36yr female in need of bilateral hip resurfacing-deltamotion or BHR (by DrBose?)

[Cruzer1021]

Hi, my name is Suzanne and I live in Canada. I was diagnosed with severe osteoarthritis in both hips at age 30. I declined significantly shortly after having my 3rd child last year. I'm 36 years old and used to be an extremely active athlete. After MRI and xrays - the thought is I had hip dysplasia as a young person but my muscles compensated while I was playing all my sports (and tearing my hips apart in the meantime).


We tried stem cell therapy in the States last fall. There were initially some good improvements but ultimately it was not able to repair my hips like we were hoping. I am seriously considering heading to India to have Dr. Bose do a bilateral BHR or put in the deltamotion. It would be so helpful if there are any young females that could respond to this with their experiences with the BHR or if any have had the deltamotion with Dr. Bose. I would love, love to hear how your story went and how it is progressing. I know the deltamotion is still relatively new so feeling unsure about if it can really live up to its potential. I know ultimately only time will tell, but concerned about the number of females that tend to have allergic reactions to the BHR. If anyone knows what the revision process for either is - that would be helpful too.


Please feel free to pass this on to anyone who might have relevant information. Thank you so much!

[catfriend]

Question: Why are you contemplating going to India for the surgery? Is it because you're female, or because of the wait in Canada? If it's because of the wait is there any chance of getting your health service to pay for surgery in the US? I know that a number of people from BC are sent down here (Seattle area) for treatments/surgeries - and paid for - because the waits can be too long there. If it's because you're female there are doctors in the US who do resurfacing on women. Depending on where you live this might be a more convenient option. If you live in Vancouver it's only a 2 - 2 1/2 drive to Seattle. If you're in Yellowknife, well, ok, no place is close.

[karlos.bell]

 :) Cruzer 1021. Hi. Try Dr Koen Desmet Belguim. He does Bilateral and on women small sizes as well. His is the conserve plus very similar to the BHR except in Europe you get 2mm increment sizes to fit. Which is better. Example I have a 48 mm left and a 50mm right.
Send your film to him if you want a price and a thrid opinion.
I traveled from New Zealand and back so Canada is a lot shorter trip. Your choice.
Some insurance companies now even in NZ if you cannot get the treatment in NZ they will pay for it overseas.
Pat has had her resurfacing done by him.......
Ok other than that good luck........

[Cruzer1021]

Thanks for your replies.


Catfriend - I am a female under 60 with a background of dysplasia so at highest risk of failure and wanted very experienced surgeon. Canada no longer offers the BHR. The only surgeon that had performed over 1000 was unwilling to do it on me for the above reasons. We are 12 hours from Vancouver so US is very doable - I just haven't heard from many females under 60 with dysplasia share who their surgeons were and if there were as renowned as Dr. Bose. I like that Dr. Bose has options once he gets into my hip during surgery to either go with BHR or else the deltamotion if my femoral head size is too small. Haven't heard of US doctors that have significant experience and a database showing their failure rates with my type of situation. If you have any names to pass on - would love to research them. US would be much more convenient, although potentially more expensive than India.

[Cruzer1021]

Karlos.Bell - thanks for the heads up on Dr. Koen Desmet. I will look into this more!

[Pat Walter]

Hi  I used Dr. De Smet and would use him again.  Dr. Bose is also fantastic.  Many athletes have gone to him in the past.  Vicky Marlow,  a hip resurfacing advocate which has sadly passed on, had both her hips done by Dr. Bose.  She was a very small woman and both hips were a huge success.

Dr. Pritchett is another alternative for women along with Dr. Gross.  Also Dr. Su in NY is still doing women. 

http://surfacehippy.info/category/hip-resurfacing-for-women-and-small-men/

The main reason most women or small men had problems was because they used surgeons that were not very experienced and did place the components properly. 

Here are a group of articles that explain why hip resurfacing is a good surgery for both men and women.

http://surfacehippy.info/category/hip-resurfacing-positive-results-and-information/

You can email most of the top surgeons above and send them your x-rays via email.  They will do a free consultation.

Good Luck.

Pat

[catfriend]

I am also a female well under 60 with dysplasia. As I mentioned, my surgery was done in Seattle with Dr. Pritchett. Dr. Pritchett is a very experienced resurfacing surgeon. He has done around 4000(I've forgotten how many). He uses a device called the Synovo Preserve. It is not metal on metal. He has never stopped doing resurfacings on women, and plans to keep on performing them for years to come. I plan on him doing my left hip when it fails. I heartily recommend him. You should check out his website: seattlejointsurgeon.com   There is a lot of info on that site. If you want to read my story it is on this site under Hip Resurfacing stories, or, for the most updated version you can check out my website at hipresurfacingwoman.com  You can also read about the device at synovopreserve.com  If Canada won't pay for it and you have to pay cash out of pocket there is a "total package" price that covers everything. I remember seeing something about it, but didn't pay attention to it or the amount as I have insurance. If you're 12 hours from YVR then you're probably about 14 - 14 1/2 hours from Seattle. It would probably be easier for follow-ups than India.

[blinky]

I am also an under 60 woman with dysplasia and I had both hips done by Dr Gross. Send him your X-rays and see what he says and check out his website.

