Received diagnosis, now what?

[Barbaralynn]

I'm new to this site, although I've read all of the informative articles. I'm somewhere between too much information and not enough information.. After years of hip pain, I saw my doc 2 yrs ago and he ordered ct scan and xray. He said no problem. I used Advil and dealt with the pain until I was unable to sleep and my hip became unstable so I couldn't walk without holding the counter,etc for fear of falling. I returned to doc 3 mos ago and he referred me to phys therapy-said pain would be "like hell" but I would "completely" recover. Pain and instability became worse,so he put me on antiinflammatories and phys therapist gave me crutches. Crutches helped, antiinflam did not. When I ceased using crutches, pain became worse, etc. I returned to doc who ordered mri. I also ordered copy of mri. Doc said mri showed "hip breaking apart" bone spurs, dysplasia, bursa leakage, cartilage damage. He said the xray taken 2 yrs ago looked fine because he was looking at it straight on,but when looking at mri which showed 3-d image, he could now see damage. Funny that the mri report that I ordered showed the radiologist compared current info to 2 year xrays, and said orig xrays showed damage. I just got a doc that either didn't read the info or it fell through the cracks. My doc said I should google for a surgeon as he could not help me, he said he was just a "consumer" like me. He did say that the docs he spoke with about the mri said I was a "perfect candidate" for a hip resurfacing. So, I googled, and contacted a Dr. Boyd's office in my state, but his office recep said they had never had anyone call them before and ask questions,that I needed to set up appt. I called Dr. Amschultz in LA, and they said I needed to send xray and paperwork and they would determine my eligibility for a $360 fee. There is a Dr Shah here in my hometown, and I called his office and was told he's done 10 resurfacings. Here's the thing, I feel very alone and in pain and battling a torpor of not wanting to do anything because I'm overwhelmed. Do I have a current xray done, and send it to LA? Do I meet with the local surgeon, or go to Salem to see Dr. Boyd who's name is on the Dr list at this site?  I would really be grateful to receive any comment. 

[Pat Walter]

Hi

There are hip resurfacing surgeons that will give you free email consultations. Dr. Gross of SC, Dr. Mont of MD, Dr. De Smet of Belgium, Dr. Bose of India and a few others.  Dr. Gross will actually call you if you send them an email and x-ray of your hip problems.  You can also try Dr. Ure of CA and Dr. Rogerson of WI.  They are expeirneced and work with a lot of happy patients.  You need to use the really experinced surgeons if you have bad hip probelms.

You don't say how old you are.  Some surgeons don't like doing older women over 55.  Others will if you have good bone stock.  It is an individual thing the doctors look at case by case.

You can wait too long and miss the window of opportunity for a hip resurfacing.  It would be good to get the input from some of the top surgeons so you know where you stand.  Also if you can't get a resurfacing and are younger - under 65 - you can use the same top surgeons to get a MOM THR.  Don't let a less expeirnced surgeon give you an old fasioned small ball metal/plastic THR.  You will be very limited with that type of THR.  look at my list of the really expeinced surgeons and find someone to talk with  http://www.surfacehippy.info/listofdoctors.php  Dr. AMstutz will do older women and so will Dr. Ure.  It really depends on your own bone density.

One guidline I would use that if it really hurts a lot - it probably is not good for your body.  Bad hips always hurt and it is usually impossible to make them better by PT and other therapies.  Sometimes building the muscles can help in a few cases - but very few.  Steroid shots in the hip capsule can help along with the strong meds like Vicodene etc.  Eventually, no meds will stop the pain and you need a new hip.

Pat

[obxpelican]

I also ordered copy of mri. Doc said mri showed "hip breaking apart" bone spurs, dysplasia, bursa leakage, cartilage damage.

Hey Barbara,

Welcome to the forum.

Dr. Gross.... he's a great doctor, he will call you if you send x-rays, it takes some time but he'll call you within a few weeks and it's free.

Bone spurs and all the other things you describe are nothing new, dysplasia can be corrected during a hip resurfacing in many cases.  Do yourself a favor, get your x-rays out to the best surgeons you can, travel if you have to.  I drove 8 hours to have Dr. Gross do my surgery even though in Pgh we had a few to choose from.   You will want a surgeon who has done lots of surgeries the more the better as hip resurfacing takes skill and lots of practice and experience.

I lived with a bad hip for too many years, I got my life back, since my surgery I've mountain biked, run class IV rapids and I've water skied.  I had bone spurs and some cysts and everything turned out fine.

All I can say is you are in the drivers seat, be the best patient advocate you can be for yourself, I took 5 months to figure out what direction to go, I looked into Dr. Mont and Dr. Gross, I picked Dr. Gross because of his demeaner on the phone and all the great stories I've read about him.  Read the stories on this site about the different doctors Pat has listed and by all means find a doctor who has a good pain protocol.  Hip resurfacing should never leave you in agonizing pain post-op, yes, you will have some discomfort but I never had more pain post-op than I did pre-op, although bear in mind I waited way too long for my surgery and I could not walk very far without looking for a chair.

One thing a doctor told me in Pgh, he said, Chuck this is not cancer, you are not going to die but if you wait too long you won't be a candidate for hip resurfacing.

Keep us posted and heres to good hip health in your future.


Chuck