Stuart’s Story

Stuart Hoffman Loves to Surf So When Pain Kept Him From His Passion He Began Looking for an Orthopedic Surgeon to Help Him Regain His Quality of Life Once Again. To Watch the Stuart Hoffman Video Testimonial Click Here.

Surfing has been a lifelong passion for Boca Raton resident Stuart Hoffman. Stuart likes to stay active whether it is spending time outdoors, doing marital arts, running or surfing waves at Florida’s beaches. Mobility has always been an important part of Stuart’s life since he was a young child. Over the last several years, Stuart began to develop pain, which would radiate down his left leg.

“I was starting to experience pain building up in my leg and my knee. It became such a severe pain and problem in my life that I had to stop surfing. I started to feel depressed over that because I could not enjoy time with my friends surfing which was important to me,” said Hoffman.

Initially, Hoffman thought his left knee was going bad. He began to search for physicians who could help him get the answers of what was causing the pain. Hoffman received a referral to see a hip specialist, Dr. David Padden. At West Boca Medical Center, Dr. Padden specializes in both robotic assisted total hip and knee replacement as well as partial knee replacement. Dr. Padden said Stuart was a good candidate for total joint replacement because he had all the indicators.

“Stuart had severe arthritis, loss of function, poor quality of life secondary to pain and of course he was not able to do what he loves the most which is surfing,” said Dr. Padden.

Hoffman said he went to Dr. Padden for a consultation and that Dr. Padden quickly identified his left hip was the problem. There were no other options besides surgery and replacement of the hip to alleviate all the pain Stuart was having.

“Dr. Padden was very educational in explaining why the robotic assisted surgery for hip replacement was so important because it provided a more precise and accurate procedure. This type of robotic hip replacement also eliminates any excessive trauma to the muscles, the joint and anything else involved in surgery. It made sense to me,” said Hoffman.

During robotic assisted minimally invasive hip replacement, Dr. Padden is able to deconstruct the hip joint, remove all the disease and replace with a new joint.

“The robot takes the precision and accuracy up to a degree that we were never able to obtain before. With the robot we are able to dial in within a millimeter or two almost every time,” said Dr. Padden.

For Hoffman, getting out of the car became tough because after sitting for too long, pain would permeate down his leg. Walking on the sand at the beach holding his surfboard became difficult. Hoffman said the only question he had for Dr. Padden was how quick he could get in to have surgery.

“The surgery I had at West Boca Medical Center was fantastic. By having an anterior robotic hip replacement procedure, I was up on my feet the same day I had surgery. My recovery is coming along really well. I am back to surfing without pain. My flexibility has really increased where I am able to do the things I was doing before,” said Hoffman.

Dr. Padden has practiced in South Florida since 1998. During that time, Dr. Padden has specialized in orthopedic surgery, trauma care as well as both hip and knee replacements. Over the last 10-years, Dr. Padden has focused primarily on total joint replacement, which he helped evolve into the robotic hip and knee replacements used today.

“With a hip replacement, probably the first four weeks is the toughest part. The robotic approach and the muscle sparing approach allows patients to resume activities sooner because we have so much more of a higher comfort level that they won’t dislocate the hip joint which was a very common problem in the past,” said Dr. Padden.

Hoffman has surfed for over four decades. He is back to paddling out past the breakers surfing Florida’s waves once again.

“I am glad I had the surgery. Now I can keep living my life without regrets and really enjoy all the things I have always been doing. I am getting back to my full lifestyle and it feels great,” said Hoffman.

• This testimonial reflects the experience and outcome of this patient. Actual results will vary.