[China Lady]

Hi Suzanne! I just send you a message.
.......where did you find that information, that more female then male persons have an allergic reaction? Who says that and what are the numbers. I fore sure know nobody.
I also very often read, take that device.....or never take this one......or.... Hey, we and you and I cannot judge if something is good for somebody, why it works for somebody and not for the other person. That is why we go to the best surgeons available and listen for their advice. He is the one who can judge!
If your Idea was to fly to India, I also can recommend Dr. Jason Brockwell in HongKong. He often told me, that he mostly "has no problem with women" (lol), because asian men are also not very tall.
I wish you a short decision making time, so that you can go on to the happy times on the "other side" soon.
Sabine

[Torontogirl]

Hi Suzanne-I am also in Canada, female and had bi-lateral resurfacing by Dr Koen Desmet 3 yrs ago. He used the Conserve plus, as someone else stated. I would absolutely recommend him-he is in Ghent, Belgium and there are direct flights by AC to Brussels from Toronto and Montreal. It would cost less than going to a US surgeon. I would not hesitate to use him again if there was a need. I had a good, uneventful recovery with no problems at all. In fact after 2 weeks I was able to do many things with the use of the elbow crutches that were given to me. I believe the cost is about 1/2 the cost of the US. He is extremely experienced and has done all sorts of difficult cases as well as fix some previous ones. Where are you located in Canada-that might make your decision easier. Please feel free to e-mail me if you have further questions.

[karlos.bell]

 :) That's cool Toronto.
Cruzer   
I also meet a patent of Dr De Smets  a woman who had hers put in 12 years prior to my visit and her BHR was as good as new. Her husband had to have a hip done from Polland and could not believe I was from New Zealand. He also has his research done well and has very little iron - cobalt after 2 years I have the document somewhere and so has Pat.  He has done his homework. Like you, you have had a problem with shallow hip sockets mine were massively deep so the muscles compensated in the groin and adductors. My hips did not wear out they wore in specific areas. I also had injury on top of that as I used to do a lot of wake boarding so they got hammered at 1 point and then there was no return. Basically the hip joint due to the deepness and the injury time was up. But the muscles compensated so even of you get it done India or where ever this may come out in the wash when you get new ones installed. I think you are quite aware of this as I read it in a post. If you are athletic enough you will care about what is going to happen when you get you new hip joint. Good luck with finding your surgeon as it is totally your choice. I was 41 when the issues started massive. Operated on when 49 I wish now I knew back then what the real issue was. Good luck cheers K 8)

[Cruzer1021]

Thank you so much to everyone who has posted on here for me. I feel so much better having heard your stories and experiences. I'm hoping to get my info and x-rays emailed to my top 4 doctors of choice to hear what each of their thoughts and approach would be and then really its likely to come down to cost. Having to get both hips done without insurance is going to be tricky for our young family but committed to doing this and getting my life back! If any of you would be willing to share costs for the route you took, that would be helpful.


Thanks again

[blinky]

Some of these docs are very transparent about cost. Dr Gross I know posts a discounted fee for the uninsured patient. I think Drs Pritchett and DeSmet do as well. Check out their websites for the latest figures.


I am an American with insurance so I didn't pay much in the end. I have to ask: is there any way a Canadian can get some degree of coverage if she goes abroad to get a procedure she can't get at home? In some countries with single payer health care, this is the case.

[karlos.bell]

 :D Hi Cruzer costs were return flights to Belgium  from New Zealand, airport taxi to from Brussels to Ghent (He uses a private Taxi service) so all you have to do is look for your name out of arrival I think about 100$.
Pay extra for your nights before the op at the Randolf depend s how many prior nights I had 2 I think (Jet lag) Cost may be look up online guess $400.
Op and then back to the Randolf for recovery.
I allowed max 5000$ extra's etc op was 45,000 plus that was around 50,000 Same it had to come out of my pocket. The op, taxi transfers, stay after wards in the hotel covered by operation costs all in NZ dollars. Very organized and lots of visits by Dr De Smet, physio.
Good luck sounds like your going to do it.
Cheers K
 

[livendive]

Just another vote of confidence for Dr Pritchett in Seattle.  He put BHRs in both my (male, age 47) hips last year and I'm very happy with the results.  As someone said previously, he has around 4,000 resurfacings under his belt, and his own line of prosthetic, the Synovo Preserve, which dramatically reduces the likelihood of an allergic reaction due to its titanium/ceramic construction.  That said, I believe most of the press about allergic reactions are related to one particular device, since taken off the market, that wore more quickly and thus resulted in higher metal debris, increasing systemic metal concentrations and thus the risk of an adverse reaction.

[jmorriss]

I know a small woman with hip dysplasia who went to Dr. Bose back on 2012 for hip resurfacing and Dr. Bose ended up giving her the Delta Motion total hip because of an extremely small femur.  Her results have been fantastic.  For quite some time now, she's been back to teaching yoga and teaching and competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  The Delta Motion hip appears to be very stable.

[LMS]

Just another vote of confidence for Dr Pritchett in Seattle.  He put BHRs in both my (male, age 47) hips last year and I'm very happy with the results.  As someone said previously, he has around 4,000 resurfacings under his belt, and his own line of prosthetic, the Synovo Preserve, which dramatically reduces the likelihood of an allergic reaction due to its titanium/ceramic construction.  That said, I believe most of the press about allergic reactions are related to one particular device, since taken off the market, that wore more quickly and thus resulted in higher metal debris, increasing systemic metal concentrations and thus the risk of an adverse reaction.

That's impressive!