Re: Going for a THR

May 14, 2004

A question: why don't you think you can regain your 5.0 with

resurfacing? My experience would indicate otherwise. I'm 57 and 3

months post-op on one resurfaced hip, 6 ½ years on the other. My

hips are now the strongest joints in my body. Just as good as the

originals, if not better. I too have back problems but it's

managable enough for me to keep it close with 20 somethings having

4.5 ratings and I only play 6 times a month. Which is more

logical: to accept the opinion of an OS who has performed hundreds of

resurfacings, or of one who has performed none? I'm sure Dr.

Gilbert means well, but why settle for a 4.0 (or less) with THRs when

you could have a 5.0 with resurfacing?

Dave

> I really want to thank all of you who have posted over the last

> several months. Good advise, good humor and an incredible amount

of

> empathy. I am 61, living in the Bay Area, and have played

> competitive tennis all my life. My NTRP rating has fallen from 5.0

> to 4.5 and now to 4.0, primarily because of my inability to move on

> the court. It has gradually gotten worse over the last couple of

> years. (If I weren't 6'5 " , I'd have a real tough time getting to

the

> ball right now.) I have come to the realization that no matter what

> procedure I elect, I am not going to climb back to a 5.0 rating. I

> had a long talk yesterday with the surgeon who will do the THR

> ( Gilbert), and he is quite familiar with the resurfacing

> procedure and said that it really was a personal decision. He even

> said that if I chose to resurface, he would continue to work with

me

> after the surgery. In my case, it is o/a, and I can't stand up

> straight, and it is effecting my back - my hips really don't hurt

> that much. If I were 40, there is no question that I would choose

> resurfacing - but... I have made the decision to put my faith and

> trust in him, and we are scheduled for bi-lateral THR on 5 October -

> ironically the date is exactly 39 years from the day I reported to

> Quantico, Virginia and the United States Marine Corps. (In a

little

> different shape!)

May 15, 2004

Hi there Mr. Whale,

I too live in the Bay area and saw Dr. Gilbert. I wanted to talk to him

about being my emergency backup in case I needed help after returning from

Belgium. He agreed to see me if needed and was supportive of resurfacing.

He did, however tell me that he could give me a pair of ceramic hips that

would be just as good as resurfaced ones. Dr. Gilbert is an honest man but

he makes his living doing THRs. I'm 45 years old. I chose to go with the

resurfacing because I know the prosthetic itself will not wear out. You are

still way too young for a THR. If you are as active as you say you are you

might be needing the same operation 2 or 3 times. I would do a little more

research. Look at pictures. Watch a few movies of the different procedures.

I've got my surgery on tape if you want to see it. The best thing to do is

look at xrays of people's hips with THRs and with resurfacings. I can't

imagine anyone choosing the THR if they had a choice. You still have time.

Don't stop researching yet.

June De Smet RBHR post op 9 months

on 5/14/04 6:50 PM, surfacehippy at

surfacehippy wrote:

> Date: Fri, 14 May 2004 23:40:10 -0000

>

> Subject: Going for a THR

>

> I really want to thank all of you who have posted over the last

> several months. Good advise, good humor and an incredible amount of

> empathy. I am 61, living in the Bay Area, and have played

> competitive tennis all my life. My NTRP rating has fallen from 5.0

> to 4.5 and now to 4.0, primarily because of my inability to move on

> the court. It has gradually gotten worse over the last couple of

> years. (If I weren't 6'5 " , I'd have a real tough time getting to the

> ball right now.) I have come to the realization that no matter what

> procedure I elect, I am not going to climb back to a 5.0 rating. I

> had a long talk yesterday with the surgeon who will do the THR

> ( Gilbert), and he is quite familiar with the resurfacing

> procedure and said that it really was a personal decision. He even

> said that if I chose to resurface, he would continue to work with me

> after the surgery. In my case, it is o/a, and I can't stand up

> straight, and it is effecting my back - my hips really don't hurt

> that much. If I were 40, there is no question that I would choose

> resurfacing - but... I have made the decision to put my faith and

> trust in him, and we are scheduled for bi-lateral THR on 5 October -

> ironically the date is exactly 39 years from the day I reported to

> Quantico, Virginia and the United States Marine Corps. (In a little

> different shape!)

