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My hip hurt, my body hurt and I needed a
new hip. I had fought hip pain for almost ten years because
I just did not want "half my leg bone cut off" to get a new hip
replacement. It just did not make sense to me that doctors
were still sawing off a big hunk of a femur bone to replace
a hip. We sent men to the moon, had nuclear power and every
kind of electronic device imaginable, so why are our
operations still old-fashioned?
I asked myself that question quite often. One evening while
visiting our local tavern, I was telling a gentleman my
feelings about total hip replacement. I am not sure how the
conversation started, but perhaps I was complaining about my
hip pain. To my surprise, he told me that they don't have to
saw off part of your femur bone to replace a hip any more. I
was shocked. I had been doing some internet searching, but
had not found information about hip resurfacing yet.
He explained that he had his hip resurfaced with Dr.
Schmalzried in California in 2005. With hip resurfacing, the
surgeon reshapes the top of your femur bone to accept a cap
that is the same size as your original bone, he explained.
The cap has a small stem which is placed into a hole that is
drilled in the top of the femur bone. A small amount of
cement is used to hold the cap in place until new bone grows
under the cap. A matching metal cup is placed in the
acetabulum of your hip to provide a bearing surface for the
cap on the femur bone. It becomes a perfect metal bearing
which replaces your injured or arthritic hip joint.
Hip resurfacing is major surgery just as a total hip
replacement is. The basic difference is that the doctor does
not saw off a major portion of your femur bone and drill a
long hole into it to accept the long stem of a total hip
replacement device.
Hip resurfacing is bone conserving. The reason that hip
resurfacing is a better choice than total hip replacement
for many people is that at some time in the future, you
could require a revision. The actual hip devices don't wear
out since they are metal, but the bone holding the hip
device often deteriorates. The hip device becomes lose and
very painful. A revision is then necessary to replace the
old hip device. If a person starts with a hip resurfacing
and at some point later in life requires a revision, then
they have a complete femur bone for the surgeon to work
with. If a person starts with a total hip replacement, then
the doctor has to break apart the femur bone to remove the
long steam of the old total hip device. The femur bone must
be wired back together when the new stem is in place. Hip
resurfacing allows a much easier revision later in life if
it is required.
The second advantage of a hip resurfacing is that the hip
device, due to it's large size, allows a person to return to
any of their favorite activities without restrictions or
possibility of a dislocation. The old fashioned total hip
replacement devices used a very small diameter ball as
compared to size of your natural femur bone. The small size
of the ball would allow a hip to dislocate easily. The size
of the hip resurfacing device is matched very closely to the
original size of your hip, so any movements you make are
much less likely to cause a dislocation. The hip resurfacing
device is acting the same way your natural hip use to
function.
I was sixty-one and still felt young when I needed a hip
replacement. I had always been very active during my life
playing tennis, ice skating, bike riding and participating
in other sports. I wanted to remain active and did not want
to worry about dislocating a hip after a total hip
replacement. I had sixteen dogs and often got on the floor
to groom and cut nails. I needed to be as active as possible
and the only solution for me was hip resurfacing.
I had my hip resurfaced with a Birmingham Hip Resurfacing, BHR, in March 2006 with Dr. De Smet in Belgium. I did not
have health insurance and could not afford surgery in the
United States. Dr. De Smet is one of the best hip surgeons
in the world and had done over 2400 hip resurfacings when I
went to him. My surgery and medical costs were $13,500. The
complete trip for my husband and I to Belgium, including the
medical costs, was about $17,000. I felt this was the best
investment I ever made in my whole life, an investment in my
own health and well being.
Birmingham Hip Resurfacing, BHR, was not
FDA approved in the
United States until May 2006. The BHR had been used world
wide for over nine years. Younger, active people all over
the world were offered hip resurfacing instead of a total
hip replacement. Over 90,000 people world wide have hip
resurfacings and now I am one of them.
Hip resurfacing has allowed me to be as active as possible
without worrying about a dislocation. If you have hip pain
and need a new hip, be sure to ask your doctor about hip
resurfacing. Although the BHR is FDA approved, many doctors
are not trained to do the BHR surgery. It is a more
difficult surgery than a THR and requires training and
experience. There are many sources available to learn about
hip resurfacing like the Surface Hippy Website – a Patient
to Patient Guide About Hip Resurfacing, the Yahoo Surface
Hippy Discussion Group and many doctor and medical equipment
websites.
About the
Author: Patricia Walter had her hip resurfaced in March
2006. She is the webmaster and owner of several Patient to
Patient Websites about Hip Replacement.
Surface Hippy – Patient to Patient Guide about Hip
Resurfacing
Hip Resurfacing News – Up to Date News about Hip Resurfacing
Hips for You – Patient to Patient Guide to Total Hip
Replacement
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