Re: I want a BHR but surgeon is recommending THR ceramic

March 4, 2004

hi liz-

here's my biased 2 cents worth,

(these are only suggestions).

you can always push the surgery date back

until you know exactly what you are getting into.

don't let that pressure you.

get copies of your x-rays and send them to a few

different resurfacing doctors to get their diagnosis

to seen if you are a candidate for resurfacing.

write out a 1-2 page description of your medical

history, particularly this hip problem. i did this and

sent it along with my x-rays, the doctors said that

it was very helpful to have that background info

while evaluating your x-rays. (some people use a

digital camera to take pictures of their x-rays to

e-mail to prospective surgeons, it's cheaper & faster).

find out EXACTLY what your insurance coverage

policy states with regard to hip resurfacing. you

may or may not be covered for resurfacing.

research the wright medical technologies " BFH "

conserve total hip system with large diameter

metal-metal bearing and modular cementless

stem design.

http://www.wmt.com/Physicians/Products/Hips/CONSERVETotalHipSystem.asp

this system provides many of the

advantages of a hip resurfacing. some of the

" hippies " here have these in lieu of a re-surf

and have given glowing reports.

find a resurf doctor who uses conserve+ parts,

they will also have this system on hand and can

select the most appropriate device for you during

surgery if you are a borderline re-surf candidate.

and finally, imho, keep doing what you are doing. it seems

to take a little while to get up to speed with all of the

great information that is bantied about on this board

and the related websites.

best of luck, keep giving updates of what you discover.

jeff

left...no right...wait, left hip / desmet / 11-19-2003

(i'm almost positive it's my left hip that was operated on).

I want a BHR but surgeon is recommending THR ceramic

I'm 32 who had late diagnosis of R CDH, had frog plaster at 2 and

then rotational osteotomy at 5. I was doing fine, treating my hip

like an old car and not doing too much to induce any excess pain.

Since October the pain has become unbearable - even walking a few

yards induces pain.

To cut a long story short I saw a surgeon and 2 weeks ago he said

that it looked like surgery was the only option. He would spend some

time deciding what would be the best procedure.

I was getting worried as I hadn't heard from my surgeon which option

he would advise so on Tuesday I spoke to my surgeon's secretary and

she told me that a letter had been sent to me and then offered to

tell me what was in the letter. She said he thought it would be

practical to perform a BHR. She then went on to say it would be a

cemented type with ceramic bearings.

I got straight onto the web and followed your various links and read

up about BHR - which I can see is a fantastic procedure and

particularly suitable for younger patients.

Then I actually got the letter yesterday. Reading it he actually says

he *doesn't* think it would be practical to perform a BHR. The

secretary must have been skim reading and missed the word " don't "

in " I don't think it would be practical. "

I'm gutted. Everything I have been reading says it should be Metal on

Metal and resurf is the way to go.

What shall I do now? The operation is booked for 2nd April and I

don't know if ceramic is the right thing to do but I've got to trust

my surgeon right?

I know I have a dysplastic hip and the femur is damaged because of

the late diagnosis but ............. why can't I have a resurf?

What questions should I be asking?

Looking forward to your replies

thanks

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

March 4, 2004

hi liz-

here's my biased 2 cents worth,

(these are only suggestions).

you can always push the surgery date back

until you know exactly what you are getting into.

don't let that pressure you.

get copies of your x-rays and send them to a few

different resurfacing doctors to get their diagnosis

to seen if you are a candidate for resurfacing.

write out a 1-2 page description of your medical

history, particularly this hip problem. i did this and

sent it along with my x-rays, the doctors said that

it was very helpful to have that background info

while evaluating your x-rays. (some people use a

digital camera to take pictures of their x-rays to

e-mail to prospective surgeons, it's cheaper & faster).

find out EXACTLY what your insurance coverage

policy states with regard to hip resurfacing. you

may or may not be covered for resurfacing.

research the wright medical technologies " BFH "

conserve total hip system with large diameter

metal-metal bearing and modular cementless

stem design.

http://www.wmt.com/Physicians/Products/Hips/CONSERVETotalHipSystem.asp

this system provides many of the

advantages of a hip resurfacing. some of the

" hippies " here have these in lieu of a re-surf

and have given glowing reports.

find a resurf doctor who uses conserve+ parts,

they will also have this system on hand and can

select the most appropriate device for you during

surgery if you are a borderline re-surf candidate.

and finally, imho, keep doing what you are doing. it seems

to take a little while to get up to speed with all of the

great information that is bantied about on this board

and the related websites.

best of luck, keep giving updates of what you discover.

jeff

left...no right...wait, left hip / desmet / 11-19-2003

(i'm almost positive it's my left hip that was operated on).

I want a BHR but surgeon is recommending THR ceramic

I'm 32 who had late diagnosis of R CDH, had frog plaster at 2 and

then rotational osteotomy at 5. I was doing fine, treating my hip

like an old car and not doing too much to induce any excess pain.

Since October the pain has become unbearable - even walking a few

yards induces pain.

To cut a long story short I saw a surgeon and 2 weeks ago he said

that it looked like surgery was the only option. He would spend some

time deciding what would be the best procedure.

