Hip Resurfacing is very near and dear to my heart – and left hip.  I believe it is a wonderful alternative to a total hip replacement, if you are a suitable candidate. People with painful hips want to begin living an active life again without pain. They don’t want restrictions to their favorite sports and activities.  Hip Resurfacing offers that opportunity to return to a normal active life without the fear of dislocation and other THR restrictions.  Hip Resurfacing is also bone conserving.  If a revision would be necessary, you have a complete femur bone left for surgery. Those two basic reasons are why I believe in hip resurfacing and have a left resurfaced hip with a BHR (Birmingham Hip Resurfacing).

I was very fortunate to meet a local man in my town that had a hip resurfacing with Dr. Amstutz in CA.  He told me about the procedure.  When I was searching for information about hip resurfacing, there was very little available in 2005.  The Yahoo Hip Resurfacing Discussion Group was about the only resource.  I wanted to share information about hip resurfacing to help people learn there is an alternative to a THR.  I started the www.surfacehippy.info website as a patient guide in 2005.  The website continues to grow.  It features articles about hip resurfacing, hundreds and hundreds of patient stories, frequently asked questions and surgeon information.  The website is a resource for perspective patients to learn about hip resurfacing.

I also wrote a book about my experience Belgium and my BHR by Patricia Walter to help people learn more about the surgery experience.

I work on the website every day as a full time job.  It has grown and changed over the years.  Last summer (2015)  I updated it to a WordPress website that is now mobile responsive for phones, tablets and laptops.  About 1000+ visitors a day use the Surface Hippy Website.  A large discussion group called Hip Talk has 4500+ members and is very active.  Over a thousand personal stories are shared in the Personal Stories Section.

I often receive Thank You Notes for my efforts and donations to help support the website.  I appreciate everyone’s kinds words and generous gifts. I will continue to improve the website and add information.

Here is a small sample of the wonderful Thank You Notes I have Received:

..the reason i’m writing is that it was your website and your hard work and information that gave me hope thru the story of cory faulk, triathlete…

…it was your website i turned to when frustrated with the usa doctors and their
timidness with resurfacing and an athlete’s needs… ..a unique quality of life to return to vs recreational activity… ..the story of cory inspired me to call dr vijay bose, and i find myself here and ready to for resurfacing…

…I enjoy your site, and intended to donate, as a matter of fact. You have helped a lot of people with surfacehippy.info. Keep up the good work!

…..Thanks for maintaining the web site! Its an excellent resource.

… The internet really is amazing isn’t it? I just found out about the hip resurfacing last week (my father in law needed prostate surgery and had researched things on the internet and found it, by accident). so in just a few days, my husband and I have been discussing it

….Your book has already helped us a lot in discussing this, and I really  appreciate all the work you’ve done on the website and book!

I just wanted to say I happen to like your site very much and think it is very useful and serves a real purpose….

…Keep up the great work. Your site is needed and what is on it is valuable
information.

Without having found this website, I might still be on the path to a total hip
replacement. Instead, I get to have the benefits from healing under
Dr. De Smet.

First, thank you for your efforts on this very helpful site….

Thanks for your reply. I am glad to hear your experience was good as well. The main reason I wanted to share my story was so others would not think it was some kind of bizarre procedure (like 2 surgeons implied to me)…

…Thank you for helping others regain their lives by putting information together in one place in a coherent form.

I just read through your online book. Well, you did have an experience and a half. … Thanks for the very informative insight into your story.

Thanks for all your contributions to Surface Hippy !

Thanks for your kind words…. The website is great to get info, although some
of the rehab stories where people throw their crutches away after a few weeks just seem incredulous to me. Thanks again for your advice and all the best,

…..Thanks for your support during the whole process, and I admire the work you’ve put into
your awesome website.

Congratulations on your excellent website! I am on my way to Chennai, India, Monday for surgery by Dr. Bose….

Thanks for all your work on the website – it was invaluable to me when I was looking into the whole resurf process…

Just toured your site. Thanks for sharing. ….

Thank you Pat…I love your posts by the way…and your website….

I’ve been admiring your web site for some time. It was a lot of excellent, unbiased information, which is hard to come by…
There is so much marketing and misinformation out there, it is nice to see a patient based
site.

Thank you for the website on the ironman athlete. It was very helpful, and comforting…

…… Looks like you have really spruced up the home page. I enjoyed visiting it today and was
amazed again at what a great resource it is. Thank you very much.

I can’t believe it. I had the surgery just in time….. all’s OK Bless you for your web site and thanks for all your support…

pat, i’m very pleased i found this site. you seem to be one of the committed leaders on this site, and i am much impressed with the web site of info you have compiled — particularly since you have no healthcare background or contacts….

Pat I love your site and glad to hear you are so happy with the procedure…

….I have enjoyed much of your website, but haven’t read your ebook yet. Will do so tomorrow! It is really wonderful that you put so much time into helping others….

Thanks Pat…Your site really helps. Prior to last week I had not heard of hip
resurfacing, then I saw a few things on the internet but didn’t know if the surgery was genuine.

I really enjoy your website…  Thanks for all the info you provide us!

Just read your e-book , quite an adventure you had. Your site has been a lot of things to me , wonderful, reassuring and encouraging….

Pat, I appreciate the work you have done and the sincerity you have done it with. No one knows better than you what a strange world this hip thing takes us into and one of the aspects of that world is appreciation for kindness and
understanding. You have also a real zest for life and a beautiful optimistic passion….

Thank you so much for putting effort on that website. It’s so helpful!!!

Thanks so much for all the info you have put together in your website…Your experiences and advice has been a HUGE help to all of us dealing with hip problems with an alternative to THR…