Romolo (Rome) Malizia II heard a common refrain anytime he talked to someone about hip replacement surgery.
“The single common answer was, ‘I don’t know why I waited,’” says Rome, 70, of Montoursville, in north central Pennsylvania.
So, when Rome decided to have his right hip replaced, time was of the essence — and orthopaedic surgeon John Bailey, MD, obliged.
Dr. Bailey performed a right hip replacement on Rome on June 11, 2025, at UPMC Williamsport. He recovered quickly and returned to work soon after the procedure.
“The whole experience, from start to finish, was flawless,” he says.
Pain and Discomfort
Rome, the sales manager at Alexander Subaru in Muncy, Pa., started feeling discomfort in his hip about two years before his surgery.
He could tolerate the pain for the most part, although it did keep him from sleeping on his right side. However, his hip affected him when he walked — he couldn’t walk long distances.
“It was a situation where I would walk, and it would trip out,” he says. “I would be walking, and it would be like, ‘Boom,’ almost like it would want to collapse.”
Eventually, Rome decided to pursue a hip replacement.
“I’m a very active person,” he adds. “I’m always doing something. I’m on my feet a lot, so I needed to get it fixed.”
He initially scheduled a hip replacement using the posterior approach at another local facility. However, he changed his mind after a friend who visited him at work advised him.
“She said to me: ‘Rome, cancel your surgery. You’re having the wrong procedure done. You want to have Dr. Bailey do an anterior hip replacement,’” Rome recalls.
In a direct anterior approach, the surgeon operates from the front of the body, avoiding cuts into the muscle. This approach involves a smaller incision and typically results in a shorter recovery time.
“”I did the research, and I found out that the anterior was the right way to go,” Rome says.
A Smooth Procedure
Rome met Dr. Bailey in mid-May 2025.
Initially, when Rome asked about a time frame for his surgery, Dr. Bailey gave him an estimate of a couple of months. However, upon Rome’s request, Dr. Bailey found an opening in his schedule for June.
“It was extremely important (to me),” Rome says. “This might not sound important, but my daughter was planning my 70th birthday party for July 26, and I wanted to be healed and finished by then.”
Rome went in for surgery on June 11, and the operation went smoothly.
“Dr. Bailey was amazing,” Rome says. “Even right down to the incision, it’s a work of art. I had no issues with the incision, I had no drainage, I had basically no issues.”
The day after the surgery, he visited the physical therapy unit at UPMC Williamsport for a brief session. When he proved he could move well after the surgery, the unit discharged him.
Rome says his entire experience at UPMC Williamsport was positive.
“The people at the hospital were amazing,” he says.
“The one thing that’s never amazing in a hospital actually was there — and that was the food,” he adds, chuckling. “I had breakfast, and I had dinner there. It was served hot. It was served fresh. It wasn’t lying around under a heat lamp for hours before it got to you.
“I have 26 years in the food business, so I know food. I said to somebody, ‘Why is the food so good here?’ They said, ‘They do their own food here. They don’t have an outside service.’”
Back to Full Power
Two months after surgery, Rome feels strong. He used a walker for a couple of days after surgery and a cane for a few more days, but he was walking on his own after that.
He experienced minimal pain during his recovery and returned to work about two weeks after his surgery. His hip no longer “trips out” when he walks.
“I’m doing awesome,” he says. “I have been back to doing normal activities, doing whatever I need to do around the house. Everything’s great. I would recommend it to anybody who’s having issues.”
Rome describes the care he received from Dr. Bailey and his staff as “amazing.”
“He was very easy to deal with and very informative about the process,” Rome says. “I wasn’t going into it blind. I knew what was going on. He explained everything in detail.
“And then, after he was done, his staff in the office — the nurse navigator and the scheduler — everybody had everything done on my first visit. I was there, and they all did a fantastic job. And believe me: I am the type of person who would tell you if it was bad.”