Arizona BHR surgeons

[Chucklesg]

Neither Pat's nor Vick's doctor lists show anyone from Arizona.  But Smith and Nephew have sent me the names of two doctors, and I am asking if anyone knows about either one or knows someone who has used them.  They are in Tucson and I am led to believe Tucson is a pretty good "medical" community.

Doctor Lawrence Housemen...says he has done about 100 resurfacings and does one a month;

Doctor David Martin...who I have yet to talk with, but his web site has 250 as of 12/10.

Appreciate the help as I'd like to avoid the multiple day trip to LA, NYC, Madison, Chenai etc!
Thanks in advance.  There must be more than just me here in southern AZ needing resurfacing!
Chuck

[B.I.L.L.]

Hmmmm.... Travel or be a Guinea Pig,  Travel or be a Guinea Pig.....    Thats a tough one. Uuuummm I'd vote for travel. But thats just me. If you do use one of those guys I would suggest grilling them on how they set the componets, what angle do they shoot for, wich implant do they use (and why), what do they know about metal ions, have they had any failures ? Have they done any revisions etc. Whatever you can think of. If I ever have to go through this again I will travel to go to a more experienced guy. Good luck whatever you decide !

[MattBrunner]

Chuck,

I would  agree with Bill and I would rather travel than have someone who only does only one resurfacing a month. 

I was the 4th resurfacing of Dr Pritchett's of the week and over the 1500th he has done that made me feel very comfortable being rolled into the surgery.  I am is zero pain and returning to work after 6 weeks, I would have taken a car ride to get the right Doctor.

Matt

[Pat Walter]

Chuck

Welcome to Hip Talk.  Very few people have experienced hip surgeons in their local cities or even state.  Experienced means they have done a thousand or two thousand or more.  All of the negative press that is normally published is about failed resurfacings and a very large amount of them other than the ASRs are from misplaced acetabular cups.  The less experienced surgeons simply don't have the experience to place the components consistent and correctly in many cases.  I attend hip resurfacing courses, interview the top resurfacing surgeons and have read thousands of stories since 2005.  There is only one theme that occurs over and over - the patients of the less experienced surgeons are normally the ones with revisions and problems.  You can look at the National Registries and see the outcomes.  http://www.surfacehippy.info/nationalregistries.php

You can listen to the top surgeons discussing how important it is to have experience in the videos  http://www.surfacehippy.info/shvideos/videosdoctor.php  You can read the personal stories and the problems page and learn about people who required revisions.  More than a few have said that they only wished they had chosen the top surgeons.  Before 2006 when the FDA approved the BHR, the worldwide retention rate was 99.9%    Then the US surgeons began resurfacing and the retention rate dropped to 96%   That means that 4 out of every 100 patients will have problems or revisions.  They way to not be a statistic is to use the top surgeons that are way past any learning curve.  Even if a surgeon does a few per month - it is not enough to stay in practice.  I just attended the Baltimore Hip Joint Course in Aug and it was emphasized over and over that if the surgeon is not going to specialize in resurfacing and do a lot of them, then it is best they don't do resurfacing.  If there are 5 or 6 surgeons in a practice together, it is recommended that only one specialize in resurfacing and do a lot of them.

You can use the less experienced surgeons if you feel comfortable with them.  It does not mean you will have problems, but why take a chance?  You only have 2 hips and no one wants to face a revision. 

Most of us have traveled great distances to get our resurfacings.  I flew from Ohio to Belgium since it was not FDA approved in the US in early 2006.  My surgeon had done over 3000 of them and the US surgeons were doing testing for the FDA.  There is a reason that football teams, sports teams, musicians and artists all pay the top, most ex perinced the most money.  They go beyond the normal and just have the inner talent developed from a great deal of experience.  You can't buy experience, you earn it. 

Here is the list to see the top surgeons  http://www.surfacehippy.info/listofdoctors.php   I would tell my family or friends to only use the top surgeons and that is the advice I give to all perspective hip resurfacing patients.  Ask a lot of questions of your surgeon, get several opinions and make sure that "inner voice" is telling you that this is the right decision and right doctor.

Pat

[Chucklesg]

I thank each for their comments, and do agree that the resurfacing surgeons can't have too much experience.  One of the docs in Tucson claims as of last year to have done 250 resurfacings and when I made an appointment today for a consultation with Dr. Martin, his office says he does 4-5 a week.

Neither of the popular resurfacing web sites seem to have specific criteria for a surgeon to "get on the list", but I'd guess the audience here would insure one NOT getting on!  I have watched and read the resurfacing sites now for about a year, have learned a lot, had my Xrays emailed to 7 of the top surgeons, clearly know much more.

Having NO hospital experience myself makes traveling a bit more of an emotional challenge and I marvel and envy those here who have gone on and traveled.  Travel comes easy as I have been all over the world in business and pleasure over the years.  But being retired, living in a new community, and needing hips, it would be nice to find a local doc within an hour or so that is qualified.  I'll find out when I visit Dr. Martin, but at least I know 7 others with the experience who have said "we'll do ya"!

It is however surprising that there seems to be few patients from AZ who need hips given the demographics.  Thanks again.  Chuck

[stano]

Chuck,
Some of us went to California, close and easy. Now I have a new Doctor in South Carolina, Dr Gross .  With a little planning and not much of a difference in travel cost go to the best , you will not have to live with the second guess syndrome like me.

stano

[Pat Walter]

Chuck

The criteria for a hip resurfacing surgeon to be on my list is basically "my opinion since it is my personal website and project".  That opinion is based on what patients say about the doctor, their personal stories and what I know about the surgeon.  I go to several hip resurfacing meetings/courses a year and have the opportunity to meet the top surgeons along with about 250 others wanting to learn.  I prefer to just leave surgeons off the list if I don't know a lot about them and they are not very experienced.  There are a few that have not done many hundreds, but are up and coming and very, very dedicated to resurfacing. They are specializing in resurfacing and have an excellent record.  So I include them.  Many doctors don't think I should have a list, while others support the list.  People can go to the medical companies websites and find out all surgeons doing resurfacing with their products.  So there are comprehensive lists.  I prefer to listen to the patients and their outcomes and see what surgeons are willing to both teach and learn at the resurfacing courses.

I hope that helps to explain why I put some surgeons on the list and not put others on it.  I try to put surgeons on the list that I would use or suggest my family to use.  There are some surgeons that actually have done a large amount, but have quite a mixed record of outcomes.  Some of the poor outcomes are still occurring even though most are good, so I just prefer not to list them.  I never stop any patient from posting their personal stories or letting them share their opinions of their surgeons.

Pat

[sroberts]

hey Chuck,

I live in Tucson and I travelled to Wisconsin for my surgery. Another friend of mine is an anesthesiologist here in town and he went to Dr Su in New York. There are only a handful of surgeons in the world I would trust with this type of surgery.


best,

spencer

[Tin Soldier]

Matt - Pritchett should be close to 2800, not that I'm counting.  I don't think he fusses too much about his numbers, anyway. 

California is close to Az.  I would probably travel to LA.  Isn't Schmalzried in LA, or Amstutz?   Although you might have some in-network/out-of-network issues that might put a little hitch in the plan.  On the other hand paying a little more for confidence is worth it.

[lori.36]

I used Dr Rector in Boulder, Colorado.  He is not one that is in the thousands, but he has done more than 500.  Also only a 6 week wait for surgery.  Best of luck on your decision.