MOM and BHR

[Terry_Smith]

   It looks like this may be the path I'm going down.  The first doctor I saw today said it looks like I have AVN, and is doubtful that BHR will be possible for my left hip, but the right is a good candidate.  I will be planning on getting a MOM if that is the case, but since that doctor has done 1 BHR, I've scheduled an appointment with Dr. Ball in La Jolla, Ca who has done 250+ BHR's, so we'll see what he says.  I'm pretty sure the left hip will need the MOM, so I was wondering whqat to expect with that vs the BHR.  I don't do any extreme sports or anything, but I don't want to be a doddering fool at 44 either .  I understand the MOM is almost as good as the BHR for those who need it. Anyone here have the MOM and your experience with it?

Terry

[Pat Walter]

Hi Terry

First I have to tell you that most of Dr. Boses 1000 Hip REsurfacings were AVN cases. That is one of the main reasons people have hip resurfacing.  I would not take the advice of an inexperieneced hip resurfacing surgeon to tell you whether you are a hip resurfacing candidate. 

Many have had to go to the much more experienced surgeons to get their hip reusrfacing.  You are VERY VERY young to be considering a THR.

Many of us had to go to Belgium or India to get what we wanted for wold famous doctors.  I went to Dr. De Smet in Belgium that has done over 2700 hip resurfacings.  Other have gone to Dr. Bose in India who has done over 1000 hip resurfacings.  People with insurance often go to Dr. Gross in SC who had done over 1000 hip resurfacings.

The newer inexperienced surgeons will not take any chance to do a hip resurfacing if there seem to be anything unusual.  I belong to the Yahoo Surface Hippy group of over 6000 memebers and for the last 3 years I have heard the same story over and over.  The less experienced doctors won't do the hip resurfacing while the really experienced ones will.  And yes, there were a handful of wonderful surgeons doing hip resurfacing in the US before the FDA approval. 

If you don't want to end up with a THR at 44, you will need to look at my list and try to get to an experienced doctor.  Dr. Ball had done 250, but that too is just a drop in the bucket compared to De Smet that has done over 2700 and others in the 3000 to 4000 range.

Look at what is required to do a revision of a THR  http://www.surfacehippy.info/thrrevision.php  For a revision, they have to break your femur apart to remove the long stem of the THR, then wire it back together. Each revision gets more difficult.  You are only in your 40s and could be looking at 2 or more revisions in your life.  When revisions are no longer possible, you are in a wheelchair.

That is the main reason most of us get a hip resurfacing.  I was 61 and did not want a THR.  I might have to have a revision once in my life and I did not want my femur broken apart and wired back together.  Now wiht a BHR, I can have a revision because I have a complete femur bone left to cut off and hold a THR.

You are young and if you want a hip resurfacing - you might need to look farther to get one.  Many of us have done that and no one person I know is unhappy with their hip resurfacing. 

Let me know if I can give you any more information or help.

Pat in Ohio

[Terry_Smith]

Pat,
    Thanks for the response.  I want to see what Dr. Ball says, and I am considering seeing about getting my x-rays and MRI results digitally scanned (I'll have to see who can do that for me) in case I decide to send them to someone futher away for a consultation on what they think my prognosis is.  I am currently walking with a limp, but currently my greatest pain is when i've been sitting too long in one place and straighten my left leg.  Then it takes me some time to straighten it out.  There is bone loss, and my left leg is now shorter because of it, though I wish I knew how bad the femur had to be before THR would be the only option.     So, until the 27th, I'll have to ponder it and see if I can find more information. 
   I was looking at your other site, and looked at the illustration you show on AVN.  My left hip looks like a cross between C & D (more on the D side).  My right hip is like C. 

Terry

[Pat Walter]

Terry

If you have copies of your x-rays, you can take digital photos of them yourself. That's what most of us do.  You can hold them up to a window, hold them against a fluorescent light or take them to your family doctor, chiropractor or even vet if they are friendly - put them on their light screen and take digital photos.   You want to size  the photos to be less than 500 pixels on the height or lengeth.  Try to focus in on the  joint area.

If you send an email to Dr. De Smet or Dr. Bose - you will often have an answer the next day.  They are very quick to talk to you.

You also have several other very experienced surgeons in your area - Dr. Amstutz, Dr. Schmalreid and even Dr. Ure.   

Vicky just met Dr. Ure at the Miami Convention and she said he is very dedicated to hip resurfacing.  The problems with some of the newer doctors is - although they have learned hip resurfacing - they will always push THRS even the surgery is not easy or straight forward. That is why we try to get people to go to the really experienced doctors.

Pat

[Terry_Smith]

Pat,

   I talked to Dr. Gross's office this morning, and I'm going to send him copies of my x-rays and the MRI once I get it for his evaluation.  Since you mentioned a bone density scan, I'm going to call the place I got my x-rays to see if they do the bone density scan, and see about getting that done as well.  Hopefully I can have all of this out to Dr. Gross by early next week.  We'll see what happens.  In the meantime, I'm still scheduled for Dr. Ball in San Diego.

Terry