I was getting worried as I hadn't heard from my surgeon which option

he would advise so on Tuesday I spoke to my surgeon's secretary and

she told me that a letter had been sent to me and then offered to

tell me what was in the letter. She said he thought it would be

practical to perform a BHR. She then went on to say it would be a

cemented type with ceramic bearings.

I got straight onto the web and followed your various links and read

up about BHR - which I can see is a fantastic procedure and

particularly suitable for younger patients.

Then I actually got the letter yesterday. Reading it he actually says

he *doesn't* think it would be practical to perform a BHR. The

secretary must have been skim reading and missed the word " don't "

in " I don't think it would be practical. "

I'm gutted. Everything I have been reading says it should be Metal on

Metal and resurf is the way to go.

What shall I do now? The operation is booked for 2nd April and I

don't know if ceramic is the right thing to do but I've got to trust

my surgeon right?

I know I have a dysplastic hip and the femur is damaged because of

the late diagnosis but ............. why can't I have a resurf?

What questions should I be asking?

Looking forward to your replies

thanks

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

March 4, 2004

Good question! Don't take " no " for an answer without specific good

reason. Ask Dr Koen De Smet in Belgium (koen.desmet@...) what he

thinks of your situation. He just resurfed two women with similar

histories to yours so he'll be able to tell you better than I what

your options actually are.

Best of luck!

> I'm 32 who had late diagnosis of R CDH, had frog plaster at 2 and

> then rotational osteotomy at 5. I was doing fine, treating my hip

> like an old car and not doing too much to induce any excess pain.

> Since October the pain has become unbearable - even walking a few

> yards induces pain.

> To cut a long story short I saw a surgeon and 2 weeks ago he said

> that it looked like surgery was the only option. He would spend some

> time deciding what would be the best procedure.

>

> I was getting worried as I hadn't heard from my surgeon which option

> he would advise so on Tuesday I spoke to my surgeon's secretary and

> she told me that a letter had been sent to me and then offered to

> tell me what was in the letter. She said he thought it would be

> practical to perform a BHR. She then went on to say it would be a

> cemented type with ceramic bearings.

> I got straight onto the web and followed your various links and read

> up about BHR - which I can see is a fantastic procedure and

> particularly suitable for younger patients.

>

> Then I actually got the letter yesterday. Reading it he actually says

> he *doesn't* think it would be practical to perform a BHR. The

> secretary must have been skim reading and missed the word " don't "

> in " I don't think it would be practical. "

>

> I'm gutted. Everything I have been reading says it should be Metal on

> Metal and resurf is the way to go.

> What shall I do now? The operation is booked for 2nd April and I

> don't know if ceramic is the right thing to do but I've got to trust

> my surgeon right?

> I know I have a dysplastic hip and the femur is damaged because of

> the late diagnosis but ............. why can't I have a resurf?

>

> What questions should I be asking?

>

> Looking forward to your replies

> thanks

March 4, 2004

Good question! Don't take " no " for an answer without specific good

reason. Ask Dr Koen De Smet in Belgium (koen.desmet@...) what he

thinks of your situation. He just resurfed two women with similar

histories to yours so he'll be able to tell you better than I what

your options actually are.

Best of luck!

> I'm 32 who had late diagnosis of R CDH, had frog plaster at 2 and

> then rotational osteotomy at 5. I was doing fine, treating my hip

> like an old car and not doing too much to induce any excess pain.

> Since October the pain has become unbearable - even walking a few

> yards induces pain.

> To cut a long story short I saw a surgeon and 2 weeks ago he said

> that it looked like surgery was the only option. He would spend some

> time deciding what would be the best procedure.

>

> I was getting worried as I hadn't heard from my surgeon which option

> he would advise so on Tuesday I spoke to my surgeon's secretary and

> she told me that a letter had been sent to me and then offered to

> tell me what was in the letter. She said he thought it would be

> practical to perform a BHR. She then went on to say it would be a

> cemented type with ceramic bearings.

> I got straight onto the web and followed your various links and read

> up about BHR - which I can see is a fantastic procedure and

> particularly suitable for younger patients.

>

> Then I actually got the letter yesterday. Reading it he actually says

> he *doesn't* think it would be practical to perform a BHR. The

> secretary must have been skim reading and missed the word " don't "

> in " I don't think it would be practical. "

>

> I'm gutted. Everything I have been reading says it should be Metal on

> Metal and resurf is the way to go.

> What shall I do now? The operation is booked for 2nd April and I

> don't know if ceramic is the right thing to do but I've got to trust

> my surgeon right?

> I know I have a dysplastic hip and the femur is damaged because of

> the late diagnosis but ............. why can't I have a resurf?

>

> What questions should I be asking?

>

> Looking forward to your replies

> thanks

March 4, 2004

What shall I do now? The operation is booked for 2nd April and I don't know if

ceramic is the right thing to do but I've got to trust my surgeon right?

I'm assuming you live in the states and are not on some kind of NHS waiting

list. If I'm assuming correctly, you can easily postpone or flat out cancel the

surgery. I would want to be absolutely sure of my decision before going in for

surgery. A friend of mine who is a nurse says she knows many docs who won't

operate if you are not sure, as they don't believe the results are as good as

for those who are happy with their decision. Ask lots of questions, maybe get a

second or third opinion from another resurf surgeon, ask him/her to explain

their reasoning.

Cindy

C+ 5/25/01 and 6/28/01

_______________________________________________

March 4, 2004