May 15, 2004

> I really want to thank all of you who have posted over the last

> several months. Good advise, good humor and an incredible amount

of

> empathy. I am 61, living in the Bay Area, and have played

> competitive tennis all my life. My NTRP rating has fallen from 5.0

> to 4.5 and now to 4.0, primarily because of my inability to move on

> the court. It has gradually gotten worse over the last couple of

> years. (If I weren't 6'5 " , I'd have a real tough time getting to

the

> ball right now.) I have come to the realization that no matter what

> procedure I elect, I am not going to climb back to a 5.0 rating. I

> had a long talk yesterday with the surgeon who will do the THR

> ( Gilbert), and he is quite familiar with the resurfacing

> procedure and said that it really was a personal decision. He even

> said that if I chose to resurface, he would continue to work with

me

> after the surgery. In my case, it is o/a, and I can't stand up

> straight, and it is effecting my back - my hips really don't hurt

> that much. If I were 40, there is no question that I would choose

> resurfacing - but... I have made the decision to put my faith and

> trust in him, and we are scheduled for bi-lateral THR on 5 October -

> ironically the date is exactly 39 years from the day I reported to

> Quantico, Virginia and the United States Marine Corps. (In a

little

> different shape!)

Dear Sir,

I am wondering if you are making a huge decision based on a lack of

data. I would suggest that you write down the comparisons of the

pros and cons for each procedure and then relook at your decision.

Every decision a patient makes has to be his/her alone and I am not

trying to talk you out of a hip resurfacing - but seeing a OS who

performs resurfacings might give you a fresh perspective on your

decision making. Either way good-luck to you.

Dr. Mark

May 15, 2004

> I really want to thank all of you who have posted over the last

> several months. Good advise, good humor and an incredible amount

of

> empathy. I am 61, living in the Bay Area, and have played

> competitive tennis all my life. My NTRP rating has fallen from 5.0

> to 4.5 and now to 4.0, primarily because of my inability to move on

> the court. It has gradually gotten worse over the last couple of

> years. (If I weren't 6'5 " , I'd have a real tough time getting to

the

> ball right now.) I have come to the realization that no matter what

> procedure I elect, I am not going to climb back to a 5.0 rating. I

> had a long talk yesterday with the surgeon who will do the THR

> ( Gilbert), and he is quite familiar with the resurfacing

> procedure and said that it really was a personal decision. He even

> said that if I chose to resurface, he would continue to work with

me

> after the surgery. In my case, it is o/a, and I can't stand up

> straight, and it is effecting my back - my hips really don't hurt

> that much. If I were 40, there is no question that I would choose

> resurfacing - but... I have made the decision to put my faith and

> trust in him, and we are scheduled for bi-lateral THR on 5 October -

> ironically the date is exactly 39 years from the day I reported to

> Quantico, Virginia and the United States Marine Corps. (In a

little

> different shape!)

Dear Sir,

I am wondering if you are making a huge decision based on a lack of

data. I would suggest that you write down the comparisons of the

pros and cons for each procedure and then relook at your decision.

Every decision a patient makes has to be his/her alone and I am not

trying to talk you out of a hip resurfacing - but seeing a OS who

performs resurfacings might give you a fresh perspective on your

decision making. Either way good-luck to you.

