Katie Ellis Hip Resurfacing 20 Years Ago with Mr. McMinn 1991
25 Year Update – November 4, 2016
I only post now and then with updates and this one is over due. I am very pleased to report that i celebrated 25 years of my resurfaced hip in September.
I thought earlier this year that I might have a problem as I was having lots of pain in my hip and pelvis. I had x-rays and scans at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham and they showed my implant was very much ok. Turns out it was my back causing the pain and after several weeks of physio I’m back to normal. So relieved my hip was ok after 25 years. Mr McMinn is the best.
My 2 boys both born post op are now adults, eldest born 2 years post op graduated from uni last year and my littlest started uni in September. Both very healthy.
Having my hip resurfaced whilst it was in the experimental stage was the best decision I’ve made. I hope you all have the same success and feel the same after 25 years.
Katie Ellis Hip Resurfacing 20 Years Ago with Mr. McMinn 1991
Feb 14, 2013
Katie Ellis had a metal on metal hip resurfacing operation performed by Mr McMinn over 20 years ago in 1991. She leads a moderately active family life and was able to walk down the aisle at her wedding without limping. Katie gave birth and raised two children since having the operation.
You can read Katie’s story on our website here: http://www.mcminncentre.co.uk/katie-e…
Katie Ellis from Birmingham is one of Mr McMinn’s very first conservative hip patients. After being diagnosed with Congenital Dislocation of the Hip (CDH), aged four, she underwent several surgeries culminating in her Metal-on-Metal (MoM) hip resurfacing in 1991. 21 years later, she’s living a happy and moderately active life, describing her resurfacing as a ‘Godsend’.
Katie was only 21 at the time of surgery and explains: “Prior to having my hip resurfaced I was not able to walk very far at all. I had to use a walking stick and it was painful pretty much all the time. My level of activity was very low and at 21 you want to be out and about, so it was very restrictive in that respect.”
Katie’s problems arose due to complications with her ‘clicky’ hip. Children with CDH are usually treated much earlier and Katie recalls: “Because it wasn’t picked up until I was four it was already a very deformed hip. I had a few operations with Mr Sneath at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital [ROH] in Birmingham. Eventually I had the hip resurfacing because there was nothing more they could do.”
At the time Mr McMinn made it very clear that hip resurfacing was an experimental, new procedure. In spite of that she says: “I was more than happy to go ahead with it. It was a no brainer really.” For Katie the idea of a conservative arthroplasty was a compelling one. It would provide a fuller, more natural range of movement and better stability compared to alternative treatments.
One option was a total hip replacement (THR), something which never really appealed. “At 21 it wasn’t really the sort of thing I wanted to be doing,” explains Katie. “The options were very limited – you could only have three THR revisions in your lifetime at that point. And I might not have had the same level of activity.”
Katie’s surgery went ahead shortly before her 22nd Birthday and, amazingly, she got her rehabilitation and recovery out of the way just weeks before getting married. “It wasn’t quite as straight forward as a standard resurfacing because there was a lot of bone grafting done. I had to let that heal over the next couple of months. But I was able to walk down the aisle without limping! After that my level of activity went up to normal.” Since her surgery Katie’s back to dancing, dog walking and family life with her husband and two sons.
“I couldn’t have done most of what I’ve done over the past 20 years if I’d not had my hip resurfaced. I don’t know what I’d have done about having children – certainly not when they’re young and you’re running around after them and physically carrying them. I don’t think I could have done any of that. It would have made life a lot harder. And I couldn’t be wearing Jimmy Choos if I hadn’t had my hip done!
But for Katie it wasn’t important to get out and sample extreme sports after surgery – like so many hip resurfacing patients do. Her hip resurfacing provided a simpler pleasure: an arthritis-free life without the need for a walking stick. “I wouldn’t go jumping out of an aeroplane or go bungee jumping! I’ve been given something that’s made my hip pain-free – why would I want to risk it?”
Conversely, Katie is at a loss to explain the recent Lancet report which claims Metal-on-Metal hip resurfacing is an unsuitable procedure for women. “It made me very angry,” she says. “I was ranting at the TV when I saw the report. It seems to be such a narrow-minded view when there are so many of us who have had successful resurfacings, giving us a life that we wouldn’t have otherwise had.
“Every few years there’s a big thing about Metal-on-Metal, for example the story about whether it affects unborn children and I just get really quite cross. Neither of my sons have had any health problems. The first one was born two years after the resurfacing operation; the second four or five years later. They were big babies and carrying them was no problem. They’re now 19 and 14 and both very healthy and very clever – the eldest one’s just started University and the youngest is doing his GCSEs.”
Far from the media-fuelled circus surrounding MoM, Katie continues to lead a healthy life with a fully functioning hip resurfacing…
Read More at: http://www.mcminncentre.co.uk/katie-e…
For more information on Derek McMinn and the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing please visit http://www.mcminncentre.co.uk/
Katie’s Earlier Story
Wed Mar 7, 2007
Hi to everyone.
I haven’t posted on this site for a long time but I had a check up today at the Royal Orthopaedic in Birmingham after 15.5 years of having had my resurfacing and thought I would post an update. My check up went very well and it looks like my hip is still going very strong. The x-ray showed no change since my last check up 2 years ago which I was really pleased to hear.
For anyone who hasn’t read my posts before, my kids were born 2 years and 7 years post op. They are now 13 and 8. They are very fit and well with absolutely no signs of any ill affects from metal ions that may or may not have passed across to them during pregnancy.
I am not a gym bunny and don’t do any extreme sports, instead I keep fit by walking (especially walking around shops looking for shoes – I must do a ten mile hike doing that on a Saturday afternoon!!)
Katie
Lhip McMinn 1991 Wed Mar 16, 2005
Wed Mar 16, 2005
I am pleased to report that I had another successful check up at the ROH with Mr. Treacy on Wednesday last week (although I didn’t get to see the man himself but one of his team). It was the first check up in 2 years and my x-ray showed that my hip was just as good as it was the last time. bizarrely for about 2 weeks before I have a check up I start limping without realizing it, my husband is convinced it is psychological as I stop as soon as I have had the check up!! It is now 13.5 years and I still feel very blessed, my next check up is in March 07 and I am hoping for the same result when I go then!
Katie
Lhip McMinn 1991
Wed Mar 24, 2004
I discovered this group just a couple of days ago and am totally amazed at how many people are having/had or need resurfacing ops and how much support is offered by fellow patients. I thought I’d share my experience as I am an old surface-hippy, not in age but in the number of years post op. I had mine done by Mr. McMinn at the ROH in Birmingham when the procedure was a twinkle in most peoples eyes. I had CDH which was only diagnosed at 4yrs so I had many ops to try to ‘build’ a hip socket but it finally gave up the ghost and I was faced with either a non tried and tested new op or a THR. I didn’t think there was much choice!! I had my left hip resurfaced in September 1991 when I was 21 – Mr. McMinn was still pioneering it and I was the youngest person to have it at that time. I had to have bone grafting at the same time so my post op recovery took longer than normal. I was in traction for 4 weeks & crutches for a few months but it meant I could walk down the isle in 1992 with no hint of a limp which made my Mum cry! 2 years later I had my first baby followed by another one 5 years after that. My hip is still going very strong after over 12 years.
I would encourage anyone who is worried about the longevity of this procedure not to worry and go for it!
Katie
Lhip McMinn 1991