Gardening Guru Gets Matching Hips

Warren at the UC Davis Arboretum. Watch his video below.

Northern California gardeners and plant lovers who visit the region put the UC Davis Arboretum high on the list of must-see gardens. For many years, those lucky enough to time their visits just right could enjoy a personal tour with Warren, the arboretum’s superintendent for 37 years. “Walks with Warren” were a favorite monthly event, despite a painful and worsening right hip. “Toward the end, ’Walks with Warren” were becoming ‘Waddles with Warren,’” said Warren.

That changed in May 2010, when Warren underwent hip replacement surgery with an old friend named Robodoc®. Fifteen years earlier, Warren had taken part in a Robodoc clinical trial with its surgeon and co-inventor, orthopedic surgeon William Bargar, M.D. Though the plastics available in 1995 give off more wear particles than those used today and medical wisdom of the day cautioned that artificial hips implanted in active younger men would only last 10 to 15 years, Warren has experienced no trouble with his left hip. “I wasn’t the lightest guinea pig,” Warren admitted, “and I’m fairly active. So I’m convinced it was Robodoc’s precision drilling and the exquisitely tight fit of my first hip that saved me from having trouble.”

By 2009, Warren knew it was time to see Dr. Bargar again. His left hip was fine, but the pain in his right hip had become so unbearable that he needed a cane just to get around. Bargar told him that the FDA had granted approval for Robodoc‘s use in hip replacement surgery. He could perform the surgery with Robodoc if Warren could wait a little longer. In spite of the pain, Warren didn’t hesitate in deciding to wait. He was so convinced of the long-term benefits Robodoc offered that he didn’t change his mind in the months it took to receive approval as the first patient to undergo FDA-approved Robodoc surgery.

“Even though I was 15 years younger and had no complaints the first time, my recovery has been easier and faster this time around. The Robodoc procedure only took nine minutes and by the second day I was feeling chipper enough to go home,” said Warren. “Dr. Bargar and Robodoc had a lot to do with that, but I have to say that another reason I’ve done so well is the care I received in the hospital. It was great—fabulous. And my physical therapist, Garin, was extraordinary.”

A month and a half after his surgery, Warren said he wasn’t quite back in top form yet. Before the surgery, he had been swimming more than a mile several times a week with his friends in the Davis Aquatic Masters swim club. He was only up to a mile at the six-week point, but he was driving again and making the long walk to visit his dad without a walker or any pain.

His surgery and recovery were trouble free, but Warren does have one regret that he feels can serve as sage advice for anyone who undergoes surgery. “I wish I’d written down the names of the nursing staff who gave me such great care, but the drugs fogged my brain and I only remember Teresa and Mandeep’s names,” he said. “Now that I’m home and feeling good, I’d like to send Sutter a letter with the names of the people who treated me so well. I tell people to learn from my mistake and make it a point to write down every name while they’re in the hospital.”