Hip Replacement Got Dana Back on Her Bike and the Dance Floor

Dana Herman has been very active most of her life—gardening, biking, swimming and, most importantly, ballroom dancing, which she has been doing for the last 10 years. Until one day two years ago, when hip pain became too much to bear and she had to stop dancing.

Whether it was walking or sitting, Dana felt as if her left hip was popping out, leaving her immobile and in pain. Unable to pursue the activities she loved, she began to get depressed. She felt she was too young for surgery and was concerned about the length of the recovery process. 

It took her a year before she scheduled an appointment with Virtua Joint Replacement Institute's Dr. Rajesh Jain, an orthopedic surgeon recognized for his expertise in minimally invasive total hip replacement. She was so nervous that she brought a friend with her to her November appointment.  Dr. Jain confirmed that Dana would need her left hip replaced. He described the new advancements in robotic-assisted hip surgery, and how it would require just three small incisions and a shorter recovery time.  Dr. Jain told her that he happened to have an appointment available due to a cancellation, and he could fit her in for surgery sooner than usual. Her friend said, “She’ll do it.”

Dr. Jain’s assistant arranged all of Dana’s preadmission testing and appointments and scheduled her surgery for the following month. A mere few hours after surgery, a physical therapist came to her room and got her up and walking around.

“I would recommend Virtua to everyone. The Institute staff was amazing and the hospital was so clean,” Dana said. She was amazed at how good she felt. Once home, she was assigned to work with a physical therapist who was “fabulous.” She thought her recovery would be months away, but she was back to work after only eight weeks.

“My rehabilitation was amazing; instead of doing 5 minutes, I could do 15 minutes. Now I walk 10,000 steps a day. It’s amazing the amount of stamina I have.” Dana is now back to biking, swimming and dancing, and no longer has any constraints. She loved her experience so much that she agreed to be in Virtua’s television commercial.  She said the hospital staff, doctors and the film crew were great, and filming the commercial was a wonderful experience. As it turns out, she frequently rode her bike in the park where the commercial was filmed. It was inspiring for her to be able to ride there again.

 “Thanks to Virtua, I feel like I can do anything.”

Updated May 11, 2017