Paul Noone is a family man who leads the perfect southern lifestyle. He's a good neighbor, a good father and a good friend. Married for seventeen years, Paul spends his weekends driving the kids from one sports activity to the next. He lived with his hip pain for years before an X-ray made it very clear that Paul had a real problem. "At that time they identified an avascular necrosis… essentially the femoral head in my right hip had lost its blood supply and had died and collapsed and there was a great deal of pain associated with it."
The pain of the disease affected Paul's sleeping patterns, activity level and general mood. "Just a day on my feet was exhausting and the pain became greater and greater until Advil and ibuprofen and all of those kind of drugs couldn't numb it out. It just got worse and worse."
After Paul made up his mind to have the surgery, he still had to find a surgeon he felt comfortable with. Experience was a big issue for Paul and he found a surgeon who had done over 700 hip replacements.
Paul also wanted to be sure that he would be able to live the normal, active life he loved and the replacement joint technology was the right choice for him. "He really made me feel comfortable that not only it was technology, but that I'd be able to keep a normal life, which I have every expectation of doing."
With all the pieces in place and his mind set, Paul went ahead with the surgery. Immediately afterward, Paul was pleasantly surprised to discover something was missing from his life, the pain. "When you go, you're at a level of pain that you just live with and when you have the surgery you come out of that surgery and it's gone. The pain that you lived with in your life is immediately gone. It's a moment of truth when you realize you've been living with something pretty bad for a long time."
Paul went through rehabilitation but found even that was a pleasant surprise. "I really was completely mobile and able to go up and down stairs, and I was off my crutches within three or four weeks."
Paul has this piece of advice for anyone considering joint replacement surgery. "It seems to me silly not to do the surgery sooner than later."
Today, Paul is happy to have his life back not just for himself but for the family he loves. "This has made a big difference in my life, fortunately all the people around me as well."
Each patient will experience a different post-operative activity level, depending on their own individual clinical factors. Your doctor will help counsel you about how to best maintain your activities in order to potentially prolong the lifetime of the device. Such strategies include not engaging in high-impact activities, such as running, as well as maintaining a healthy weight.
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Up until the age of 51, Carl Savino had endured the pain of degenerative hip disease and the resulting negative effect on his life. "From age 22, I've kind of lived a life that's been almost disabled... 
