new to group: any rock climbers out there?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm new to the group. I'm 40 and have had hip pain for several

years and this year (OK, last year, 2001) the orthopedist that I've

visited locally in Denver (Dr. Doug Dennis) said I should get a THR

within the year. Through the Web, I discovered the hip re-surfacing

procedure and it sounds much more appropriate for me given my age

and the amount of activities I enjoy. I'm a big rock climber and

one question I had was whether there were any climbers out there

who have had hip re-surfacing? The other big question I have is

where to get the procedure done? Dr. Dennis was recommending a

metal-on-metal THR for me, but I believe he was talking about an

otherwise traditional THR. In the lists posted on activjoints.com,

I didn't see any surgeons here in Colorado doing the procedure, does

anybody out there have different information? I also have family

in New Jersey, and have thought about having surgery done there, but

again I didn't see any NJ surgeons on those lists. This confuses me

a bit since I had some communication with a Dr. Buechel in NJ who

has a Web site where he discusses doing hip resurfacing. Sorry for

being a bit rambling, but I'm trying to sort things out and any help

would be appreciated.

Bill