Hello All- I finally had my appointment with Dr. Gross this morning.  Like all others have said, he is very scientific in his approach.  He explained things clearly and said I was a good candidate for hip resurfacing.  I do have some dysplasia but he calmed my nerves about that.  I feel confident he is a good choice based on comments from all of you.  Also, if you fellow hippys recall I live in Columbia, SC.  December can not come soon enough.  I already had medical clearance from my doctor and they did the bone scan today so I am ready to go. I do have to take iron supplements.  My hemoglobin is 14 which is normal but they want it higher.  Dr. Gross mentioned the possibility of running and playing tennis again.  That would be fantastic.  I felt very well educated going into my appointment thanks to this site  :)

Congratulations Aerial!!!!  That is great news.  Based on everything I have heard and read you have picked a great surgeon.  I am sure he is using one of the best devices (BHR?).  So everything in your control is done.

Now get in as good of shape as you can.  It will make recovery and rehabilitation that much easier.  My PT was commenting this morning how quickly I have progressed because I was in great shape.

Best wishes.

Dan

Great you have your surgery scheduled with Dr. Gross.  He and his assistant, Lee Webb, are several of the best in the US.  Dr. Gross uses the Biomet resurfacing device and normally does an uncemented femur component.  All acetabular components are uncemented.  Just wanted to let folks know what device Dr. Gross uses.

Good Luck and I look forward to reading your story after your surgery.  Stay positive and try to keep your upper body strong for using crutches.

Pat

Great news. You also benefit from being that close. december will be here before you know it.

Yes, I am still trying to stay active with yoga, road cycling (no more than 20 miles a ride and I'm ok), and elliptical use.  Funny thing is after my appointment with Dr. Gross I had scheduled another appointment with another doctor in my state who does resurfacing and replacement.  He strongly advised me AWAY from resurfacing due to being female, having mild dysplasia and the metal ion issue.  I wanted two opinions and I got two very different opinions.  Somehow My gut says trust the experience of Dr. Gross so I am going for it.

I suspect Gross has read more of the papers on the subject of small-framed people getting HR, mild dysplasia, metal ions,...has done more analysis of his own data (check out the recent Gross interview), has done more conversing with other excellent HR docs at the conferences,... He lives, eats, breathes HR and so I wouldn't even waste any energy listening to the standard orthos on the subject.  Where do these folks get their info, anyway?  I believe he shows some really good results for the uncemented biomet.  I think Lop is a strong Gross advocate like many on this forum. 

Good Job.  Soon to be unicycling again.  ;)       

That is what really impressed me, Dr. Gross clearly spoke from a data-based standpoint.  I have read many of his papers since accessing them is easy for me (as a university professor).  I don't understand everything but I was able to get the important points from many of them.  He made several comments about studies in progress and areas that still need researching.  He was clear that we don't need to "ditch" the technique (in light of ion issues, dysplasia, bone density or gender) just find out how to make it work for different people.  The other surgeon I saw seemed to want to "ditch" the technique.

Good news, Aerial!

If Dr. G says he can do it, then you can count on it. If there were any doubts or serious problems with you he would say so.

Quote from: Aerial on September 08, 2011, 02:38:33 PM

December can not come soon enough.

That's the attitude! Look forward to it. You'll do great!   :)

Steve (newdog)

I think you made a really good decision, and I'm sure you will not regret it.  The things you mention are the ones that really impressed me about Dr. Gross also, in addition to his track record, and my female friend who had had resurfacing about 7 years ago (she is "JL" on Dr. Gross's website).

I am currently taking iron pills also, to prepare for my second surgery in October. My hemoglobin is about the same as yours, but he likes to get it up high in case of blood loss, to avoid a transfusion.  The blood loss from my right hip resurfacing was 75 ml (very little) so there would have been no need for a transfusion.  However, I think one of the reasons Dr. Gross has such a great record is that he leaves absolutely nothing to chance.  So I follow his orders...

Grat news!!!  You will be so happy you got it fixed!

if you have any specific questions, or just want peace of mind, and want info on what to expect, etc - feel free to IM me, or the other Gross Hippies! 

You will be well taken care of, you will NOT be in pain, and you will will wake up without that horrible hip pain!  I'm about 6 months post op... and have started experimenting with jogging.. what a rush to run again without pain!!!!  you will be there soon too!!

I am glad you are closer to the end than the beginning. I think you found first hand that Dr. Gross is a very impressive when you first meet him. You are in good hands with him and his staff. Relax and enjoy the experience. When you are in your room after surgery you will be one of the Gross hippies and you will be welcomed with open arms to a select group. Good luck.

I dreamed of tennis last night.  I used to be a singles player and haven't played since my hip issues got bad.  Didn't think that would never be possible again but it might be!  Thanks all.

I had a dream of sprinting in soccer, chasing someone down on defense, before surgery, very similar, pretty bizzare what our heads do.