After Hip Replacement, Palmerton Golfer Is Back In the Swing of Things

Ed Shigo felt the pain every time he followed through on his golf swing.

“I’m a right-handed golfer, and I have to put pressure on my left side every time I swing,” says the 62-year-old retired information technology analyst from Palmerton, Pa. “The pain in my left hip kept getting worse and worse.”

Shigo developed a limp that was similar to one of his golfing buddies. “They called us limpy and gimpy,” says Shigo. “It got to the point where I just couldn’t stand the pain anymore.”

That led him to orthopedic surgeon Anthony Falvello, DO, with Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute, who specializes in joint replacement surgery. Falvello, a Hazleton native, joined LVPG Orthopedics and Sports Medicine–Station Circle in Hazleton, Pa., earlier this year. Falvello also sees patients at LVPG Orthopedics and Sports Medicine–Carbon at the Health Center at Carbon in Lehighton, Pa.

“Many patients will put off hip or knee replacement surgery,” says Falvello, who believes himself to be a likely candidate for hip replacement in 5 to 10 years. “When the pain begins to affect their quality of life, that’s when they’ll come to us. Once they’ve recovered from the surgery, it’s like they don’t even know they’ve ever had a hip replaced.”

Shigo’s total hip replacement surgery, which took place at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Hazleton, occurred on July 27, 2022, and lasted about 90 minutes. Falvello has a strong background in robotic surgery for joint replacement but performed open surgery for this procedure.

“In some cases, robotic surgery doesn’t offer a clear advantage over open surgery,” Falvello says. “This procedure was done with an anterior (frontal) approach, using a HANA table.”

A HANA table is an adjustable table that provides the surgeon the most advantageous access to the surgical area, permitting less invasive hip replacement.

“All I had was a small incision mark,” Shigo says. “They got me up and moving from my hospital bed in just a few hours after the surgery. I felt so much better even then.”

He was discharged the next day, which is typical with most joint replacement procedures. After just a month of physical therapy sessions twice a week, Shigo was back to his active life.

“I was bowling again and playing golf on vacation at the Outer Banks,” Shigo says. “I’ve even gotten out to some Penn State football games this season. I almost feel as good as new. I would recommend Dr. Falvello and LVHN to anybody who is dealing with the pain I was going through.”

What about his limpy and gimpy golfing partner?

“He’ll get there,” Shigo says. “I’ll be encouraging him.”