LAURENS -- Laurens County resident Tim Smith enjoys playing outside with his three-year-old daughter.

They ride their bikes together and play on the swing set at their home.

But the activity started to grow especially painful for the 30-year-old, and he decided a trip to the doctor was in order.

Smith knew the trouble was caused by injuries he received when he was hit by a car when he was younger. He was referred to Dr. James Loging, an orthopedic surgeon who just began working in July with Palmetto Bone and Joint, an orthopedic clinic with offices in Laurens and Newberry.

Loging, a Newberry native, told Smith he would need hip-replacement surgery.

"It was getting where I couldn't stand for any time, and I couldn't walk," Smith said. "Dr. Loging said the only thing that would help was the hip replacement, so I talked it over with my wife, and we decided to do it."

The good news for Smith is that Loging was trained in a new procedure for hip replacement called anterior hip replacement. This procedure allows doctors to replace the hip from the front of the hip, instead of the traditional side or back. It also means muscles don't have to be cut.

Because the muscles aren't cut, there is less trauma to the patient, Loging said.

"I was doing my residency at the Greenville Healthcare System, and I heard about it," Loging said. "It's been around for several years and I became interested and went to Savannah and Charlotte to learn it."

After learning how to perform the procedure, Loging brought it to the Laurens County Healthcare System, which purchased a $100,000 bed used in the procedure that allows doctors to reposition the patient's legs, Loging said.

The hospital held a press conference Wednesday to announce the new procedure, which was performed for the first time in the state last month, according to Jamie Adair, spokeswoman for the hospital.

The new hip replacement procedure requires a hospital stay of 2-4 days, compared with up to 10 days for the traditional replacement, Adair said.

Smith was Loging's and the hospital's first patient to undergo the new hip replacement procedure. "I'm very pleased with the outcome," he said. "I was up walking like an hour and a half after surgery."