Need hip help...now...please?

[mypoorhip]

I am new to this site. This is my first post. I have read many and feel slightly jealous I must say about those of you that are pain free! Any ways I am writing because I am ready to pull my hair out! I am 32 and I have 2 children and a wonderful hubby. Now-to my problem- I have had surgery on my L hip 3 times in 1 1/2 yrs.! I was in a car accident and my knees hit the dashboard. My joints are very 'loose' so my hip dislocated and then went right back into place. I'm now being told I may have some abnormality in my hips that I was born with. So, I understand that my doc wants to save the joint as long as possible but-I'm desperate! I don't leave my home! I am in pain 24 hrs. a day. I was so desperate my dad told me to see a doc at the Mayo Clinic. In desperation I drove down there. I was told that by how my MRI looked that I needed a THR. I asked about resurfacing and he said that I am not a canidate. He told me that they usually aren't done on women. I looked at him like he was crazy, got my stuff and came home to see yet another doc who said THR. And then there is my doctor who I started w/saying that he can take out the screws I have in now for some possible pain relief. Otherwise, I am too young and not in enough pain even though my arthritis is at a 4 and my pain is at a 10! My quality of life is almost 0 (thanks to my family I have a reason to get up in the morning). I live in SC and we are getting pretty close to broke. I do know the doc in SC does not partner w/my ins.   Any ideas what to do next?
~Andrea

[Pat Walter]

Hi

Welcome to Hip Talk.  I am sorry to hear about your hip problem and terrible pain.  You are very young to have a THR.  I am glad you learned about hip resurfacing.

There are other surgeons doing resurfacing in your area.  Does your insurance company have a list of ones that do?  The medical device companies like Smith & Nephew and Cormet publish lists of surgeons on their websites.

I don't have all surgeons listed on mine since I only list the really experienced ones which are what you need when you have difficult problems.  Look at my list, there are a couple listed in NC  and Dr. Mont in Baltimore who has done over 1800 resurfaicngs.  You need to see if any of them will take your insurance.  If not, get on the medical manufactures website and start looking http://www.birminghamhipresurfacing.com/  Here is the Smith & Nephew site where you can put your zip code in to see who is near you.

I would definitely try to get a resurfacing if possible.  If not, make sure you at least get a MOM tHR.  Don't let them give you an old fashioned, small ball metal/plastic THR. They do dislocate easily.  The newer MOM THRs don't dislocate like the old fashioned ones and people are very active with them too.

I hope that helps.  Please keep in touch and there are others that will help support you during your search and surgery, too.

Good Luck.

Pat

[Tekka]

Hello Andrea,I'm sorry you are in so much pain and you feel so fed up, only you know when to start making these important decisions, this site is all about re-surfacing and I would advise you to read as much as you can, there are lots of topics and loads of accurate informative answers. All of our circumstances are different, some more complicated than others but the one overiding point to mention is do not take the first, 2nd, 3rd etc surgeons recommendation as the only option. You mention in your post that one doctor suggested HR is not for women, that in itself is enough to make you scream!! Look at all the doctors listed by Pat and start to do your homework, I guarentee it will be worth it, If I had'nt come across this site I dread to think what I may have ended up with, after my first surgeons opinion of my anatomy.Please keep investigating your options, and lots of people will give you sound advice here...its more like a therapy forum than a hr forum.Best wishesTerry LBHR 23/01/09

[karenj_m]

Hi Andrea, and welcome to the board.

We can all relate (believe me) with the pain you are dealing with. Lets go thru a few things:

1. Do you know if its "displasia" that you have?
2. Do you have recent xrays? If so, can you have the xray folks put them on CD?
3. I'm assuming when you speak of the surgeon in SC, you are talking about Dr. Gross?
4. Did you check (call them) with Dr. Gross' staff if he has a contract with your insurance company? He also has info here about coverage: http://www.grossortho.com/HipresurfacingFee.html


FIRST> You need to get your xrays on CD and then export them to jpg files and email them to:

Dr. Gross (SC)
Dr. Mont (Baltimore)
Dr. Bose (India)
Dr. DeSmet (UK)

They will evaluate your xrays for FREE and tell you first off if you are a candidate for resurfacing. Please make sure to give them some background on yourself, and any previous conditions in your email.

Once you get answers, then you go from there...

Second> Talk to your insurance company about them making an agreement with Dr. Gross right there in SC. See what they can do...the CPT CODE that they will need is 27130 "Total Hip Athroplasty"...that's all they need to know...(its the same for THR or HR)

THIRD> There is also an non-profit organization that Dr. Gross is with, where he will do the surgery for free (includes all costs including hospital costs). You might have to wait until he is allowed to do the surgery thru that organization's time frame.

There is hope...don't give up. Start with the first step...get an answer...then go to the second step...get an answer...then the third step (if second step fails).

You NEED ANSWERS first before you can make a plan

Keep in touch, and let us know if we can help.

[mypoorhip]

Thank You! Karen, Terry and Pat!
I think I feel a little better being armed with all this new info. Do you know out of the blue this morning my doc's office called to sceduled me for surgery to remove my existing hardware (screws)? He already told me he didn't think it would help much with the current pain I'm having. I was like 'what?'. Well, at least I got a good laugh today! Thanks all for the info. Once I make some headway I will let you know (or if I have ?? ).
Thanks Again ~ Andrea