Tony Hawrylicz suffered from debilitating pain in his left leg for years. The pain had gotten so bad that the 44-year-old Westchester resident sold his business, Kenny’s Irish Pub in Countryside, because being on his feet all day had become impossible. Hawrylicz visited doctor after doctor – even spending a week at the Mayo Clinic – to no avail until he went to see Dr. Benjamin Domb, an orthopedic surgeon who treats patients at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital. Domb, a specialist in sports medicine and hip injuries, pioneered new medical techniques that are an alternative to hip replacement, especially in younger patients like Hawrylicz for whom hip replacement is not an option.
Domb discovered a tear in Hawrylicz’s labrum, an essential part of the cartilage of the hip, and recommended arthroscopic surgery to repair the labrum and reshape his abnormally shaped hip bones. This minimally invasive outpatient hip procedure gives patients the pain relief they need with tiny scars and much less postoperative pain than open surgeries. Arthroscopy allows patients to delay or prevent hip replacement, which often results in long hospital stays coupled with at least six months of recovery.
“Hip arthroscopy is really the final frontier of sports medicine,” Domb said. “The hip has been ignored for decades while we have been successfully repairing knees and shoulders. Now we can offer similar solutions in the hip as well.”
The incision with hip arthroscopy need be no larger than the width of a straw tip. Through this small hole, the surgeon inspects the joint and locates the source of the pain using a camera called the arthroscope. The surgeon can then make one or more additional small incisions to accommodate instruments to treat the hip. These instrument can shave, trim, cut, stitch or smooth the damaged areas. In Hawrylicz’s case, Domb made just two tiny incisions.
Hawrylicz initially was skeptical that outpatient arthroscopic surgery would help his severe pain. But since undergoing the procedure May 27, Hawrylicz has been pain free and can even enjoy long bicycle rides with his wife and two children.
“I tell my friends that I can’t believe how incredible the procedure was,” he said. “I feel like myself again. I feel great.”