Leg length and turn out

[pfagundes]

I had an appointment yesterday with Dr. Vail at UCSF and really like him.  One problem is he has given me the choice between total hip and hip resurfacing.  Because of displasia and previous surgery when I was 13 years old for a slipped femoral epiphysis he feels my anatomy could be brought back to normal with THR. I have a pretty good turn out of the left foot and approx. 1/4in shorter leg.  He says he is confident that he could perform either surgery successfully but that the turn out and leg length would not be totally corrected.     Has anyone had this problem?
Paula

[Pat Walter]

Hi Paula

The one thing I have learned during the last 4 years of reading post about hip resurfacing is - if you have a difficult problem, make sure you get opinions from several of the really experienced surgeons before making a decision.

I assume you are in CA and have a number of really experinced surgeons in your area.  It would be well worth your time to talk to some of the really experienced surgeons that do difficult surgeries. 

You might also want to consider some of the expierienced surgeons in other states or in other countries.  Insurance companies are now covering more surgeries with Dr De Smet in Belgium and Dr. Bose in India.  They are among so of the very best in the whole world.  They will also give you free email consultations if you send them your x-rays as a .jpg in an email.  Look at my list and choose some of the top surgeons to talk with  http://www.surfacehippy.info/listofdoctors.php

It may save you a lot of grief and pain by having several really good opinions to think about.

Pat

[cindy26]

Hey Paula,

I have had slipped capital femoral epiphysis too on both hip.  Left when I was 11 and right when I was 13.  I had only one option though.  My ortho said he can't do the resurfacing because with the slipped capital femoral epiphysis it has left my neck and head deformed.  He told me that he would not recommend resurfacing because of this issue.  He told me they only way to correct my hip is with a THR.  My right leg is really turned out.  I can almost turn my feet totally backwards.  He said if he did the resurfacing it will dislocate and that would mean that I would have to have the THR instead.  I really didn't get alot of opinions because this totally makes since to me.  The resurfacing is just going to help with the arthritis pain and not going to correct the anatomy of the hip.  I really don't have a length issue because both of my hips went with the slipped capital femoral epiphysis.  If it is, it is un-noticible.  I am scared to go through all of this but I can't stand the pain anymore.

[bernsber]

I to had a slipped epiphysis combined with bilateral dysplasia. I also had short and mismatched necks. I was turned down by Drs. Desmet and Bose for a resurfacing. The reason is that they wanted to give me full ROM(range of motion) and the only way to accomplish that would be with a THR. I'm young(32) and was not happy with THR outcomes as far as longevity of implant and personal activity levels.

Fortunately Dr. Edwin Su in New York agreed to resurface both sides for me. I'm now past surgeries and in healing mode. I haven't seen a good xray yet that will show how even my lenght is, but I know he did his very best. I will PM you, and hopefully we can talk. Good luck with everything!

Ben
Dr. Su LBHR 9-11-08
RBHR 12-5-08