Doctor's innovation saves people from hip replacements
Dec. 27, 2002

By BOB CONDOR
Knight Ridder Newspapers

Because Dr. Marc Philippon is not one to brag, someone else will have to tell you that the list of private numbers in his cell-phone memory would be the envy of any sports agent or fan.

“We were discussing Greg Norman’s line of wines over dinner and the possibility of promoting the wines at our restaurants,” said Chicago-area restaurateur Joe Carlucci, a Philippon patient who hosted the doctor at Carlucci in Rosemont, Ill., in May when he was in town to speak at a medical conference. “The next thing I know, Greg Norman and I are talking on the phone.”

After the two hung up, Philippon called 1998 Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski. He wanted to check on her.

“Dr. Philippon is always there for me,” said Lipinski, 20, a professional skater. “He is more than just my doctor. We’re friends.”

At the head-turning age of 37, Philippon has pioneered a form of arthroscopic surgery that is saving people from total hip replacements, not to mention career-ending injuries and untold hours of pain. He already has operated on hundreds of hip-pain patients (covered by health insurance plans) in addition to his roster of elite athletes. He actively trains other orthopedic surgeons in his techniques.

Most notably, Philippon has invented flexible instruments that afford access to areas of the joint previously thought impossible to reach.

One important point: Active people can suffer the same immobility as, say, the 70-something senior. Hip pain is not age-discriminatory when the body twists too many ways too many times.

If you need an idea of what it’s like to live with chronic hip pain, imagine struggling every time you get out of a chair or shift sleeping positions in bed.

“I kept trying to skate through the pain,” Lipinski said. “But it got to the point where I couldn’t bend down to tie my shoes. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t walk without a limp.”

Norman said he remembers waking up the morning after his mid-2000 surgery — at home already, we’ll get to the reasons in a minute — and saying to his wife, “This is the first time in years that I’m going to be able to get out of bed without pain.”

Miami Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler, 30, has twice benefited from the cutting-edge technique. Philippon performed an arthroscopic procedure on Fiedler’s right hip (his throwing side) in 2000, weeks after Norman’s surgery.

“My right side hurt when I planted my leg to throw,” Fiedler recalled by phone during a recent break from practice. “Believe me, I’ve been around a lot of doctors. I could see Dr. Philippon knows what he was doing.”

Operating on a quarterback and other football players presents at least one unique challenge compared with, say, fixing a golfer’s hip.

“I watched some videotape of Jay’s games after the first surgery,” said Philippon, who is based at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sports Medicine but has retained his original orthopedic clinic at Holy Cross Hospital in Ft. Lauderdale. “I have to admit, I winced at how much he gets hit.”

Nonetheless, Fiedler’s right hip stayed strong, and he enjoyed a breakout season in 2000. During the past off-season, Fiedler started experiencing pain in his left hip. Philippon performed athroscopic surgery in late July, and the Miami quarterback was cleared to return to full-contact play Aug. 8.

Fiedler was one of pro football’s early-season stars, leading coach Dave Wannstedt’s Dolphins to a 5-1 record before breaking his thumb in an Oct. 14 game. Though his hip “feels like new,” he will be out at least another two weeks because of the thumb.

Philippon’s patient list is filled with success stories of more than 60 professional athletes, dozens of top college athletes and elite amateurs, plus the hundreds of others who still want to play 18 holes or walk to the corner without mind-bending effort.

He sometimes performs total hip-replacement surgery when a patient’s weakened bone density rules out arthroscopy. Even in these cases, his more flexible instruments allow for a single incision just barely longer than two inches. (In July, Philippon operated on Chicago Tribune reporter Bob Condor’s wife, Mary Haubold, who is recovering successfully and without pain).

Philippon has literally become the world’s most sought-after surgeon for sports-related hip injuries. After Philippon’s surgical efforts, Australian pro golfer Steve Elkington competed in the British Open playoff over the summer, and European golfer Jesper Parnevik won the Honda Classic just months after surgery.

Hockey superstar Mario Lemieux, hampered by hip problems for years, underwent the “scope” last winter and returned in time to help Canada win the Olympic gold medal at Salt Lake City.

The list of patients continues, including more than 25 pro golfers in just the last two years; Chicago Blackhawks coach Brian Sutter (in May and he is “finally out of constant pain that lasted 12 years”); Denver Nuggets basketball center Marcus Camby; a quickly increasing number of pro football players (including a pair of star defensive players in the last six weeks); Hall of Fame football player Lynn Swann, who is now chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports; college athletes from several sports; skaters; gymnasts; professional ballet dancers; and, believe it or not, a few teen-age skateboarders.