15 Year HR Anniversary with Dr. Gross 2003

[Saf57]

On this day in 2003 my right hip was resurfaced by Dr. Gross. I was one of the first few hundred that had the procedure done in this country, as part of the original Corin FDA clinical trials. I'm from NYC, and every prominent orthopedic surgeon I saw here said to get a THR, and told me I was crazy. They were wrong. It saddens me that 15 years down the road(and after getting a BHR on my left hip 2+ years ago), the same attitudes appear to permeate the orthopedic community. Hopefully, that will change. We should all be thankful to doctors like Gross (and the others like him) as well as this website, and other advocates for hip resurfacing. It was the best decision I could have made.

[Joe_CA]

Hey Saf57. It appears several of our responses disappeared from this post. Basically most of them involved us thanking you for being one of the early "pioneers/trailblazers", who took on many unknown risks back in the early days of hip resurfacing, and paved the way for the rest of us.

Thank you and others who bravely took unknown risks (without the help of this website) back in the day when the information was still very limited.

[Pat Walter]

Congratulations on your 15 year anniversary!!!!!

The unfortunate part is that most surgeons still suggest THRs.  It has almost come full circle since the early days when there were only a few US surgeons doing hip resurfacing. Now only a few will do small men and women.  What a shame!  Women only have Dr. Gross and Dr. Pritchett here in the US to receive a hip resurfacing. It makes me sad that hip resurfacing has become so unpopular.  Thousand of men and women have had very successful hip resurfacings from the top, experienced surgeons. There are thousands of stories here on the discussion group and on the main website.

I hope people will still consider hip resurfacing and share their stories as possible.

I am sorry your posts disappeared.  I had trouble with the mysql database and had to reload the copy from 2 days ago.  Guess websites have their problems, too.  I try not to upset the discussion group or website, but sometimes software gets a bit crazy. Fortunately I have programs to do backups every day.

I hope you have many, many more anniversaries and there will be websites and discussion groups to share you story and success on!!!

Pat

[karlos.bell]

  Hi guys.
Things do full circles at times. I am thinking about going heads to heads with the government on issues like this due to the bad rep sometimes surgeons and products get. I can now fully run and have been injury free for 4 years on my prosthetic disc's in which were injury related. My now resurfaced hips have been a change of life. Will I go back to all the sports I was doing? Nah probably not.
 But Pat 1 thing I do know is countries around the world use our statistics in NZ for there populous due ACC or accident compensation co-operation have excellent statistics and I am 1 of them.
Acc does not cover treatment overseas. Overseas surgeons were the only help I got to get me back to work. You have to keep at the pen and paper to highlight the importance of a result.
Hip resurfacing is amazing engineering feat and substitute of the natural hip.
  Cheers K

[Tri Hard Alan]

So great to see these posts and people doing so well after 15 years. Gives us all a little bit more confidence, regardless of whether we need it or not.


And I too get frustrated at the attitude of some surgeons and the medical profession in general towards Hip Resurfacing. Here in the UK females (not sure about the smaller males) an no longer get the procedure done on the NHS which is very unfair. And there is still that skepticism about the revision rate which when you dig in to the detail simply does not stand up.

[Saf57]

I appreciate the kind words(including from those whose posts were deleted). The challenge at the time was finding an alternative to a THR, not in deciding to go ahead with it. To me, it was a no brainer--I was a very active 45 year old, who desperately wanted to continue to be active, particularly to play basketball and run, both of which I was able to do after resurfacing. If the resurfacing failed, then I would wind up with a THR, which is what they all wanted me to get in any event. I recognize that THR surgery has been a godsend to many, and is an appropriate surgery for certain people, but, in my opinion, it is resurfacing that should be the gold standard for most people(certainly for those under the age of 65) needing hip replacement surgery. The fact that it is not, is likely mostly about $$, as THR surgery is a huge cash cow for the orthopedic community and the device manufacturers. I believe it is incumbent upon those of us who have had hip resurfacing to continue to counter the misconceptions about the surgery, and to promote all of the positive aspects of resurfacing when the opportunity arises.

[LWChafin]

Congrats on the anniversary.  I'm not quite the veteran you are, but I had my right hip done in 2005 at 53 years old  by Dr. Mont using a Wright C+ so I'm at the 12 1/2 year mark.  No problems, no concerns, no looking back.  Interesting reading some of the responses - I had a very easy time of it post op - never took any of the pain meds after leaving the hospital on the 2nd day post op, with the exception of taking one the 3rd and 4th nights to help me be comfortable and sleep.  Otherwise Ibuprofen did fine for me.  At my 15 day post op check I drove the 4 hours to Baltimore, walked in on one crutch, walked out on none, threw the crutch into the trunk of my car and never used it again, at least not related to the resurfacing. Without a doubt it was the best medical decision I ever made, except maybe for the vasectomy, but that's another story.


Larry

[LMS]

15 years & still doing well?  Bravo! 

[adamhebrew]

Congratulations on the 15 years anniversary. So great to see these posts "15 Year Anniversary" and people doing so well after 15 years. Gives us all a little bit more confidence, regardless of whether we need it or not. My opinion, most people( those under the age of 75) needing hip replacement surgery.

Best Regards
Adam Hebrew
United Kingdom

[Pat Walter]

Larry

Congratulations on your 12 1/2 year anniversary.  Thanks for stopping by and giving us an update.  I wish you many, many more anniversaries with your hip resurfacing.

Pat

[karlos.bell]

  Awesome

[23109VC]

I’m at 8 years - also with Dr. Gross.  Awesome to see such great results and knowing I have MANY more years ahead Of me with my implant!

[GoldenRun]

Dr. Gross resurfaced my left hip in 2004. That's 15 years!  So far, so good.  I had my right hip resurfaced at the Univ of KY in 2010. That one, too, is good. I am soon to be 71 years old and though other things ache, my hips do not. So glad I made the resurf choice.

[Pat Walter]

Hi  Thanks for the update.

I assume that this is your original story  https://surfacehippy.info/joyce-from-kentucky-hip-resurfacing-story-at-surface-hippy/
I will add an update if this is your story. It is so important for people to read about the updates, especially if your a female.
If that is not your story, I still wish you the very best. It is great to read about anniversaries.
Pat