For more than a year, William Antczak lived with discomfort in his left hip. William, who loves to be active, was not able to do any of his regular activities such as biking and swimming.
“I thought I was getting up in years,” said the 65-year-old. “After a while I knew something was not right.”
The increasing pain led him to orthopedic surgeon Matthew Wells, M.D., and the Joint Replacement Center at Broward Health Medical Center. The Joint Replacement Center is led by orthopedic surgeons and a multidisciplinary team of caregivers, including an experienced rehabilitation team, all dedicated to joint replacement and recovery.
“Mr. Antczak had pretty severe arthritis and eventually he needed a hip replacement,” said Wells. Determining when joint replacement surgery is needed varies, said the doctor. “It’s based on a patient’s symptoms and quality of life. Those factors help determine when they will need to do the surgery.”
Prior to William’s hip surgery in December 2019, he completed a pre-operation class through the joint center that helped him to prepare for what to expect before, during and after the surgery.
“I felt really confident about the operation,” William said. “The surgery lasted about two hours. The next day I was up and out of bed.”
As part of his therapy, a physical therapist came to William’s room to help him learn to navigate the stairs for when he went home to his second-floor condo. William said he felt prepared to return home.
William participated in six weeks of out-patient rehabilitation treatment at Broward Health Medical Center. At least once a week he would work with a physical therapist on activities such as leg lifts, balancing and riding a bicycle.
“Our ultimate goal was to help Mr. Antczak increase his strength and motion in his operated leg and restore him to his prior level of activity,” said Broward Health physical therapist Maria Channell.
The physical therapy sessions left William feeling “spry.” Today, William says his quality of life has improved. “I am able to walk distances I wasn’t able to do at all before the surgery. I am grateful the surgery and rehabilitation went well.”
To learn more about Joint Replacement at Broward Health, click below.