Has anyone had a HR in Los Angeles for a Dr. other than Amstutz or Schmalzried

[kbiancamano]

I would appreciate any thoughts/recommendations.

[Island Life]

Hello good day,


I am a native central californian living overseas in Indonesia. When I found out I needed a hip resurface procedure my first choice for the op was a California based doctor thats at the top of his field. I couldn't find one. Dr. Pritchett is the best on the west coast! He has done over 5000 hip resurface procedures and uses a durable ceramitized titatanium prosthetic. I suggest looking into him. Cheers

[LDub]

Hi

I believe a member here (TheBionicBoxer) has had a recent hip resurfacing in LA. In his post he mentions using Dr. Anwar at Kaiser in West LA. You could contact TheBionicBoxer for more details. Here is the post where he mentions his resurfacing:

https://surfacehippy.info/hiptalk/index.php?topic=6826.msg61950#msg61950

I hope that helps.
Cheers.

[BillM]

If you are willing to drive a little there is Dr. Ball down towards San Diego.   There are folks on here that have gone to him

[kbiancamano]

Thanks to all of you! I was thinking of Dr. Ball. I don’t want to be out of town for too long and I know I can’t fly for a while after the surgery so San Diego or maybe San Francisco (Dr Callendar) seem like the best choices. On here it says Dr. Ball has only done 200 surgeries. Does anyone know how often those numbers are updated?

[Bioguy501]

I was told back in April (2021) that Dr. Ball no longer does hip resurfacing. This came straight from his PA in an email. Even if Dr. Ball does an occasional one every now and then, he actually prefers the THR over hip resurfacing anyway. He feels very confident in the new THR implants and feels the risk of revision is a bit lower with the THR. I would agree with him, except if you have a very experienced BHR surgeon do the operation. In the case of experienced high(er) volume surgeons, the data show a lower revision rate... despite more active and younger patients. AND... if anything does go wrong years down the line, you can be converted to a dual mobility THR... unlike getting a THR first, which can lead to higher risk during revision surgeries.

I was a patient of Dr. Ball's and planned on using him for hip resurfacing (BHR). The most experienced doctor in CA is Dr. Peter Callander for the BHR... which is the logical choice if you are over 6 foot tall or have a 48 mm or larger femoral cap. In fact, I am flying up to SF next Saturday to have my BHR surgery with him on Wed. Sept. 22nd. Dr. Callander has done over 1200 BHR surgeries and still does them on a weekly basis.

The Synovo device used by Dr. Pritchett with the highly cross-linked poly is too thick (according to Dr. McMinn, who invented the BHR and popularized hip resurfacing again). The extra thickness means that a little more bone is taken from both the acetabular cup and the femoral ball... two things that add to the risk of problems down the road.

Feel free to DM me if you have questions. Gary (Temecula, CA)

[Pappy]

My right hip was BHR July 2010, surgeon  bone cemented acetabular cup, cement broke loose from cup 2016, my femoral size 48mm, multiple surgeons said revise to total. Jim Pritchett said i can save your femur, revised cup only, Synovo preserve allowed the bone cement clean up and screw fixation plus highly cross linked cup is replaceable. Six months later I flew to Seattle to have my left hip resurfaced, BHR was Jim Pritchetts choice for my left hip. A Pritchett patient gets the BEST device for them. Both hips are great so I downhill ski hard 100 days a year.

[kbiancamano]

Thanks for this info. I have been thinking about Callahan.

[imgetinold]

Hi kbiancamano.


I appreciate the thought to stay as close to home as possible, but resurfacing is a difficult surgery, and you have the best chance of long-term success going with a VERY experienced surgeon.  As in someone who's done at least 1000 of them, but even better if they've done 3000, 4000, or 5000 of them.  Choosing a more local doctor due to proximity is not, in my opinion, amongst the top 10 reasons to choose a surgeon.  I would never have a doctor with only 200 of these under his belt do my surgery. 

Good luck.

