Pat
Have you ever heard anything about Dr. Riyaz Jinnah frpm Winston-Salem, NC ?  He came pretty highly recommened and is in my Blue Cross network. I had a consultation and he confirmed an earlier diagnosis.
   The board has answered most of my questions and concerns. I'm looking to getting it done right after the 2012 cycling season. The only time it doesn't hurt is when I'm on the bike.
    What is considered to be the best device to install. There are a few different ones.
Thanks to everyone for your help and sharing expeiences.

Hi

I met Dr. Jinnah at several hip resurfacing courses.  I never got time to interview him.  I have stories posted here  http://www.surfacehippy.info/hipstories.php#Dr._Jinnah_Hip_  I think there are some Dr. Jinnah patients that post on here, too.

The BHR is the most used device worldwide and has the best record.  The Wright C+ is also good and Dr. Gross uses the Biomet.  I would choose the most experienced surgeon and let them decide what is best for you.  That is why you want a very experienced surgeon.  He has placed hundreds and hundreds of resurfacings and know what will work best for you.  Same advice for surgical approaches, etc.  Choose the surgeon and let them decide what will work best for you.  Like flying on a jet plane.  Once you are on the plane, you are in the hands of the pilot. 

Pat

I am new to the hippy site, but am grateful that it exists. I recently found out that I need bilateral HR surgery and have been going through the process of deciding who and where. My son is an OT and he suggested Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, MD, a Dr. Henry Boucher. Does anyone out there have any experience with this surgeon? Or any advice for a good surgeon in the Baltimore area.

Dr. Mont is the most experienced hip resurfacing surgeon in Baltimore.  There are a number of Mont patients on HIP Talk.

Pat

@Dinabm

I would go with Dr Su if it were me.  I flew from Indiana and from the time I have been out of OR I have  been in zero pain.   He is one, if not the best surgeon. 

I did 4 miles today on eliptical and have been able to swim, walk pain free etc.....m I credit all to Dr Su and his skills.   

Good luck to you.

I am sure most of us would prefer using the most experienced person available in most aspects of our life. I had planned to use my cousin for a THR because of him being family and his hundreds of surgeries. Due to another family illness and his being 1000 miles away, I had to change plans. I selected a local practice where both my wife and I had had good experience with the staff and doctors. One of the hip surgeons is very well known on this forum.
I had planned on having the anterior THR procedure done. Because of this I was placed with another surgeon in the practice. After talking with him I decided on the HR. He has certainly not done the numbers the "old pro" has done, but he is the type of doctor I have been fortunate to know most of my life. He always explained, never hurried, and was totally confident in which procedure I needed and that he could do the job.
I never had a doubt about my doctor and was more relaxed limping into the hospital the morning of the surgery than I had been in months. My advice is to "visit" with the staff and the doctor and don't worry so much about how many notches the surgeon has on his belt. The "best" mentioned on this forum had a first.   

I am a 66 year old very active senior who plays basketball 3 to 4 times a week. I have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my left hip and want to know if I would be a candidate for hip resurfacing. Does medicare pay for it. My doctor only does hip replacement and seem to feel negative about hip resurfacing. I am leaning toward hip resurfacing and looking into orthokine therapy. Please send me your opinion. Thank You       

Dr Su did my hip resurfacing on March 23 of this year.  I am a 45 year old triathlete , aerobics/spin instructor, skier and mother of two active young boys.   I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful I feel.  NO PAIN.  I got on the bike yesterday without resistance and it felt great but a bit boring.  I have been walking up to three miles a day.  I am from Maine so I had to travel a bit to see Dr Su.  The hospital staff made my stay so comfortable and I can't say enough about Dr. Su.  He has a great bedside manner and my recovery has been better than I thought!  I have been able to work out my upper body from a seated position successfully as well as doing some abs.  I can't wait for next ski season!  Needless to say I am a big Dr Su fan. 

drpain,

most surgeons will be very negative about a procedure when they don't have a good understanding or grasp of that procedure.  A very large percentage of orthopedic surgeons have gotten stale and stuck into doing the same procedures, and using the same devices, over and over again; without progressing and becoming familiar with newer technology.  That's why it's so important for you to do your own research on what's available to you.  I never trust solely on some doctors opinions.  The technology for hip resurfacing is very, very good.  Especially when you use the right device, like a Birmingham system, and find a very experienced surgeon.  The chance of your outcomes being successful, and the likleyhood of you returning to basketball, will be very, very high. 

