Need advice...

[mountaingoat]

I would send your x-rays to Dr. Gross and Dr. Su. Both have worked with a lot of high level athletes and are known to be experienced with younger, active patients. My experience has been that neither of them will suggest you wait until you can't stand it anymore - they are both progressive in their approach to resurfacing and believe that athletic people suffering from arthritis - even if it is not at the end stage - are typically good candidates for resurfacing.

I am 36 and very active. I don't do triathlons but I have done trail marathons and do a ton of mountain sports such as mtn biking, telemark skiing and backpacking. I also swim, do yoga and cycle. I have also had 2 hip scopes and countless injections and physical therapy. My arthroscopic surgeries lasted a little less than 2 years and now I am dealing with pain and limitations again. I don't have end stage bone on bone arthritis but I was told by both Dr. Su and Dr. Gross that I was an excellent candidate for resurfacing. My right hip has definite joint space narrowing on a x-ray but it certainly isn't the worst they have seen. My left only shows a little deterioration on x-ray but I have groin pain and other OA symptoms in that hip. I still get some relief from injections but I am tired of the band-aid approach to dealing with this situation. Like you, my issue is that the cartilage in my hips is extremely damaged - it is nearly all delaminated. This is distinct from being bone on bone. Delamination means that it is hanging like a wave or a carpet off the socket but that there is still cartilage left.  Sometimes it is possible to repair this delamination through micro-fracture like we both had but usually it doesn't last more than a few years. Dr. Gross told me that anyone who has had micro-fracture and is in pain again after their arthroscopic surgery is generally a candidate for resurfacing in his opinion.

I would definitely get more opinions - it sounds like you might be a better candidate than you think.

AMy

[triathlete98]

that might be the best news I've ever heard?  where is this Dr.?  how to I get a hold of their office?

[curt]

http://www.grossortho.com/index.htm.  Good luck, Curt

[Pat Walter]

Hi
Here is my doctor's list where you can find contact info for all the top experienced surgeons  http://www.surfacehippy.info/listofdoctors.php

Send an email with a copy of your x-rays attached in a digital format as a .jpg   Dr. Gross will call you in a few weeks.  Dr. Gross is in SC and Dr. Su in NY   Both are several of the most experienced surgeons in the US.

Pat

[obxpelican]

Be careful with too many steroid injections it can cause your bone density to go south, possibly to the point that you will have to go with a THR.


Chuck

[triathlete98]

thanks everyone I'l have to get xrays of my hip..that should be tough but I am not sure if that'll show enough disease without knowing the entire picture...will he want to hear about the three scopes etc?

[einreb]

thanks everyone I'l have to get xrays of my hip..that should be tough but I am not sure if that'll show enough disease without knowing the entire picture...will he want to hear about the three scopes etc?

Any doctor can write a script for x-rays, doesn't have to be an ortho.

If your sending the info to Dr. Gross, you should follow these instructions...

http://grossortho.com/NewHipForm.html

[triathlete98]

already started the process...emailed the staff and filled out the new patient hip form.  Need to get xray's but don't see my Pain dr til end of month maybe i can call to see if he can write a script for earlier.  So excited being in pain sucks..lol.

[einreb]

already started the process...emailed the staff and filled out the new patient hip form.  Need to get xray's but don't see my Pain dr til end of month maybe i can call to see if he can write a script for earlier.  So excited being in pain sucks..lol.

Good luck.  The weight that gets lifted when the bone pain is gone is phenomenal.  You're in Chicago?  I'm in the western burbs and now back on the bike pain free.  Feel free to ask questions if you have them.

[triathlete98]

I am originally from Glen Ellyn but moved about by morris cause of the biking roads available to me :) who did you proceedure?

[hipnhop]

I know your pain. If you can't run past 5 miles without extreme hip pain then I would say it's time to push the docs into figuring out why.  They will keep bouncing you around like a tennis ball. You got to find the right doctor who knows what to do.  I am sure you can get some good recommendations from this site. I just hope you got the right insurance.

I pushed through a half IM with severe hip pain and knew that the time was coming. Like an idiot, I pushed out three Olympics before Kona and payed for it. Training became a joke because the pain limited performance. I was just hoping to maintain. I went in for a Cortisone shot to help me make it through Kona and had a bad reaction. DID YOU HEAR ME - A REALLY BAD REACTION TO CORTISONE!!!  That was it. Couldn't walk the day after the shot. Nothing left to do but get a replacement.


