Looking down the road...

[mr.hips]

Hi Folks,
I am about to schedule surgery for either THR or resurfacing. I am leaning to resurfacing but I can not seem to find what options are out there once the resurface hip needs revision.
I understand that they go to total hip replacement using the acetabulum cup from resurfacing and that the surgery is about the same  but what I don't know is do you have the option to choose a ceramic or metal femur head? can the surgeon incert a poly cross link liner into the acetib cup? How interchangable are the parts from resurfacing to THR?  Also has anyone read any research on revisions from resurfacing to THR. like all those failures in the 60 ies and 70 ies how are those folks doing with their THRs same success or do they fail more frequently then those folks who chose THR from the outset?
Since the plastic cups failed often what was done to repair the acetib? anyway never seen any articles on what lies ahead when resurfacing fails
regards
Scott

[Pat Walter]

Hi Scott

I choose resurfacing even though I was 61 at the time.  I wanted a full femur bone left in case my hip wears out a some point later in life and I need a THR.  I have been told by Dr. De Smet and others that do the BHR, that there are THR femur balls that are the same size as the ball of the cap used for your BHR.  So you would only replace the femur portion of the device. 

If for some reason, the acetabular cup slipped or became lose, I am sure they would probably do a THR unless it was very early on.  There have been several people with lose cups that had surgeries to put in a new cup or place the cup again just recently on the Surface Hippy Discussion Group.

If you kept your acetabular BHR cup, then you would stay with a MOM - metal on metal THR. They are the same size except for the way the stem is placed into the femur bone.

I am not worring about a revision at this time.  I assume my hip will remain good as long as my bone structure remains strong.  I have a loss of bone density and have been told walking will help increase bone density.

The best thing to do is to ask the doctor you are interviewing for a hip resurfacing - how they would handle a revision if it were required.  You should get the information right from the doctor.

I actually carry a card in my wallet that give the sizes of my BHR cup and Cap so if I had an accident, they could easily replace either part of it. 

Pat