March 18, 2014

I have intractable pain 26 ½ months later after my bilateral Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implants at all times, albeit minimally less than before my hip replacements.  My hip implants feel like they painfully slip out of place when I walk half a block, and they hurt when I sit and when I’m lying down.

BHR MOM is now contraindicated for women as of the beginning of 2012 by the National Joint Registry for England and Wales. –

Here’s my Medical History to catch you all up on my story:

HIP HISTORY

April 2009 – moderate bilat knee pain

August ‘09 – tore out both hips protective tissue linings (labral tears) between the top of your femur and the inside of your hip socket while walking the dog
December ’09 & February 2010 – Bilateral Hip surgeries (arthroscopies on each hip) to grind down the top of my femurs & to sew my labrums back together.   Pain exacerbated to becoming bedridden.

2011 – Dr. Sampson of California & Dr. Kelly of New York, (surgeons who reviewed my X Rays), emailed me their opinion my femurs were actually cutting through the labrums and protruding too far up in & against my hip sockets, thus explaining why my prior Bilateral Labral repair arthroscopies failed.  Several surgeons in my State disagreed and read my X rays and other tests as normal.

November 1st, 2011 – Arrived for scheduled revision arthroscopy (scope) for my Right Hip with Dr. Philippon of The Steadman Clinic of Vail, Colorado; (I also had scheduled for the subsequent revision scope of the Left Hip in February 2012).

Upon arrival, Dr. Philippon ruled both hips were now bone on bone and required THR and sent me home.

After a one year waiting list, flying across country twice to consult 1st with his Resident and then Dr. Philippon himself at his The Steadman Clinic of Vail, Colorado, they turned me down for my long anticipated bilateral arthroscopy revisions after concluding I had end stage bilateral bone on bone osteoarthritis in a blind spot on his films – just like all my other consulting surgeons’ films’ blind spots.

November 11.15.2011 (approx)– Ortho Surgeon Dr. Schmitt said that both hips were previously misdiagnosed back in 2009 and that I really had undiagnosed end stage bone on bone osteoarthritis all that time.

December 2011 – Bilateral MOM Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Implants with Dr. Schmitt of Commerce, MI.

He told me the top of both my femurs sheared off was only visible during my December 2011 surgery for bilateral hip implants, (the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing or BHR type).  I was told that the bone on bone location in both hips was very rare & was in the X Ray films’ blind spots, thus explaining my previous two years in a hospital bed in my living room.

March 2014 – per my request, referred by local Ortho Surgeon for Immunologist Testing:  Nickel Sensitivity, Cobalt, Chromium, and all the BHR MOM BILAT HIP IMPLANTS’ components.

Patch Test positive for Chromium
M – LTT (lymphocyte transformation test) Re: ‘Metal Allergy’results pending for bloodwork panel –

I wish you all a healthful journey and a hipper tomorrow.

March 28, 2014
I have intractable pain 26 ½ months later after my bilateral Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implants at all times, albeit minimally less than before my hip replacements.  My hip implants feel like they painfully slip out of place when I walk half a block, and they hurt when I sit and when I’m lying down.

BHR MOM is now contraindicated for women as of the beginning of 2012 by the National Joint Registry for England and Wales. –

Here’s my Medical History to catch you all up on my story:

HIP HISTORY

April 2009 – moderate bilat knee pain

August ‘09 – tore out both hips protective tissue linings (labral tears) between the top of your femur and the inside of your hip socket while walking the dog
December ’09 & February 2010 – Bilateral Hip surgeries (arthroscopies on each hip) to grind down the top of my femurs & to sew my labrums back together.   Pain exacerbated to becoming bedridden.

2011 – Dr. Sampson of California & Dr. Kelly of New York, (surgeons who reviewed my X Rays), emailed me their opinion my femurs were actually cutting through the labrums and protruding too far up in & against my hip sockets, thus explaining why my prior Bilateral Labral repair arthroscopies failed.  Several surgeons in my State disagreed and read my X rays and other tests as normal.

November 1st, 2011 – Arrived for scheduled revision arthroscopy (scope) for my Right Hip with Dr. Philippon of The Steadman Clinic of Vail, Colorado; (I also had scheduled for the subsequent revision scope of the Left Hip in February 2012).

