Is my age of 62 too old to have a resurface with safety?

[hughstjust]

I am aged 62 and live in the UK.

I recently had an X Ray which indicated that I had marked degenerative osteoarthropathy in both hips - for some few years now they have been giving intermittent pain and discomfort.

A local orthopaedic surgeon has sdavised me to have a bone scan (result awaited) ahead of resurfacing my right hip September using a BHR device.

I had prostate cancer in 2003/04 and this was succesfully treated following a major operation.

Otherwise (!) I am reasonably fit and sail along the E coast of the UK.

Should I proceed with an operation and regain my full mobility?

[Pat Walter]

Hi

Welcome to Hip Talk.

You are not too old to have a hip resurfacing if your surgeon thinks you are a good candidate.  Men as old as 75 have had hip resurfacings if their bone density and other factors make them good candidates  http://www.surfacehippy.info/agesurvey.php  See my age chart of hippies.

I was 61 when I had my hip resurfacing with Dr. De Smet of Belgium in March 2006.  I am now 63.  Some older ladies have had their hips resurfaced too - one lady I am thinking of was 67.

So hip resurfacing is for the young at heart and those that are candidates for the procedure.  It does not necessarily depend on your age.

If you are an active person, you will want a hip resurfacing if possible. It is bone conserving in that they don't cut part of your femur bone off and pound the long stake of a THR hip prothesis into it.  You have your whole femur bone left so that if you require a revision later in life you have a complete femur bone for the revision to a THR.

You are lucky that your doctor knows about hip resurfacing and has suggested it.  In the US many doctors don't even know about hip resurfacing and many are against it because they dont' understand the process.

You are still young and have much of life ahead of you - get a hip resurfacing and be as active as you can be.  That is the purpose of hip resurfacing - to allow you to do any thing you want without worrying about dislocations.

Good Luck with your hip.  Please keep us informed about what your sugeon suggests.

Pat

[Liz]

Hi

I also live in the UK and had my resurface at UCLH with Mr Witt who is just wondeful. He specialises in very complex hip surgery and is very experienced at resurfacing. I am now 3 weeks post op and can't believe how much my pain reduced almost within a day of surgery. I would say if you have the chance go for it. I was working fulltime and commuting 4 hrs a day to get to work, so although I knew my life was restricted by my hip, I didn't let myself really be honest about what it was doing to my life. Now I know I was missing out on lots. I can now see what a pain free life might be like, even though I am still in the early days of recovery. Why live with pain that will only get worse, if you can have a resurface that will mean you won't have the restrictions on movement of a normal hip replacement? After the initial recovery period You could get back to a healthy normal life. Do make sure you have an experienced surgeon though. I know there are quite a few surgeons in the UK who are experienced in resurfacing, but it is always a good idea to check they have done a fair few!

I don't live in London, but even though my local hospital do resurfacing I did chose to go to Mr Witt who has more experience. It made life more difficult for appointments and visiting while I was in hospital, but I wouldn't change it. I had confidence in him and that is really important. See if you can speak to other people your surgeon has opperated on, see how they feel now.

Good luck!

Liz