Glen Bock had been living with pain in his arthritic hip joints for more than a decade. He regularly visited a chiropractor and an acupuncturist, and also received pain-relieving injections to manage his symptoms.

“At age 58, I felt it was too soon to get surgery,” the Bellerose Village, NY, resident said.

But when the pain ultimately made it unbearable for Glen, a pharmaceutical sales representative, to do what he loves—such as playing basketball, refereeing football games and working as a volunteer firefighter—he finally realized it was time to explore other options.

He figured surgical hip replacement would be the best course of action, and was resigned to the prospect of a possibly long and difficult recovery. But when he made an appointment with Jonathan Danoff, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at North Shore University Hospital, he was surprised—in a good way.

“I was shocked when Dr. Danoff told me I could go home the same day I got my new hip,” Glen said. Dr. Danoff informed Glen that though it was true that hip-replacement patients would once routinely spend two weeks recovering in the hospital, now—with a new approach in some cases—they can get it done in an outpatient surgical setting and be home in less than 12 hours.

Glen was even more pleased when he found out that he met the criteria for this type of hip replacement surgery: He was under 65 years of age; had no significant chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease or kidney disease; and he had someone available to help him out immediately after surgery.

During the procedure, which was performed at the Schwartz Ambulatory Surgery Center at North Shore University Hospital, Dr. Danoff used a less invasive surgical technique with specialized equipment and very small incisions. In the traditional approach to hip replacement, surgeons go in from the side. But with these specialized instruments, Dr. Danoff is able to go in through the front of the hip and pull aside muscles and tendons, rather than cutting them. This results in less pain and faster healing, so people like Glen can return to normal function quickly.

Glen ended up having both of his hips replaced in separate procedures. He walked out of the surgery center and headed to a diner right after he had his second hip joint replaced. “The diner waitress couldn’t believe that I just had hip surgery,” he said.

After both procedures, Glen used the Force Therapeutics app, an interactive orthopedic patient platform, to keep track of physical therapy exercises he was prescribed to do at home. He also used the app to send secure messages to Dr. Danoff if he had questions or concerns.

“I felt like I was one of the rich and famous while receiving care at the surgery center. All of my needs were promptly met,” Glen said. “I recovered in a private room and worked one-on-one with a physical therapist before going home. The entire experience exceeded my expectations, which is why I tell my family and friends who have hip problems to go to Dr. Danoff at North Shore University Hospital.”