Dr Advises me against Hip Resurfacing

[curt]

       Boomer, good luck on the 30th.  Like you I am sure there are chances, though small, of complications either from metal, bad placement (hopefully not) or other surgical problems.  The one thing that was for sure, though, is that I could NOT go much longer without doing something...destroyed hips are UNBEARABLE!  My only choice was whether to proceed with a HR or a THR.
       My figuring was that the long term risks were about the same and the major difference was the hope that an HR might return a higher level of activity, but was harder to do.  The THR was easier, but would almost certainly require a revision in 15 yrs or so, with more bone loss and a larger prosthesis.  So I got the best surgeon I could find in my region to mitigate the "technical difficulty" of the procedure and plowed ahead.
       I am extremely pleased with the result right now, and hope that I feel the same 5, 10 and twenty years down the road.  Good luck with your decision Ripit.  Curt

[Boomer]

Thanks for the post Curt. The vast majority of Hippys receiving the Birmingham Hip from an experienced surgeon have returned to pain free active lives. I'm in the anxious pre surgery stage, so I keep focussing in stories like yours so November 30 doesn't find me heading to the airport with my passport. My wife is going to hide the car keys, and knows I can't get very far on foot!

Boomer

[curt]

     Until the prep nurses (both very nice and polite) got my bare butt ready, I was only excited to get it done.  Mostly embarassed and kept mumbling that before I was crippled I ran alot and was in much better shape and had a better butt and no back stomachs and... 
     The speed of my decline in the prior 6 months had made me certain that it was the RIGHT decision and I looked forward to what Dr. Gross KNEW he could do for me.  Replace your anxiety with the excitement that things are about to get MUCH, MUCH BETTER!!!  Keep smilin', Curt

[Boomer]

Thanks man. I got to keep reminding myself that the whole point of doing this is because it works! But you know, as you said, after suffering a stupendously rapid decline, it's hard to even remember how good it used to be, and therefor, hard to imagine how good its going to be.

Stay with me. Keep painting the picture. I'm starting to see it!

Boomer

[Anniee]

Boomer, you will be like most of us who have already had the surgery - happy it's over and wondering why you waited so long!  And listen to Curt! :)

[AlanN]

Boomer, you will be like most of us who have already had the surgery - happy it's over and wondering why you waited so long!  And listen to Curt! :)

Absolutely, well said.
You will not believe how it changes your life for the better, I still cannot believe how lucky I am to have discovered this site and the brilliant contributors on it.

If I hadn't, I would have been forced into THR.

Good luck on the 30th mate...all will be fine and you will look back and wonder why you were even remotely concerned trust me ;)

I'm at 9 months and am amazed daily at how good I feel compared to this time last year!

[Boomer]

Thanks for the good words Alan.

I have my two hour joint replacement class today at the hospital, so things are starting to gain momentum. I'm staying active, but it is becoming more and more painful to do so. It is a contant reminder of the need to move forward.

I tell myself a hundred times a day that "you're going to get better". The positive postings and support on this website are wonderful for building confidence as the big day approaches. I'm looking forward to getting rid of the hip pain and now the back pain that goes with it.

Thanks for your support. Every day someone steps up on this blog to give us future Hippys a beautiful picture of what awaits.

Boomer

[curt]

     Boomer, you are so friggin positive.  I may have to do a bilat just to keep you going!!  My Westhighland Terrier (positive dog that doesn't know it's small) dragged me along for a 14 min. mile today!  Couldn't have done a 14 day mile the week before my surgery. Get psyched my man1  Curt

[Boomer]

Curt,

My yellow lab (everyone in Colorado has to own one), who's 11 years old, and has had both kees rebuilt, has to wait for me when we go for walks. Vultures have started circling overhead, I'm so slow. I'm in Colorado, so I worry about coyotes trying to bring me down. I've got moss growing on my shoes.

I'm definitely psyched to get this flat fixed and start moving again.

Boomer

[Tin Soldier]

Boomer - I have to say, your posts are almost identical to mine before I went in, both times.  I know we had some thread creep here and not sure if Ripit cares, but for everyone who is gearing up for surgery, these posts will help you out.  We all have some anxiety towards surgery, and then throw in all the questioning about the future.  Will I ever be able to tie my shoes again?  Will I have the dreaded metallosis maligna (I still get the heebeegeebees from that stupid video), will my butt ever look good again?....  Well don't worry about all that stuff.  Rely on the numbers, you have a good surgeon, your ROM will come back, and you'll be pain free, and you can still come back here like I do and yak away at everyone about HR (according to me).  Pretty good, huh?

I look forward to posts about your recovery.   

[hipnhop]

Plus there are always butt implants

[Boomer]

Hip,

I kinda thought the Birmingham Hip was a butt implant. I'm not interested in anything else, thank you.

Boomer

[Luann]

Hi Ripit and Tin,

For what it's worth, I had not heard that Dr. Sparling had stopped doing HRs (I just talked to him about a month ago!), so I called his office at Rebound yesterday and talked with his assistant. They assured me he has NOT stopped doing HRs, and he had currently done about 500+ HR surgeries. I am extremely happy with mine, done by him June 2010. I feel I can do most anything I want or need to do at this point. Anyway, least someone live in the area of Oregon and Washington and want his HR opinion or services, I just wanted to set the record straight. Hope Ripit found a good HR Dr.   Thank you, Lu

[rbt2011]

Tin/ALan/Annie/Boomer

Thanks for the positive, and encouraging posts recently on here about how good life is after the surgery is done.  As someone that is also close to getting the surgery done myself, your comments are definitely very reassuring and do a lot to ease the mind. 

[Boomer]

Rbi

I attended the twonhour joint replacement class at Boulder Community Hospital last night. The class was led by nurses, an occupational therapist and a physical therapist. They gave almost an hour by hour, day to day schedulenof whatbto expect from the moment you arrive at the entrance. Honest about the challenges andnhard work needed to have the best recovery. But, and this is important, they were all smiles when they spoke about how much they love working with hip resurfacing patients because they see remarkable results. They glowed with enthusiasm about how good the devices are and how great the surgeon is.

Started the meeting with this introduction. "You are all here tonight because you have dreams unfulfilled. We're going to help you fulfill your dreams." Wow! That hits it right on the head doesn't it?

Boomer

[curt]

    3 weeks to go Boomer...sorry you have to wait soooooo long!   Glad the peeps are making you comfortable with the process.  It really is Christmas for older kids!  Curt