Michael Bargine loves rock climbing and hiking, especially in the Shawangunk area in upstate New York. But two years ago, the now 68-year-old started finding climbing, and even walking at an elevation, challenging because he was in a lot of pain.

“I make a lot of my own furniture, and if I would drop one of my tools on the floor, I would have to decide whether I needed it enough to bend down and pick it up,” Michael said. The Baldwin, NY, resident, who manages a roofing business, is also a licensed pilot and owns a small plane. Soon everything he did—from work to his leisure pursuits—was limited by the pain.

He suffered that way for nearly a year, but when he realized the problem was getting worse instead of better, Michael decided to do something about it. His friend’s wife recommended he see Jonathan Danoff, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and joint reconstruction specialist at Northwell Health. Dr. Danoff ordered X-rays and immediately concluded that Michael needed surgery for both hips. “I felt confident with Dr. Danoff’s recommendation because he seemed very thorough, answered all my questions and made me feel very comfortable from the time I met him,” Michael explained.

Hip replacement surgery for Michael’s left hip was scheduled for May, followed by surgery for the right hip in July. Dr. Danoff performed both procedures at the Alvin & Dorothy Schwartz Ambulatory Surgery Center at North Shore University Hospital. Not only would he be able to relieve Michael's pain by replacing both damaged joints (hip replacement surgery involves replacing hip bones with artificial joints made of titanium metal, ceramics and plastic), he was offering Michael the chance to have same-day surgeries—no overnight hospital stays necessary.

Prior to the surgery, Michael was given specific instructions and precautions to follow before and after surgery related to diet, physical rehabilitation and recovery. On the day of each surgery, Michael recalls being in and out of the operating room in 90 minutes and going home soon after. He was given anti-inflammatory pain medication right after his surgery, but that was the only time he needed to take it and he did not even require narcotics. “I was pain-free. I may have felt a little pulling or pinching at the spot of the incision, but that was it,” Michael recalled. He left the surgery center each time under his own steam, using a walker only because it was required by the facility. After that, he felt comfortable moving around without it.

Michael was back at work three days after the first surgery. The second surgery followed a similar pattern in terms of recovery. “I didn’t use a cane or walker; I don’t think most people would have realized that I had hip surgery so recently,” he said.

Three weeks after the second hip was complete, he walked into an indoor climbing gym with his cane. He had follow-up visits with Dr. Danoff at the two-week and six-week marks after his surgeries, during which X-rays and a physical evaluation confirmed that his recovery was on track. “At my six-week visit, I challenged Dr. Danoff to a race, but he wouldn’t do it,” Michael joked.

Michael now recommends Dr. Danoff and Northwell to all his friends and family who may need a joint replacement. “Everyone was so attentive and there was always someone right there if I needed something,” he said.

A few months later, Michael is pain-free—and back in the air. He regularly flies his small airplane out of Farmingdale’s Republic Airport to his second home in Pennsylvania. “Getting in and out of the airplane has become so much easier. I’m already doing deep knee bends and full squats in the gym, and I want to go outdoor climbing this year.”