Hip resurfacing question.

[Carowah]

I'm 44 and have been told I will need a hip replacement. I'm not too bad now, especially if I stay up with daily cycling; but there's always bad days. I keep reading about Andy Murray's return to tennis after having this procedure done as opposed to a full socket replacement. As squash is known to wear down hip joints, wondered if anyone had it done, I can buy expensive - I often play for real money and guys from the https://casinos-advisor.com/ help me to choose good website.

[imgetinold]

Hi Carowah.


I'm now at day 15 after my left hip resurfacing, but I had my right one done in 2012.  I would encourage you to do a deep dive into this forum, as there is invaluable information.  I also encourage you to do the same at the www.surfacehippy.info and check out the videos and articles. 

There are many, many reasons why a hip resurfacing is far superior to a THR (total hip replacement) in younger people, particularly men.  I had my first one done at age 45.  I have played squash, but after moving to Georgia in 2008, it was mostly tennis.  My hip probably started behaving just like yours.  It started out of nowhere, and I had pain for a few days and then it would go away for months.  After about 3 bouts of pain (all short-lived), I decided to go see an orthopedic doctor.  He indicated that my hip was deteriorating and would eventually need replacing.  However, since he did not do resurfacing, his advice (like most surgeons who don't do resurfacing) was to wait as long as I possibly could.  Quick side note:  I started taking Glucosamine/Chondroitin at that point, and literally did not have any more hip pain for about 4 years, despite being very active (running, weights, tennis, squash, etc.).


Fast forward about 5-6 years and a move to Atlanta, I started playing a LOT of tennis.  Over the course of a few years, the pain came back and got progressively worse.  When I would aggravate it, it would hurt for longer, and my recovery periods would be shorter.  In time, I would be in terrible pain for 8-10 days or more, and then it would subside for maybe a week.  It was at this point where I made the decision.  Throughout this time period, though, is when I did all my research on hip resurfacing, so by the time I scheduled my surgery I already knew what I was going to to. 

I also want to point out that I could have probably postponed it for a long time if I completely changed my lifestyle and stopped playing tennis, stopped running, and stopped everything else that aggravated it.  But that is not how I wanted to live my life.  I actually ran 4 miles, pain-free, the day before my surgery.

After my recovery (six month for patients of Dr. Gross), I was able to resume all physical activities.  It took another six months to get back to the level of fitness and quickness that I had pre-surgery, but after that I was back 100%.  Only time will tell if Andy Murray can regain the quickness he needs to play professionally, but I wouldn't count him out.  Until I had my left hip done, I literally gave NO thought to my right hip.  It feels completely normal and doesn't even factor into my decision making.  I am only reminded of it when I go through a metal detector.

As you'll find the more your read on this site, picking the right surgeon is the #1 most important factor in success, and experience (meaning number of surgeries performed) is THE most important factor.  Dr. Gross is over 6500 resurfacings, and he has very detailed statistics of his success.  I'm obviously a big fan of his.  He is about a 3 hour drive from where I live, but IF I had moved to Oregon or something, I would have flown across the country to have him do my second one.  He does a completely non-cemented resurfacing, which appealed to me.  The statistics on cemented implants show a similar success rate in the hands of a skilled surgeon, so I'm not knocking that.  I just like the idea of not having it cemented and therefore not having that as a possible failure point.

Good luck with your decision.  It's not an easy one to make, but I'm really glad I did it.


Andy

[imgetinold]

One more thing:  Your original post said "...after having this procedure done as opposed to a full socket replacement."

There are two components to both hip resurfacing and total hip replacement.  One component is the hip socket part, and the other is on the femur.  In BOTH resurfacing and total hip replacement, the hip socket component is the same.  Both procedures ream out the hip socket and replace it with the "acetabular cup".  The difference is with the femur.  In resurfacing, you retain your femoral neck and head.....they simply shape your femoral head to mate with the metal ball which they then "cap" it with.  With THR, the cut off the entire femoral neck and head, and the insert a post down into your femur.

I recommend you read everything on this site:  http://www.grossortho.com/patient-education/explanations


Andy

[dannythebeerman]

Most all posting here have chosen resurfacing over total hip replacement.  Some of the surgeons mentioned on this site have been performing resurfacings for 20 years, many of their patients have had no revisions to their surgery.  If you are considering this surgery consider the surgeon's listed https://surfacehippy.info/hip-resurfacing-doctors/ .  You want a doctor that does resurfacings 99.9% of the time, and performs the procedure many many times throughout the year to be proficient.  Feel free to post more questions.