week. But who knows. I do know some professional horse people were up and riding at 5 weeks, but they're even more athletic than me (I'm pretty athletic but not member of the Olympics athletic!). So, I will probably wait a few more weeks before riding. But before my surgery I couldn't ride at all without severe pain because my hip was so damaged, so a big reason for getting hip replacement was so I can continue riding. My surgeon is a horse guy (as is my sports medicine doc) and they assure me that will be the case!
kathyk Guest
Posted
That is exactly what I'm going thru!! I honestly don't have much pain except when I ride. I can't even use that keg to cue horse now, it's like there's no strength. Really strange. Luckily my horse is extremely quiet and as close to bombproof as they come.....but he is a horse so even though we only trail ride, I k ow what can, and has happened on trail! I was so hoping to be back in the saddle at 6 weeks but on this forum I keep seeing how long the healing is, and the pain involved so now I'm getting more nervous. I definitely do worry I will be worse off since other than riding I'm not bad. I'm anxious to hear how your 1st ride goes, so keep me posted!! Best of luck to you in your healing!
Guest kathyk
Posted
If all you're doing is trail riding and walking, and if you are having the anterior hip replacement there's absolutely no reason you won't be back in the saddle in 6 weeks. It's kind of amazing how much of a change a week makes, so when I hit 6 weeks next week I may in fact be all ready to ride my horse at a walk. How about if I keep you posted and let you know? Seriously, things change a lot from week to week. Last week at 4 weeks I couldn't drive at all (I had my right hip done) because it hurt too much to move my leg laterally from the gas pedal to the brake, but now I can drive a few miles and I'm ok (I'm not ready to go on the freeway in heavy traffic but give me another week!)
I was having the same problem you described. I had such terrible pain in my right groin area from my damaged hip that I could not cue with my right leg. And last October I had to Idaho to take a riding test and do a teaching test to get my PATH International Therapeutic Riding Instructor certification. I did great on the teaching test but thankfully I told the judges before the riding test that I was having trouble with my hip. And they of course saw me limp out to the center of the arena and struggle to be able to mount the horse I had to ride.
They gave me five minutes to warm up on this horse I'd never met before (and I need about 20 minutes of riding before I can even hope to use my right leg while riding) and then I had to demostrate 15 minutes of walk, trot, canter and backing in a specific pattern. The first time I tried a right lead canter I literally could not move my right leg at all for a cue so the poor horse (dressage trained) couldn't figure out why my outside leg went back but there was no inside leg to ask for impulsion, so he never picked up the canter that lead. Luckily, at the end of my test they gave me the chance to try again and I was able to get the right lead canter. And I did pass the test. But when I sat down with the judges to get their feedback they said they could tell I knew how to ride but just physically couldn't and they both asked if I'd seen a specialist. When I told them I had seen a sports medicine doc and a surgeon but really was scared to get a hip replacement they were very convincing that I should. And even had me talk to some other horse people they knew who'd had hip replacements too. So, if it hadn't been for them I probably wouldn't have done it!
We should definitely keep in touch with how our recoveries go and I'd love to keep you updated on my first ride! I've already been out to do ground work with my horses. I've lunged my Fjord and been out doing turn on the forehand and lots of liberty work with quarter horse so at least I am getting some horse time!
When is your surgery? Do you have people lined up to help you the first two weeks of recovery? My husband worked from home and I have friends helping with my horses and that took a big load off my mind having that.
Julia
kathyk Guest
Posted
Hi Julia!! I was also concerned about the driving as it's also my right hip and anterior method, and I'm only able to take 3 weeks off so need to figure out the transportation issue. I'm at an office job so it's not physically demanding. Just really concerned about time off work! I'm glad u had yours done and back to a normal life soon! Please keep me posted on your first ride!!!
Guest kathyk
Posted
Guest
Posted
Also just a warning - I had planned to go back to work after 3 weeks but my PT (before surgery cause I go to PT where I work) said no way - you’ll need 6 weeks. Honestly, she was right. I was still so sore & exhausted after 3 weeks. But I have a friend who went back after 3 weeks and did fine. But check in with your work and don’t push yourself too hard.
kathyk Guest
Posted
Guest kathyk
Posted
I'm still going to PT once a week. My surgeon wrote me a prescription for 20 sessions so I may do all of them. I went twice a week the first month. Right now we're mostly working less on strengthening exercises and more on stretching and making sure I'm not limping. And I get massages and hydrotherapy which is always nice! My PT is also a hippotherapist (does PT on horses) so I'm going to work with her on mounting when I start riding again.
Although, I just got home from my 5 week check-up with the surgeon and he says if I'm up to it to go ahead and ride next week. He also assured me by 12 weeks my new hip will be healed enough that it is as solid as my natural hip so I don't have to worry about falling off and having it be more delicate than a natural hip (which I was worried about!)
You know, I did get cellulitis at 2.5 weeks and that was a week of being sick so I think that set me back as far as having the energy to go back to work. But if you keep up on your pain meds and you just have a desk job you'll probably be fine. Like I said, one of my friends was back to work at 3 weeks and it was no problem at all (he works at Microsoft so also a desk job - and also not a job you can take much time off from!)
kathyk Guest
Posted