After a two-stage hip surgery both my legs are finally the same length.

Dear Dr. William Leone, Master Surgeon

Today (June26th, 2017) marks the 2 yr. time frame since your completion of my two-stage hip replacement i.e. the first being an interval antibiotic-loaded temporary” hip followed (3 months later) with the second “permanent” replacement.

This correspondence is essentially two-fold:

It’s primarily written to thank you beyond what I can put into words and to inform upcoming patients as to your skill.

Much appreciation also goes out to your wonderful assistant, Susan.

A brief history (for those reading this and contemplating surgery):

In 1971 after a near fatal auto accident, I underwent surgery to repair my fractured, dislocated hip, pelvis and femur, which ended with my right leg nearly 2 inches shorter than my left. The following year (at the Univ. of Florida Shands Hospital) I had my perfectly good left leg shortened (hip replacement at the time was in its infancy) with the goal of matching the length of my right leg.

A year later (after all had “settled” from a year of walking/running) my right leg was still approx. ¾” shorter than my left… for the next 25 yrs.

By 1998 total hip replacements had become more common and the Univ. of Miami, I had my first of what would end up being four.

After the 1998 surgery i.e. with my new hip and after walking /running for another year, my right leg was still a good ½” + shorter than my left.

Moving ahead to the end of 2011 with the advent of newer and better prosthetics and the subsequent problematic shifting/dislodgment of my first revision, I underwent my second revision/replacement. –Unfortunately, a little over 3 years later it became infected and again had to be readdressed. The ‘fix’ required a two-stage procedure (1 surgery followed by a 2nd surgery 3 months later).

Ultimately in March of 2015 as Dr. Leone was performing the first stage of my two-stage procedure and despite being informed mid-surgery of a deeply personal loss, he not only completed the surgery, but in so doing was able to replace my previous short-stemmed prosthetic with the ideal full-stemmed one… a procedure which had previously eluded other surgeons.

Three months later in June 2015, the second stage of my surgery was completed and since that day (for the first time since * was 18 yrs. old), I am now balanced … literally.

Both legs are the same length.

Once again, I cannot thank you and your team enough, Dr. Leone, for the quality of life I now enjoy. —This brief letter seems hardly enough…. But it’s all I got J

Michael Byrne