In 2013, Doug Buy was on the job working for Monmouth County, New Jersey, when he was hit by a car. The accident resulted in chronic back pain due to damage to his sacroiliac joints, which sit on each side of the spine where it meets the pelvis. 

Everything he did, Doug says, he did with pain. “There was sharp pain running down my back from my hips to my knees,” he says. His injuries forced him to retire early at age 62 in 2017.

In 2022, Doug’s neurologist performed surgery for spinal compression, but his pain remained even after the procedure. “My back kind of degenerated,” Doug says. “I was walking with a cane most of the time. Sometimes I needed a walker.”

Double Hip Replacement in One Procedure

Doug’s neurologist ordered a CAT scan. Osteoarthritis in Doug’s hips had wiped out the cartilage, and an orthopedic surgeon told him that he needed surgery on both hips.

Because Doug was in good health overall and wasn’t overweight, he was a good candidate for a double hip replacement. The technique used by his orthopedic surgeon wouldn’t allow both hips to be replaced at the same time, so Doug was referred to Ahmed Siddiqi, D.O., MBA, a reconstruction and joint replacement surgeon who specializes in robotic minimally invasive surgery at JFK University Medical Center. Dr. Siddiqi uses a technique that allows the procedures to happen simultaneously.

“It’s not common for people to have two hips that are equally bad and equally painful, so double hip replacement surgery is uncommon,” Dr. Siddiqi says. “But I happen to do a lot of double hip replacement surgery.”

When meeting with Dr. Siddiqi, Doug felt heard and appreciated his doctor’s open communication. “Everything was fantastic,” Doug says. “When I went to the initial consultation, he put me at ease about what he was doing and explained the whole process to me.”

For Doug’s surgery, using robotic technology, Dr. Siddiqi made an incision about 2 inches long on the front of each hip. “There are all sorts of technology and newer things that were used, like multimodal pain control [using multiple pain relieving medications], to optimize his outcome and allow him to be able to go home very quickly,” Dr. Siddiqi says.

Successful Outcome to Double Hip Replacement

Doug spent one night in the hospital, took his pain medications two or three times, and was walking without a walker or cane within a week and half of surgery. 

He never even went to physical therapy. Instead, Dr. Siddiqi set him up with an online exercise program that began a month before surgery and continued for three months after, with interaction from team members to monitor his pain levels and progress.

Doug found the online exercise program so much more convenient than having to go to a clinic at specific times, and the progressively more difficult exercises could be done at his own pace. “If you actually do those exercises, you recover really quickly,” Doug says.

Adds Dr. Siddiqi: “Educating patients and boosting their confidence goes a long way. When you give them a mindset that this is what to expect and this is how they're going to do, that sets them up for success.”

Today, Doug is walking a mile—sometimes two—every day. The sharp pain shooting from his back to his knees is gone. Even with arthritis pain in his knees, he’s walking well and hopes to return to golfing, an activity he had to give up after his accident.

“The hips aren’t bothering me at all,” he says. 

Next Steps & Resources:

• Meet our source: Ahmed Siddiqi, D.O., MBA
• To make an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon near you, call 800-822-8905 or visit our website.
•  How healthy are your hips and knees? Find out with our health risk assessment

The material provided through HealthU is intended to be used as general information only and should not replace the advice of your physician. Always consult your physician for individual care.