Bone cysts

[msantine]

  Hi Everyone,

Thank you for the wealth of information.  I'm still in the researching process, but hope to go forward soon with resurfacing or THR.  Has anyone had resurfacing done with bone cysts on the femoral head?  How big were they (it)?  What was the outcome?

Thanks,
Mary

[bernsber]

I had bone cysts in both hips. My right cyst was larger than my left, but my Doctor told me that he could do a resurfacing as long as the cyst was less than half of the femoral head. It is a rather common occurance in arthritic hips, and is not a prohibitor to resurfacing. Just make sure that you have a very experienced and well respected Doctor.

Ben

[wayne-0]

I had a fair amount of bone cysts on both sides and was able to get resurfaced on both sides.I had consults with a few docs and one actually told me the cysts were too bad and I couldn't get resurfaced. Well I found a doctor who was very experienced
and he told me there should be no problem getting resurfaced. I believe only the experienced doctors will take on cases that may be difficult(not to say that yours is). Seek out a good experienced doctor and good luck.

Wayne

[John C]

I believe that most people have cysts on the femoral head by the time that they are ready for any hip surgery. How experienced the doctor is with resurfacing seems to determine their comfort level in dealing with larger cysts.

[Pat Walter]

Hi Mary

Welcome to Hip Talk.

Most people that have resurfacing have cysts.  Only a surgeon can decide if the size or placement will prevent resurfacing.  That is one good reason to consult with an experienced hip resurfacing surgeon to find out how bad your hip is.  The x-rays will tell the surgoen what he/she needs to know.  It is possible to wait too long and the hip will become too deteriorated to have a resurfacing.

You did not say how old you are.  We are all very pro resurfacing here.  I was 61 when I had my resurfacing and felt I was still way to young to have a THR and have my femur bone cut off to pound the long stem of a THR device into it.  Resurfacing is bone conserving and gives you a more natural gait than a THR.  You can see the hundreds of stories how active people are after resurfacing on my website.

If you are in the decision making process, please take time to do some reading on my website before letting a local orthopedic sell you on a THR.  If you look above to the heading, you can see a list of informative articles to get you started. 

Surgeons that don't do resurfacing will not recommend it, so most orthopedic surgeons will not be recommending Resurfacing for you.  You will have to do some research to find an expeirnced surgeon near you to get a consultation.  The top surgeons will often give free email consultations if you write to them and attach your x-rays in a digital format as a .jpg file.  You can see my list of surgeons for the really experienced surgeons.  Check out the doctors that have done more than 500 resurfacings and better yet - more than 1000 resurfacings. 

Good Luck.

Pat