Upon arrival, Dr. Philippon ruled both hips were now bone on bone and required THR and sent me home.

After a one year waiting list, flying across country twice to consult 1st with his Resident and then Dr. Philippon himself at his The Steadman Clinic of Vail, Colorado, they turned me down for my long anticipated bilateral arthroscopy revisions after concluding I had end stage bilateral bone on bone osteoarthritis in a blind spot on his films – just like all my other consulting surgeons’ films’ blind spots.

November 11.15.2011 (approx)– Ortho Surgeon Dr. Schmitt said that both hips were previously misdiagnosed back in 2009 and that I really had undiagnosed end stage bone on bone osteoarthritis all that time.

December 2011 – Bilateral MOM Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Implants with Dr. Schmitt of Commerce, MI.

He told me the top of both my femurs sheared off was only visible during my December 2011 surgery for bilateral hip implants, (the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing or BHR type).  I was told that the bone on bone location in both hips was very rare & was in the X Ray films’ blind spots, thus explaining my previous two years in a hospital bed in my living room.

March 2014 – per my request, referred by local Ortho Surgeon for Immunologist Testing:  Nickel Sensitivity, Cobalt, Chromium, and all the BHR MOM BILAT HIP IMPLANTS’ components.

Patch Test positive for Chromium
M – LTT (lymphocyte transformation test) Re: ‘Metal Allergy’results pending for bloodwork panel –

April 3, 2014
On March 27th, I found out I happen to be one of the 10-15% of people who are allergic to cobalt, chromium, or nickel.  Now that I have detected my condition and begin considering my next steps toward a Bilateral Revision of my BHRs, I turn my focus to hope and survivorship.  Maybe sharing my experiences along the way will help fellow hippies thrive on their path too.
August 20, 2014
Tomorrow at 8:15am sharp, I’m getting my left hip revised at the new Rush Hospital in Chicago.  We hope to see a markedly improved revised hip in a matter of weeks.  When that happens, my right hip will then be revised several weeks later.  I’m told this is a difficult surgery because my bone has attached and grown all over my acetabular head, and when they’re extracting my old chromium cobalt (that contains Nickel alloy) hardware there’s a significant risk for my pelvic bone to shatter.

All of this pain and suffering could have been avoided had my implanting surgeon had taken a simple “costume Jewelry Allergy” history.

If all goes well, I’ll have two hips that are pain-free and functional enough to return to work a broker. Thank you so much for all the support you have so generously shared with me.

June 19, 2014
My chromium cobalt bilateral resurfacing revisions to bilateral Titanium and Ceramic THR are now complete, with the R hip done at the end of November 2015.

I had a good recovery from the L THR revision, but the R hip is/was a much weaker and more painful recovery process; this resulted in an biomechanical related R knee patellar Tendonitis revealed in a knee MRI.

This is my first week of a six week PT round and my knee is super painful at a level “7”.  The good news is my hips at their worst are currently merely achy at a level “4”.

September 15, 2016

First, I want to correct that I had my last ceramic and titanium bilateral hip revisions (to a failed bilateral Birmingham Hip Resurfacing) completed in November 2014 – not Nov 2105.

Secondly, after an almost 2 year recovery, I can most happily report that both hips AND knees do not hurt!!  At most, my hips get stiff after prolonged use and I can’t squat as easily.  Those of you who have followed my journey KNOW how amazing this is.

I ended up doing a round of PT for my knees, which did not work.  Then, I researched and found the amazing DIY “Beating Patellar Tendonits” by a Physical Therapist and used it to do an additional 2 months of knee work with a Personal Trainer.  My knees are great now!

Recently though, I strained all my chest muscles from overdoing it, so I want to caution anyone who’s been confined to a bed or a recliner for years that they’ll need to work on whole body muscle atrophy.

I cannot fully express my gratitude to Surface Hippy and all the great people here who know what it’s like to be put through the U.S. medical system for years like sausage through a meat grinder.  I hope my story empowers and provides tools for Hippies to fight for and research their recovery because no one will do it for you.