I had my first Hip resurfaced a few months ago and i'm waiting for the second. I did a half iron distance Aqua Velo 3 months after surgery with no pain. However, as I kept training the bad hip got worse, worse and worse. I am almost at the point whwere i need to walk with a cane.

I hate to say it but it doesn't get better. You got to get it fixed so you can bang out some more IMs. Get the right team together before you are forced in a reactionary mode.  I wish I had more time because I would have tried to change insurance providers. Kaiser is a joke.  Good luck
Hip

[einreb]

I am originally from Glen Ellyn but moved about by morris cause of the biking roads available to me :) who did you proceedure?

I'm in Western Springs/LaGrange area.  I spoke with a few Chicago area doctors, Dr's, Rogerson in WI, and Bose in India.  I went with Dr Gross.

I posted some before and after stories here...

http://surfacehippy.info/hiptalk/index.php?topic=2242.0

-Bernie

[triathlete98]

Wow..amazing hipnhop sorry for the experience.  Well I emialed dr. Gross' office.  I got a response that made me nervous and I have some questions maybe some of y'all can help?  I am afraid when my xray is taken there won't be much evidence of bone on bone.  However, since the hip is dynamic is it possible that when i am not weight bearing or moving there is space, but when i walk/run that due to my lack of quality cartiledge, I am bone on bone?  Will Dr. Gross take into account this? Or is it an all or none thing?

[mountaingoat]

Triathlete,
Do not worry too much about the X-ray. You should absolutely send Dr. Gross your arthroscopic surgery operative reports and if you have the CD Rom of the images taken during the scope that is very helpful to him as well - especially for people like us who may not show much joint space narrowing on a plain film X-ray. He looked at my operative reports from my scope two years ago and could determine that I had lost a lot of cartilage and was a candidate for resurfacing. It is definitely not an "all or nothing" evaluation. He will take into consideration your age, your activity level, the state of your cartilage, whether you have tried arthroscopic surgery and other more conservative treatments, etc.

I know that his website says they will only look at X-rays and that is what his office staff will say but you should make sure to include your operative reports and scope pictures in the package you send to his office. Then email Nancy and tell her that you are including them so she can make sure he reviews everything when evaluating you. If you do not have a a copy of your operative report and/or images you can request one from your scope surgeon's office. They are yours.

Good luck.

[triathlete98]

AWESOME! thanks Goat!  I will do that!  So excited to have a option.  My surgeon who did my last scoped looked at me and shrugged when I told him that I still have a lot of pain.

[curt]

AWESOME! thanks Goat!  I will do that!  So excited to have a option.  My surgeon who did my last scoped looked at me and shrugged when I told him that I still have a lot of pain.

I think I would have kicked him right in the jimmies and asked him how that felt!?  Hope Dr. Gross or someone can help you out.  Curt

[bryanb]

I went through the scope, microfracture baloney.  I am 38 and they are reluctant to drop the metal into someone our age when there is another possible option.  I had a sliver of cartliage left when they performed the surgery, which allowed me to regain enough ROM to get back on the bike for about eight months and then I was right back to being a physical junk show.  Follow the others advice and talk to a dr who specializes in BHR. 

I am eight weeks post op and making positive strides daily.  This surgery is no joke though and should only be undertaken when you have become severely limited in your activities in my opinion.  I am an athlete and it is a hard pill to swallow when you have reduce or give up an activity you love.  it is even tougher to know that you can not be the fastest or the strongest no matter how hard you train because the body is limited.  Good luck with your endeavors and your search for a solution.

[triathlete98]

AWESOME! thanks Goat!  I will do that!  So excited to have a option.  My surgeon who did my last scoped looked at me and shrugged when I told him that I still have a lot of pain.

I think I would have kicked him right in the jimmies and asked him how that felt!?  Hope Dr. Gross or someone can help you out.  Curt

Oh believe me, it crossed my mind!

[Dannywayoflife]

I think I would have kicked him right in the jimmies and asked him how that felt!?  Hope Dr. Gross or someone can help you out.  Curt
[/quote]

Oh believe me, it crossed my mind!
[/quote]

Ha this has crossed my mind I think with probably 95% of the medical people I have come accross on my journey! And sometimes I've had to stop myself doing it!
Tri I'm sure if you sperm with either Dr Su or Dr Gross tgey will give you correct answers!

[triathlete98]

Yeah i am hoping that Dr. Gross can help me out.