Dr. Pritchett and out-of-state patients - help please

[mountaingoat]

Hi All Pritchett hippies,
 I've been posting in the High Metal Ions thread and a few others recently after starting down this road of a potential metallosis diagnosis. I am very eager to try and get an opinion from Dr. Pritchett about my hips and possible early stage metallosis (I am 14 months post-op bilateral with slightly elevated cobalt levels of 9.6pbb). I know these levels are not yet alarming but taken together with the fact that I also have some concerning symptoms that are indicative of adverse wear I am trying to be very proactive. My hips were perfect until a few weeks before my 1 year.

I called Dr. Pritchett's office and am waiting to hear back from his assistant. Does anyone hear know if he even does remote consultations like some of the other surgeons? I know he has done many resurfacings - into the thousands - but I don't think he has the same international reputation as some of the other heavies like Gross, Su, DeSmet, etc. I don't mind paying a fee at this point but I am hoping I can speak with him by phone to get an initial opinion. I think I recall some Pritchett hippies from Anchorage so I am assuming y'all didn't just pop in and get an x-ray the first time around In any case, I am in Colorado so I could fly out for an appointment if necessary but I'd prefer to send him my x-rays, etc and see if he can even help me before I cough up the cash for that.

My second issue is going to be whether, assuming I do have metallosis, he can revise just my cup to a metal-on-poly liner even though I do not have a BHR as my original resurfacing. This may be the biggest obstacle but I am hoping and praying that he will find some way around it. He seems to be the surgeon with the most knowledge in the US about metallosis and women. I'm not, ironically, small boned and I never had hip dysplasia. Also, my cup angles are all good.

Any help from Pritchett hippies would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Amy
Dr. Gross, Bilateral, January 2012

[trgcfrg]

I'm a patient of Dr. Pritchett, though I'm local in the Seattle area. I am scheduled for surgery on April 1st, but I've found Dr. Pritchett to be very responsive over the course of the last year. I've called several times with questions, and he always has called me back the same day or next, as has his assistant Susan. How have you approached scheduling a consultation with him?

While I can't personally speak for his out-of-state protocol, I know he has many such patients as he has mentioned it to me in previous conversations (and I remember seeing some from this board).

Good luck!

[Tin Soldier]

About a month behind here, but I think maybe Mountaingoat, based on a few other posts, maybe you already got the consultation.  If not, or for others who are looking at Dr. Pritchett for surgery, he is very reponsive and so is his assistant, Susan.  My initial consultation was over the phone, he had my images and then called me, we discussed my hips, HR, and even a little FDA stuff.  It was 20 minutes and free.  After that, I would generally go through Susan.  Sometimes she'd simply suggest sending Dr. P an email.  I was really quite surprised at how accessible he was.  They are a good team and you should be able to get a lot of solid answers and guidance for free and in a timely manner. 

Good Luck.