Yes Dr. Bose did my surgery. I had trouble with my insurance, they only wanted to pay for me to get a THR and there is NO way I wanted limitations the rest of my life which I would have had with the THR the doc at Stanford wanted to give me. I paid out of pocket and went alone to India. It was quite the adventure and it turned out to be an incredible experience. Where else can you get a top surgeon to do surgery on you, stay in a hospital for a week that gives you a large private hospital room, plasma screen TV, fridge, microwave and wireless laptop all in your hospital room, then recuperate after for a week in a five star resort, all of under $12k. I was treated like royalty there and Dr. Bose is a fantastic and brilliant surgeon. It definitely sounds like you are ready. Keep in mind that you can go downhill really fast with this. I did, I started seriously looking into different procedures in June/July and by the time I left for my surgery the end of November, I couldn't walk without a cane. It only gets worst until you do have surgery. I would definitely wait on the other hip, there is a chance it will get better and you may never need surgery on it after the bad one is fixed.
Who is your doctor? Here is a list of questions to ask your doc, that Pat Dukes put together from the Surface hippy site.
You’ve asked about questions that you might want to have for your doctor visit. That question is often asked and here are some questions that various board members have suggested in the past.
How many resurfacings have YOU done? (not observed or assisted with)
Where did you train?
How many complications have you had?
How many resurfacing failures with revision to THR have you had?
How many times during surgery have you had to change to a THR instead of a resurfacing and why was the change made?
What device (prosthesis) do you use, how long have you been using it and why do you prefer it?
Do you use cemented or uncemented? Why?
Do you cement the stem?
What anesthetic do you use?
How long does the surgery take?
What surgical approach do you use? Anterior or Posterior?
What is the incision length?
What is your post-op pain control plan?
What hospital do you use?
What is their infection rate?
Have any of your patients had infections that required IV antibiotics following resurfacing?
What drugs/methods do you use for anti-coagulation after surgery?
How long will I be in hospital?
How successful have you been obtaining insurance approvals for resurfacing?
What is the rehab protocol?
When will I be 100% weight bearing?
What assistive devices will I use for walking after surgery?
How long on 2 crutches, 1 crutch, cane?
What if any restrictions do you place on your patients after surgery
and how long do they last?
Will I be given any at home nurse or PT care?
How does my other hip look at this time?
If both hips are bad, how do you handle bilateral resurfacing?
Is there anything unusual about my hip that might present problems?
Do you have a resurfacing patient who you've done surgery on that I
could talk to about their experience?
What is your opinion of my returning to (whatever work or activities you do)
Have you done resurfacing for anyone who has returned to these activities?
Good questions to ask.
Vicky
LBHR Dr. Bose Dec 01 05