“It was just the absolute best care I could have ever imagined, not only for my husband but for me as well. Everyone there knows exactly what they need to do for the patient.”
— Barbara M. | Hip Replacement Surgery Patient
When asked if she wanted her hip replacement procedure completed at a hospital or at UnaSource, Barbara M. of Sterling Heights didn’t hesitate for a moment before she said, “UnaSource.”
“I saw the kind of care that they gave my husband, and it was the best that you could have ever imagined. So I knew I was getting better care there than I would at a hospital,” she said.
Both Stuart and Barbara had hip replacement surgeries at UnaSource exactly one month apart under the care of Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Michael Flierl, and it wouldn’t have happened that way if not for the knowledgeable guidance of the nurses and assistants at UnaSource.
The story begins in the fall of 2018.
Stuart, 57, had been experiencing unexplained pain for a year or two before the problems worsened in October 2018. At that time, Dr. Flierl explained that Stuart’s problems stemmed from his hip, and Stuart’s surgery was held Feb. 12, 2019.
“It went like a well-oiled machine,” Stuart said regarding his experience at UnaSource that day.
He appreciated the pre-operative joint replacement class, as well as the materials he was given to read beforehand.
The day of the surgery itself was fantastic, and he can’t think of anything that was not as good as it could have been, Stuart said.
“Everyone knew who I was and why I was there,” he said, adding that he was in by 9 and out by 3.
After the surgery, he didn’t experience much pain at all. He spent the next eight days at home and was back to work by day nine. After about six weeks, Dr. Flierl had Stuart participate in therapy three days a week for about five weeks.
Today, Stuart feels better than he has in years.
“I’m good,” he said. “I’m out golfing, taking strokes off my golf game.”
Barbara’s part of the story came into the equation on the day of her husband’s surgery.
She had been experiencing back problems, and a doctor not associated with UnaSource had recommended back surgery.
On Feb. 12, she was walking with her husband through the UnaSource building when a staff member told Barbara that her problems were not about her back but her hip.
Barbara, 62, had said, “No, they said it was my back.”
After further X-rays and a second opinion, however, it was very clear that the cause of her pain was indeed her hip.
“The staff at UnaSource called it by looking at her,” Stuart said.
A third of her ball joint was gone, Barbara explained, adding that Dr. Flierl and UnaSource got her in for surgery as fast as possible.
Her hip replacement surgery was held March 12, and her reaction is similar to her husband’s.
“It was awesome,” Barbara said of her own experience with UnaSource. “It was just the absolute best care I could have ever imagined, not only for my husband but for me as well. Everyone there knows exactly what they need to do for the patient.
“Of course, when you come out of surgery, you are in a lot of pain, and they get that under control extremely fast. They’re all very caring, and they all understand the situation you’re in when you go in there for surgery. They make you as comfortable as absolutely possible. I have nothing but the best things to say about them.”
There was at least one difference between Stuart’s experience and Barbara’s: Barbara’s recovery time was even shorter and smoother than her husband’s.
Her hip replacement surgery occurred on a Tuesday, and by that Thursday she did not feel pain nor require pain medications of any kind. In fact, she used a walker to walk to a park several houses away on that Thursday.
Both she and Stuart also complimented UnaSource’s post-operative instruction process and overall efficiency.
“The surgery took place when they said it would take place,” she said. “You’re in. You’re out. They get you up and moving and send you home with clear instructions, so there was no doubting what we had to do.”
Everyone there was so kind, Barbara said.
“I have absolutely no regrets,” she said.