[LDub]

I agree completely with Imgetinold. I am in Canada and set to travel to Belgium next week for my resurfacing surgery. A dozen years ago I traveled with my wife (on two separate occasions) to India for her resurfacing operations. A great success I might add.

It sounds a bit daunting at first but it's really not a big deal. Very few people on this site are lucky enough to live nearby one of the top surgeons. This site provides you with the contacts you need to explore options. It allows you to get advice from several highly experienced surgeons without ever leaving home. I can't imagine that is possible for any other surgical procedure out there.

Experience is key with any procedure. With resurfacing probably even more so.

Cheers.

[kbiancamano]

Thanks. I agree. I had Amstutz do my right side, he was the OG of hip surgeons, but he is long retired.  Callahan is well over 1000 I believe. As a single parent with a demanding job, flying to Belgium for a few weeks probably doesn't work for me.

[imgetinold]

If he's over 1000, you're in good shape.  Best of luck to you!

[Bioguy501]

I just had my right hip resurfaced with a BHR with Dr. Peter Callander yesterday (Sept. 22nd). I told him that he is listed on the surface hippy website as doing 1000 or 1200 BHRs. He said he has not updated that in years. He stated to me specifically that he is now in the 1000s (plural... 2000 or more). And keep in mind he learned directly from the BHR master and inventor... Derek McMinn from Birmingham, England.

My surgery went very well and I could not ask for a better doctor. I was walking 3 hours after surgery. It really is amazing, but the muscles and tendons they cut to get such a large stable prosthesis into the hip joint are not the ones that affect walking too much. The internal rotators on the other hand were clearly affected and will take some time to heal. But I have read where numerous people were doing light golfing (Wedge work) at 6 weeks, and the internal rotators are clearly involved in the golf swing.

Everyone at California Pacific Orthopedics in San Francisco has been great... and the nurses at the Presidio went above and beyond. I could not recommend Dr. Callahan more highly.

[jimbone]

Bioguy-

Great to hear your surgery went well and you can add a recommendation for another experienced HR surgeon with a successful track record.  You've probably read enough here to know the first few weeks are incremental in progress and trying at times , but you'll see improvement daily even if it's not at the pace you would like.  Don't rush it, just steady pressure to move forward and take a step back when you need to.  First few days can be tough- that's why they gave you the meds- stay ahead of the pain and you likely won't need them much by next week.  If you get released for PT- find one with HR or at least THR experience and let them know your progress is decided by you- not any preconceived notions.  A good trick I learned from a member here for rotator reconstitution was using the BOSU ball for balance and working up to squats with it- but you're 2 months away from that right now- just keep it in mind, it really helped me with those.  Best of luck.

[Bioguy501]

It has been exactly 2 weeks since my BHR operation with Dr. Peter Callander. I will not kid you.... the first week was rough with a fair amount of pain. I should have been taking two oxycodone pills every 4-6 hours instead of one. But those darn narcotics constipate you like crazy. Fortunately, I knew enough to take stool softeners pills with every meal... along with Metamucil.

The second week has been much better. I went off the oxycodone once I flew back home after one week in San Francisco. I used Tylenol for a couple of days and the last 3 days have used nothing for pain other than flexible ice bags.

I think I am progressing well. The key is to get up every hour or so and move around a bit (in my walker). The last couple of days I have kept adding to the amount of exercise -in small increments - and I have used crutches more than the walker the last few days. My leg is getting close to being able to walk without the crutches, but I am not going to push it. The doctor said to use crutches for 3 weeks... then start PT.

[jimbone]

Bioguy-

You're doing well and on schedule.  Another two weeks and the worst is over.  Patience and persistence.  Your surgeons schedule sounds just right.  Best of luck.

[kbiancamano]

Great news re Callander. My recollection is that when I got my first hip done in 2008, there was a bit of a wait before I could fly. Sounds like you can fly one week after, which certainly opens up the possibilities.

[kbiancamano]

Bioguy, I tried DMing you. Posting here as well in case it didn't work. I've not tried DMing on here before!