For more than 10 years, Carolyn Brown lived with intense pain after injuring
her hip in a sledding accident. Gradually, the pain grew more intense
and began interfering with her sleep and her work. At 56, Brown was finding
it difficult to stand or walk for extended periods of time, making the
long shifts required by her job as a registered hospital-based nurse excruciating.
She found no relief from prescription medications or steroid and cortisone
injections administered by the first physician she saw. Brown decided
to seek a second opinion, this time from a neurosurgeon referred her to
orthopedic surgeon, Brian Krenzel, MD. He advised her that she needed
a total hip replacement.
Dr. Krenzel saw Brown as an excellent candidate for a new, minimally invasive
hip replacements procedure he performs at Catawba Valley Medical Center.
The technique could be performed on an outpatient basis, requiring no
overnight hospital stay.
“Anterior Supine Intermuscular (ASI) hip replacement surgery involves
no cutting of muscles or tendons, allowing a greatly accelerated recovery
period,” said Dr. Krenzel. “For Carolyn, this meant getting
out of bed within hours after surgery and going home that same day using
a walker.”
Compared to the typical 8-10 week recovery period for conventional, open
hip replacement surgery, patients receiving the minimally-invasive ASI
hip replacements are recovering in as little as two to four weeks. Brown
has followed Dr. Krenzel’s medical advice carefully and he encouraged
her to thinks of the healing process more like training for a marathon
than running a sprint. She wears compression hose and follows the recommended
strength and range of motion exercises recommended by her physical therapist.
She anticipates getting back to working fulltime at Caldwell Memorial
Hospital by the middle of October.
A fellowship-trained adult reconstruction surgeon specializing in primary
and complex revision hip and knee replacement surgery, Dr. Krenzel practices
at OrthoCarolina – Hickory. After graduating from Duke University,
he attended the University of Louisville School of Medicine where he earned
his medical degree before completing extensive education with specialized
training in hip and knee replacement surgery at the renowned Joint Replacement
Surgeons of Indiana.
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Krenzel, or to learn more about minimally
invasive total hip or knee replacements, patients can call OrthoCarolina-Hickory
at 828-624-1630.