Video Interviews with Surgeons in AZ 2011

[Pat Walter]

I had the opportunity to attend the Smith & Nephew "20 Years of Resurfacing: Bringing Home Results" about the BHR - Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Device.  Mr. McMinn and Mr. Treacy were the keynote speakers. A lot of studies and information about the BHR, metal ions, proper placement of the components and surgical techniques were discussed.  I will write a review of the meeting shortly.

I had the opportunity to do interviews with Dr. Brooks of Cleveland, OH; Dr. Rogerson of Madison, WI; Dr. Barba of Rockford, IL and Dr. Rector of Boulder, CO. The videos will be posted on the doctors' individual interview pages shortly, but are currently available on the Doctor Video Interview section of the Surface Hippy Website. The videos are currently Number 1, 2, 3 & 4 on this page  http://www.surfacehippy.info/shvideos/videosdoctor.php  There is a great deal of information in the videos about component placement, metal ions, ASR failure, the use of experienced surgeons, etc.   The videos are very educational for perspective patients. I hope they will help people learn about hip resurfacing and help resolve the myths about high metal ions and how "bad" hip resurfacing is suppose to be as reported by the negative press and inexperienced surgeons.

Pat

[hernanu]

Thank you for providing all that, Pat. Was there any discussion about the longevity of the different devices?

[halfdone]

Excellent videos Pat.  Thanks! (I guess it was tough duty down there in Camelback resort, but someone's got to do it   )

For anyone interested, here is the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry Report 2010
http://www.dmac.adelaide.edu.au/aoanjrr/documents/aoanjrrreport_2010.pdf

[hipnhop]

I am doing my homework (watching videos). Is there a test for extra stars (just kidding)?
Where are the women surgeons?

[Pat Walter]

hipnhop

There are very few women doing hip resurfacing.  Dr. Young is one from Canada and I have an interview posted for her.  There are very few women orthopedics period since hips and knees are diffiuclt.

halfdone - it was dirty work, but someone did have to go into the desert in the 92 degree heat without rain.  I left 40 degrees with rain in Ohio and landed in the "garden of eden"   - or so it felt.  It was a fabulous resort and felt wonderful after the long Ohio winter.

Pat

[Dayton96]

Thanks for the new videos Pat.  I watched a number of your videos last year when I was doing my research and they were very helpful.

Mac 

[SteveT]

I watched the videos and every single surgeon seems to use the BHR.  I wonder is this a USA thing or is there some consensus that this is the best device?  I know that other surgeons (eg Dr. Gross) advocate the use of other devices but there didn't seem to be any of that in these interviews.

Steve

[Pat Walter]

Hi Steve

The conference I went to was for the BHR - 20 year history.  The BHR is the most used device in the US and world wide.  There are over 140,000 BHR patients worldwide.  The BHR, according to all the national registries and medical studies, is the best device.  It has the best track record over the Wright C+, the Cormet and the Biomet.  Only the BHR, Wright C+ and Cormet are FDA approved in the US.  The Biomet is not approved as a hip resurfacing device yet.  Dr. Gross uses the components "off label" to get insurance to cover the surgery and device.  Each component is FDA approved - but it is not approved as a device.  The acetabular cup is used with other THR devices. 

You can take time to read the national registries and see the BHR is head and shoulders above all the other devices in retention rate.  Not Smith & Nephew's opinion, but fact.   

I will be interviewing Dr. Gross again and some of the surgeons that use the Wright C+ in Baltimore in August at the hip reurfacing course.  Personally, I wanted a BHR, but would have accepted a Wright C+. My surgeon, Dr. De Smet uses both.  I think the Biomet is an excellent product, but there are only about 450 +or - used by Dr. Gross as uncemented. 

The jury is still out on the long term performance of uncemented devices.  So far, so good - but even in Dr. Gross's interviews he discusses the fact that there must be long term results before uncemented is accepted by many surgeons.

So, yes I interviewed only BHR surgeons since it was a Smith & Nephew meeting.  All the other devices were discussed in terms of comparison to the BHR and all information was from the national registries.  The national registries are based on facts - not opinions, which makes them very useful tools in learning what devices provide the best outcomes.  Of course, there is still the surgeon input in placing the components correctly, too.  An inexperinced surgeons can make a BHR fail, while an experinced can make a less popular device work well.  There is a combination that is required to make a sucessful surgery.  The message is still - USE THE MOST EXPERINCED SURGEONS AND THE DEVICE WITH THE BEST RECORD FOR THE BEST OUTCOME.

Pat

[Dannywayoflife]

Looking forward to reading the review Pat thanks.

[katekosar]

Pat, I just wanted to chime in with the others and say thanks for this little gem of a site you've created.  I probably would have gotten the LBHR anyway both because my functionality was down the toilet and because I clicked with the doc in terms of trust issues.  But just about everything I've read on the site has served to corroborate the correctness of my decision for me. 

Another thing I find invaluable is the space to be able to *put it out there,* so to speak, to tell the truth about your own personal experience.  This is a procedure that can leave a person feeling extremely vulnerable and dependent.  I really appreciate the space to be able to voice those fears, and I appreciate the support of all of the good hippies who've gone before.

So thanks.  Know that your efforts are well appreciated in these parts.

Kate

[Tin Soldier]

Pat - you have a cool job.  This is exactly the kind of stuff that makes this site excellent.  It's great to see and hear real surgeons talking about this stuff and I think it gives folks lots of confidence in their decision to do HR.

Also, the members make this site excellent, too.   

[wayne-0]

Hey Pat,
The AZ interview with Dr. Brooks was amazing. I was really interested during the part where he discussed the ASR and how clearly he articulated how it all worked and why there may be some possible failures. This subject has very personal emotions for me due to the fact that I have both hips done with the ASR implants. I will be going in to have testing done this yr to make sure everything is fine. So far i have had no problems with mine and really everything has been absolutly amazing, with great results and a very active lifestyle again. I would really like to thank Dr. Brooks for spending his time with you for the interview so we may all be educated further in these areas.

Wayne
Still going strong after 2   1/2 yrs   

[einreb]

The AZ interview with Dr. Brooks was amazing. I was really interested during the part where he discussed the ASR and how clearly he articulated how it all worked and why there may be some possible failures.

That was pretty interesting.  I wonder if its possible to come up with a revised design acetabular component for those with an ASR having problems.  Something with better coverage of the ball and a touch more tolerance could likely be put in to swap out on those folks having wear issues. 

My one biased comment is that those docs should be wearing Smith and Nephew t-shirts when being interviewed... .  I suspect DeSmet and Gross might not agree with comments about how heat treating is bad (C+) and the Australian registry is the 'best' place to look for data.

[SteveT]

Hi Pat,

Thank you for your response.  I had not realized that this was a BHR conference you were reporting on.  To be honest, it's nice to hear that at the moment there is one device that stands out.  It means one less variable to think about. 

I'll be curious to hear what some of the prominent surgeons say about other devices in coming months/years. I know Dr. Gross has been advocating his device and I think I recall an interview with Dr. De Smet where he was somewhat critical of certain features of the BHR, but it does seem that none of the competing devices is yet offering comparable reliability.