Dr. Mark

May 15, 2004

> I really want to thank all of you who have posted over the last

> several months. Good advise, good humor and an incredible amount

of

> empathy. I am 61, living in the Bay Area, and have played

> competitive tennis all my life. My NTRP rating has fallen from 5.0

> to 4.5 and now to 4.0, primarily because of my inability to move on

> the court. It has gradually gotten worse over the last couple of

> years. (If I weren't 6'5 " , I'd have a real tough time getting to

the

> ball right now.) I have come to the realization that no matter what

> procedure I elect, I am not going to climb back to a 5.0 rating. I

> had a long talk yesterday with the surgeon who will do the THR

> ( Gilbert), and he is quite familiar with the resurfacing

> procedure and said that it really was a personal decision. He even

> said that if I chose to resurface, he would continue to work with

me

> after the surgery. In my case, it is o/a, and I can't stand up

> straight, and it is effecting my back - my hips really don't hurt

> that much. If I were 40, there is no question that I would choose

> resurfacing - but... I have made the decision to put my faith and

> trust in him, and we are scheduled for bi-lateral THR on 5 October -

> ironically the date is exactly 39 years from the day I reported to

> Quantico, Virginia and the United States Marine Corps. (In a

little

> different shape!)

Dear Sir,

I am wondering if you are making a huge decision based on a lack of

data. I would suggest that you write down the comparisons of the

pros and cons for each procedure and then relook at your decision.

Every decision a patient makes has to be his/her alone and I am not

trying to talk you out of a hip resurfacing - but seeing a OS who

performs resurfacings might give you a fresh perspective on your

decision making. Either way good-luck to you.

Dr. Mark

May 17, 2004

Good Luck with the THR's. I'm sure you've made the right decision for

YOU. My cousin who is your age, also elected to go that route although

at the time said that if he was 15 years younger he would have gone with

a resurfacing. And he investigated all options thoroughly. He admits

though that 7 years later, if the other hip needed doing he would

re-visit that decision - not because he's unhappy with the THR, quite

the contrary - but because of the subsequent proven track record of

re-surfacing.

The deciding factor for me, being 43 at the time, was that when asked

about activities post-surgery, my THR O/S said " if you look after your

hips, you could walk a golf course for maybe 15 or even 20 years.... "

By contrast, my eventual O/S, McMinn, suggested I could hammer the

hips after a resurfacing, and that is pretty much what I do.

Almost 5 years later, my tennis is better than ever (playing team tennis

tonight) and yesterday I nearly decapitated myself doing a circus

workshop. That high wire is sure high!! And at last I can uni-cycle

and walk on stilts!!

Incidentally, my inspirational cousin climbed Kilimanjaro (20,000+ feet)

2 years ago, at 66. So don't give up on getting your tennis rating back

with a THR.

Best wishes,

Dunn (2 x BHR's lft 11/99 + rt 12/00)

May 17, 2004

me

If I were 40, there is no question that I would choose

> resurfacing - but... I have made the decision to put my faith and

> trust in him, and we are scheduled for bi-lateral THR on 5 October -

Just another perspective for you on resurfacing vice THR--I am

probably the only person in this forum who has one of each. I

received a large ball metal on metal THR from Dr Mont in May 02 when

he could not perform a resurfacing due to the large size of my

femoral neck. In February 04, I received a Cormet 2K resurfacing

from Dr Schmalzried. (Corin makes the devices in larger sizes than

WMT did in 2002)

I am perfectly happy--just as Dr Mont predicted--with my m-o-m THR,

great range of motion, no pain and a fully active lifestyle including

skiing, biking, and backpacking. BUT...after the resurfacing, its

quite obvious that the resurfaced joint is more natural, more stable

and enabled me to walk limp-free sooner. (at 6 weeks, I walked into

Dr Schmalzried's office with no cane and no limp...it took me 12

weeks to do that with the THR even with the same therapist)

The real unknown is what happens in 20 years. Hopefully, both

devices will still be fully functional, as will I!! I really respect

the orthopaedic surgeons I have dealt with, but I have yet to meet

one who has actually lived with the pain of an OA hip joint and had a

hip replaced. Until that time comes, the folks on this board has a

unique experience that those surgeons do not have ...living with the

replaced joint 24/7.

In my humble opinion, its a " no-brainer " ---go with the

resurfacing!! If you would like to discuss my experience further

with me, email me direct. Best of luck whichever decision you make!!

DENNY M

ps. I am 62 years old. (its not your age, its your desired activity

level and how you use the joint that should point you to resurfacing)

May 17, 2004