Have any of you had this surgery? If so, what was your recovery like? How long before you were back to biking & running (if ever) and did you get back to pre-op fitness level? Any long-term effects/complications?
Also, how old were you when you had the surgery?
My wife has had this done. One side when she was around 17 and the other a few years ago (28). She had hip dysplasia. Her doctor said running would never be a good idea for her. The cartilage was already in rough shape so any attempt at running would mean another surgery for a replacement. Also, realistically things are lined up much better now but it isn’t going to be perfect. It may depend on how damaged things (cartilage mainly) are when you have the procedure but naturally you wouldn’t need the procedure if everything was in good shape.
The recovery is lengthy. It was weeks before she was even allowed to put any weight on it. I would say a few months before you can do even basic exercise other than the physical therapy. The good news is she is doing great now. She rides her bike regularly (Dr said that was fine) and she is also into riding horses and does that several times a week. We cross country ski too, anything that is non-impact is good. I think it is definitely possible to get back to your pre-op fitness level but I would expect around 6 months (only my estimate). My wife did not have any lasting effects. She went into it healthy and in pretty good shape which really helped her recover. A lot of the discomfort she felt seemed to be from stretching that happened when they had to dislocate the hip in surgery. I reminded her many times that even if they dislocated the hip and never did the procedure it would hurt quite a bit.
She had an epidural for post op pain and that worked well. She spent almost a week in the hospital and then went home on Coumadin. If you have it done make sure you have people around to help when you get home. I am a CRNA (certified registered nurse anesthetist) so I work in surgery myself and knew how to take care of her.
You may need to adjust your activities a little but you should still be able to be very active.
Good luck and let me know if you have other questions.
Ryan