Staph Infections - A Question....

[Guest guest]

I was at a party last night for a friends 50th birthday. There

were many people I hadn't seen in a long time. Many of them knew I

was going to have hip replacement surgery and quite a few of them

knew it had something to do with an FDA trial. Well, seeing me

walking around well and happy, lots of folks asked me about the

surgery and how it was different then THR.

At one point I was talking to 4 people. Two of the people chimed

in that close relations (one had a 50 year old sister and another a

84 year old mother) had recently had THR. BOTH people said their

relations developed Staph (sp?) Infections in the hospital. Both

women had to have massive antibiotics applied into the surgical

opening and both had to have the device removed. One woman (the

younger) will have had 6 operations by time she is finished, the

other had 4. Both will have recouperations that entail inablity to

get out of bed, massive drugs, repeated surgeries and of course the

ensuing depression over such a terrible thing.

We have 1200 people that come to this site to post. In the 1 1/2

years I have been here, I do not remember reading any posts about

Staph infections. Is there something about a THR that makes a

person more open to this type of infection? Is a Resurfer less at

risk for this? Any thoughts?

Lois C+ 3/27/03 Dr. Mont