I have been refused by my medicare insurance (advantage) HMO for Hip resurfacing because of my age 66. What I found out that my HMO does not have a doctor that does resurfacing. Next month I am switching over to  new HMO with to Doctors that perform hip resurfacing. In January I will switch to Medicare Supplementary so I can go o any doctor. Does anyone know of an experienced Doctor in San Diego California that does hip resurfacing.  Thanks

Quote from: drpain on May 11, 2012, 12:43:35 AM
I have been refused by my medicare insurance (advantage) HMO for Hip resurfacing because of my age 66. What I found out that my HMO does not have a doctor that does resurfacing. Next month I am switching over to  new HMO with to Doctors that perform hip resurfacing. In January I will switch to Medicare Supplementary so I can go o any doctor. Does anyone know of an experienced Doctor in San Diego California that does hip resurfacing.  Thanks

Check out Dr. Scott Ball. I know Wayne-O was really happy with him.
http://ortho.ucsd.edu/faculty/Clinical%20Profiles/BallClinicalProfile.shtml

Hi,

I just read your post for choosing the right doctor. When I asked my doctor how many BHR you do per year he said 1 or 2 per week, so that means around 80 BHR per year. Now that makes me wonder if he should do mine or not. He is a very experienced dr not young though, maybe 60 years old. Anyway, for now I'm trying to get my records from him and hopefully get a third opinion from anothr dr. My other side is hurting today as I'm sitting in the chair typing.

Thanks!

Momy,
         80 per year doesnt seem very many to me. How many has he done so far? Where and when was he trained and by who? What are his success rates? How many failures has he had and what were they? Personally i wouldnt go to a surgeon who has done less than 1000 and with a good success rates. Most of the top surgeons say that the learning curve levels out around 1000. Also id ask other patients about there surgeons. Use the forum and also Vicky Marlows Yahoo group is a useful site to ask about surgeons.
Hope this helps and best of luck.
Danny

I'd second Danny's advice. This procedure, as good as it is in experienced and/or talented hands, requires practice and skill. Skill is a hard thing to evaluate for us at the non-professional end, so practice is the one thing we can ask about.

I was operated by my surgeon twice. At my first surgery, he had done over 800 procedures, by the time of my second he had gotten to about 950 (three months later).  On the day he did my first, he did two or three others. So on the week, he usually has above 10.

The hospital has an area dedicated to recovering hip surgeries (there may be knees also), so the staff there is very experienced with both the surgery and recuperation. I felt that there was real commitment, not just from the surgeon, but his whole staff. That has continued with support afterwards.

I think for this procedure you deserve that level of commitment. There are many talented surgeons out there, but talent is not enough. You need experience in the procedure and an ongoing maintenance of excellence that only repetition can give you. A study that I read noted that the percentage of errors went down drastically at above 200 procedures; I would add that you also need to demand frequency of performance to be served the way you need.

I have great confidence in this procedure (had it done twice and feel great), but only by those who are committed to it.

Hi dinabm,

I just read your post and you live in Albany, NY also. I would really like to talk to you since my ortho dr is the same as yours. I would give you my email address

Thanks!

Hi all,

I replied to dinabm but no response so far. She lives in the same area as I do but maybe she doesn't post at this site anymore. I called Dr. Su office and my ins does not cover the consultation and the procedure itself. I have to pay $450 just for one consultation and the surgery will cost $18,000. With my son going to college next year there is no way I can pay for that. My primary dr. said that she would send me to Boston for another opinion before I decide to do anything. Does anybody knows any experienced dr that performs BHR in Boston?

Thank You!

There are other doctors in the New York area that have been successful. Woodstock in particular had very good luck with his, if you're looking in that area.

I used Dr. Su and it is out of network for me too, so there are bills that you may be able to avoid by using another local doctor.  I had a friend that said I just had to use Dr. Su so I did. I am not sorry that I did by any means but with many of the other local NYC doctors with great experience I would not have hesitated to have tried someone that many other "surface hippies" have recommended and had good luck with. Hope you are able to benefit from resurfacing ASAP.
Joe

If you are in San Diego (not sure if it's the OP or fork off of the original message), I second the recommendation for Dr. Scott Ball. I traveled from Phx to have my surgeries done by him. Feel free to PM me if you'd like. I think Pat also has some hip stories listed by surgeon elsewhere on the site.
Good luck,
Dirk

Yes it is hard dealing with the financial considerations.  However, there are options as well.  Many times providers will allow you to make payments over a long length of time, some being interest free for a while.  I had this consideration.  I am a Dr. Su patient.  Luckily the hospital and anesthesia costs were covered very well.  I looked at the other fees and did a payment over a period of time. Had the hospital and other fees not been covered the cost would have been over the top.  I had  also looked into for the first time surgery--either in England with Dr. McMinn or considered Dr. De Smet.  I ended up staying with Dr. Su.  I was amazed at how much was covered overseas and with such good surgeons as these.  I just knew in the end I needed someone with alot of experience with females as well as hip resurfacing.