From the Moderator...

[Guest guest]

Total Joint Replacement group - I am posting this at the request of the moderator of the SurfaceHippy group, which deals with resurfacing. The link below can take you to information. **Although I understand many people outside the US have had hip resurfacing, this is in not endorsing hip resurfacing by this site...I am merely providing the link to the seminar. There is a luncheon/gathering of surfacehippies and any other interested party in learning more about hip resurfacing. Dr. Mont will be our guest speaker. The date is May 21st. The link has all details.Would you please add this link to your home page? Thank you. http://home.comcast.net/~philylady/ Below is a description of the two procedures

from http://vanderbiltowc.wellsource.com/dh/Content.asp?ID=1561: Hip Replacement Surgery The hip joint is a ball and socket, allowing a wide range of motion. The ball of the joint, the top of the thighbone (femoral head), moves within the hollow socket (acetabulum) of the pelvis. A layer of cartilage allows the ball to glide smoothly inside the socket. In total hip replacement, the surgeon cuts away the ball part of the joint, replacing it with a ball attached to a stem that is wedged into a hollowed-out space in the thighbone. Damaged cartilage and bone are removed from the socket and a cup-like component is inserted into the socket. Hip replacements may be cemented or uncemented. If cemented, the hip parts are held in place with a fast-curing "bone cement" made from a type of polymer. If uncemented, the joint components are specially made to either press into the

bone for a tight fit (press-fit) or to allow new bone to grow into the porous surface of the implant, holding it in place (biological fixation). Hip Resurfacing An alternative to total hip replacement is an operation called hip resurfacing. Unlike the prostheses used in total hip replacement, which are made to replace the femoral head, resurfacing prosthesis designs allow the head to be preserved and reshaped. The resurfaced bone is then capped with a metal prosthesis. Like total hip replacement, the socket is fitted with a prosthesis. In the United States, hip resurfacing is being conducted only in FDA-approved clinical studies. It is necessary for each manufacturer of a hip resurfacing device to collect clinical data on its resurfacing design. The data collected in these studies will be used to demonstrate whether each hip resurfacing design is safe and effective for market approval in the United States. Presently,

no manufacturer has obtained FDA approval to market its hip resurfacing design. Not everyone is a candidate for resurfacing; the femoral head may be too damaged to hold the resurfacing component. "Good bone stock is required," says Mont, M.D., director of the Center for Joint Preservation and Reconstruction at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore.

Alisa Curry, RPT - Senior Physical Therapist Washington Hospital Center for Joint Replacement - Fremont , CA

510-818-6287