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[cindy26]

Hey I am new here.  My name is Cindy.  I live in northeast tn.  I have had slipped capital fermoral epiphysis in the past.  Well my issue is now about 3 months ago my right hip started hurting.  I have 4 sugeries 2 on each with hardware placement and hardware removal.  I saw my ortho last wed and he said I need hip resurfacing done.  Well this is the first time I have heard of it.  So I went on the internet to get details and now I am totally scared.  He went ahead and scheduled an injection to see if we get any results first and I go back to him on the 30th and if the inj didn't work then surgery.  My problem is that my ortho don't do it.  I don't know any drs around here that does it.  He only knows of drs 2.5-6 hrs away from my house.  I don't know how I feel about traveling that far back home after surgery.  Does anyone know any drs that do this around my area?  I just need some input from people.  I don't know anything about the surgery other that what the internet says.  I am scared I have a toddler and my husbands job travels.  What kind of down time am I looking at?  How long has the recover been?  How long were you told the hardware would last?  I am only 26 and this scares me.  I have been operated on 8 times in the last 15 yrs.  I am also worried because I have back issues on top of all of this.  I have chronic pain because of degenerative disc disease, facet arthritis, and mutiple disc bulges, and herniations.  I just need some input from others that have experienced this please.

[graza]

Hi Cindy,
I'm Graza from the UK. Please don't be scared about hip resurfacing, it really isn't that bad. I had my right hip resurfaced with a BMHR by Dr. McMinn in Birmingham www.mcminncentre.com check it out, it'll put your mind at ease. It's full of interesting facts about not only the operation but the rehab too! I'm 4-5 weeks post op now and today walked for a couple of hours with 1 stick, soon to be replaced with a cane then i'm free of them all but most important free of the agonizing pain i carried for the last 15 years. My back feels great now too as there's very little stress on it.
Keep me posted and if you have any questions then please fire away.
Later.
Graza

[cindy26]

Thanks graza,

I guess the worst part of my fears is that I have 1.5 yr old son.  I don't know what I am going to do about taking care of him.  How long does it usually take before you can go back to work?  I am a nurse, currently working in a pain clinic.  I usually work 40 hrs a week.  I have short term disability and Family medical leave.  I am just concerned about my job.  I have already had 2 surgeries this year on my back and have missed 4 months of work with those.  My back finally got to feeling a little better and then my hip starts up.  I don't know why all of a sudden but it did.  It went from just a little bit of hurting to extreme pain in the last 3 months.  It progressed so quickly.  I had an injection yesterday but I have such a deformed hip due to my history that it was very hard to get the needle in.  It took 1 hr and 3 drs to do it.  Today it is hurting pretty bad. 

[Pat Walter]

Hi Cindy

I think everyone is nervous about getting a hip replacement. You are very young and lucky that your doctor knew about hip resurfacing.

There have been many younger people requiring hip replacement.  Fortunately, most learned about hip resurfacing.

You can see on my age chart that even a few of the younger people have written to be on the chart
http://www.surfacehippy.info/agesurvey.php

If you take time to scan the HIp Stories you will find teenager stories as well as people in their twentlies.
http://www.surfacehippy.info/hipstories.php

Many people have both hip problems and back problems.  The bad hips cause more wear and tear on the back.  Sometimes it is difficult to tell which is the problem.

That is interesting about how long it took to get your shot yesterday.  Mine only took a few minutes.

Since you have such a deformed hip I would suggest that you consider some of the really experienced hip resurfacing surgeons to do your surgery.  Hip resurfacing is a much more difficult surgery than a THR. There is a steep learning curve. Many of the less experineced surgeons will prefer to do a THR than a hip resurfacing since it is very difficult.  So you need a doctor with a lot of skill and experienced.

Many of us traveled long distances to get our hip resurfacings.  Some traveled because they wanted really experenced surgeons while others did not have insurance.  I didn't have insurance, but wanted a really experienced surgeon since I was a 61 year old female.  I ended up going to Belgium to Dr. De Smet who has done over 3000 hip resurfacings. 

You are fairly close to quite a few experienced surgeons.  Take a look at my list  http://www.surfacehippy.info/listofdoctors.php  You can see doctors like Dr. Su, Dr. Clarke in NY, Dr. Mont in MD and since you will probably have to travel anyways, there is Dr. Gross in SC.  There are others if you look at the list.

Most peopel using these doctors have to travel to have use them.  Most of them will give you free consultations if you send them emails and attach your x-rays in a digital format as .jpg   If your insurance won't cover the experineced surgeons in the US, you can travel like many of us did.  You can do Dr. Bose in India for about $10,000 and Dr. De Smet in Belgium for about $18,000   Many insurance companies are now covering the overseas doctors.

Your active life and job depends on having a good outcome from your surgery.  You should consider using the most experineced surgeon you can find that you like.  You are very young and certainly don't want to be facing a problem from your hip resufacing.

Please let me know if I can help further.

Good Luck.

Pat

[cindy26]

Thanks Pat,

My ortho suggested south carolina first but then he mentioned university of tennessee medical center ortho dr or vanderbilt.  I don't know what he will come up with.  I go back to see him on the 30th and we will go from there.  He is looking into finding someone good to help me.  He also told me to look into it.  I am willing to travel.  Dr Gross in SC is only 3.5 hrs from me and mostly interstate.  I live right off of Interstate 26.  I am going to give my injection some time to work while I am waiting to see him again.  I had my hip injected on Friday.  I guess I'll just hang in there and see how it goes. 

I am supposed to work tomorrow and Monday's are our busiest days at work.  I really dread it.  I really am struggling to walk and I am a nurse thats all I do is walk.  I can sit ok and stand still ok but the minute I start walking it bothers me and sleeping at night is horrible.  I am trying to be strong and sometimes it is so hard.   .  When I walk up stairs it is stepping with my good leg and dragging the other one behind me.   

Thank you all for all of the input.  It puts my mind at more ease.