Mini-hip by Dr Snyder on 11/28/11

[professah13]

I had my right hip replaced on Monday morning without complications, felt great the rest of the day.  I wasn't able to sleep that night because they seemed to wake me virtually every hour to check my blood pressure, take a blood sample or feed me meds.  I can only sleep on my stomach but my nurse told me that was disallowed, I had to wait until she went home before I turned over.

From what I had read about hip replacement I expected to feel awful post-surgery but if anything it felt less-invasive than my BHR on my left hip 4 years ago.  I ended up getting discharged just 27 hours post surgery.  The next day the pain hit me but after taking lots of meds i was able to get on top of it.  My first PT session is tomorrow(Friday), I'll report how it goes.

Dr Snyder says he now prefers the Corin mini-hip to resurfacing because he believes the pluses outweigh the minuses.  It is implanted through the anterior so no muscles get cut, it grants a greater range of motion than resurfacing, and it has a ceramic head so there is no issue from the metal on metal ion problem getting so much attention in the New York Times. I suspect the ion issue is overblown by lawyers looking for new revenue streams in a lagging economy but time will tell.

[Dannywayoflife]

Larger range of motion than HR?! How's that? I don't really see that a thr has any real advantages over HR. Mini thr is still a thr and will still alter gait stress shield etc. From what bits of the Oxford study I've read the "metal ion" issue is pretty much down to the surgeons who put the cups in wrong. Dont forget the first "psudotumor" was found in a metal on polyethylene thr.
Vitalium the alloy the bhr is made from has been used in orthopaedics for a long time and has a proven track record.
Hope the thr works well for you tho! I'm sure it will.

[obxpelican]

Glad you are doing well.  I have to ask though, why get a device that is more like a THR than it is a hip resurfacing device?  Did your doctor feel you had some issues with the head of your femur where it had to be removed?

MOM hips have a very good track record assuming the doctor is an experienced doctor and the angles are set properly.  Some doctors actually have success rates > 97% at 5 years, although again it all depends on your surgeon and his skill.

Good luck and keep us up to date on how you are doing.

Chuck

[sroberts]

Chuck,

The mini hip is a THR. It's an easier procedure than a hip resurfacing. Greater range of motion in a THR??? No freakin' way....just sayin'




spencer

[obxpelican]

Hey Spencer,

Yes, I knew about the minis, it's been discussed here.  I just know that some doctors are selling it to people as a "like hip resurfacing" when clearly it's not.

It's a shame to lose all that bone unless you have had so much damage to the head of the femur.

Hope you're doing well Spencer.

Happy holidays

Chuck

[PistolPete]

professah13-  Why did you get the Mini-Hip instead of HR esp. since you already had the HR on the other side?  I just recently had my hip resurfaced by Dr. Snyder (11/8/11) and things are progressing great but I'm not sure why he would do that instead?  Did he decide this before surgery or during?  Did your hip have issues with bone quality?

Just trying to understand.

Pete

[Dannywayoflife]

How's things going prof?
Dqnny

[professah13]

Here is my followup to my mini-hip procedure with Dr Snyder 15 days ago.  I am feeling great, no longer using crutches and soon will stop using a cane.  Today I swam a quick mile without stopping, it was nice to get the endorphins flowing again.

I took Dr Snyder's advice and went with the mini-hip as he convinced me the benefits outweighed the drawbacks. Yes it preserves less bone but no muscles get cut by implanting it via the anterior.  The ceramic head means I don't have to think about the metal on metal ions debate. I find myself recovering even faster than when I had the BHR nearly 4 years ago.  My bone density is great, I damaged my hips through triathlon training in my youth.

It is human nature to argue that the procedure and hardware one has chosen is the best available, no one wants to accept they might have made the wrong choice.  I understand the next closest prominent hip surgeon, Dr Su has a longer and better record but I would have had to wait an additional 6 months to have him do it, no thanks. I feel great and have no regrets. 

[Dannywayoflife]

Glad your happy with it so far mate.

[PistolPete]

Prof,

I too am a patient of Dr. Snyder and I had a great experience with him.  I have my 6 week follow up with him on Friday.  That's great you're recovering so quickly.  The mini-hip seems to be a great option and I def. like the idea of metal on ceramic.  Some people don't understand the true strength of ceramic.  They use ceramic on high end sports cars for their brake rotors.  That stuff is super strong and durable.

[Dannywayoflife]

Pete it is super strong however it can and has shattered

[hernanu]

Glad you're going strong, Professah - another Snyder guy here. My brother in law also had a mini hip and feels good. Good to see that option works well.

I'm happy with my HR's, but more power to you that everything is going well.

[professah13]

I realize there is the slight possibility of the ceramic head shattering in the event of a catastrophic car accident or plane crash, I can live with those odds.  Ironically I began my college studies in ceramic engineering at Alfred University in upstate New York, the #1 school in the world for ceramic engineering.  That career path did not work out for me but here I am counting on a piece of ceramic for my mobility, things have come full circle.

As a goal of my recovery I'm planning to fly to Nepal in September of 2013 then fly up to Lukla, the most dangerous airport in the world with 6 crashes in the last 4 years.  From there I plan to trek up to Mt. Everest basecamp and back within about a 2 week period. Namaste.   

[Dannywayoflife]

Are both your bearing surfaces ceramic?

[professah13]

The head is ceramic but the cup is titanium I believe.

[Dannywayoflife]

Surely the cup side can't be titanium I don't think it has the smoothness required. I know the cup could be titanium but they normally then place a liner in it.

[hernanu]

I think you are right, Danny, here is the product literature from Corin:

http://www.coringroup.com/medical_professionals/products/hips/minihip/implant/

There seems to be a liner, but the cup itself is titanium as the other metallic parts seem to be.

[Aerial]

I realize there is the slight possibility of the ceramic head shattering in the event of a catastrophic car accident or plane crash, I can live with those odds.  Ironically I began my college studies in ceramic engineering at Alfred University in upstate New York, the #1 school in the world for ceramic engineering.  That career path did not work out for me but here I am counting on a piece of ceramic for my mobility, things have come full circle.

As a goal of my recovery I'm planning to fly to Nepal in September of 2013 then fly up to Lukla, the most dangerous airport in the world with 6 crashes in the last 4 years.  From there I plan to trek up to Mt. Everest basecamp and back within about a 2 week period. Namaste.   

Now that sounds like a great recovery goal!  Are you a yogi?......Namaste  :)

[Dannywayoflife]

thanks hern, it looks like a modular cup system so it could have a metal plastic or ceramic liner i think.
However small the risk of fracutre its still there. I believe the new delta ceramics have more shatter resistence but untill its full proof then id prefer to stick with the tried and tested materials. Dont forget that vitallium has a much longer track record than you think as an articulating bearing surface going back about 50 years.