RE: Dr. Mont

[Guest guest]

Jim,

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I appreciate receiving your

advice and hearing about wife's experience with Dr. Mont. I'll add

it to all the other good info I'm getting from this group. Hopefully

I'll be able to make the right decision and get the outcome I'm

looking for.

> > However, I left his office with some concern

> > and that has been reinforced by a couple of postings I've read

here

> > that refer to trials and the need for successful numbers. I'd

like

> > to share my concern and hear back from anyone who cares to

comment

> > but in particular Dr. Mont's patients.

>

> First of all, I urge you to take up your concerns with Dr. Mont. I

> realize he isn't the easiest person to talk with, particularly in

the

> office, but you really owe it to yourself to get answers direct from

> him. When my wife was considering surgery, his office was willing to

> set up evening calls for patients. You might put together your lists

> of questions and concerns and then see if they can do that.

>

> I know the clinical trials have rules for patient selection, but I

> don't think that Dr. Mont would accept you as a patient for

> resurfacing unless he had every intention of performing resurfacing

if

> it's possible.

>

> > I told Dr. Mont that I wanted resurfacing and gave him all the

> normal

> > reasons why. He said he could not guarantee it until I was on

the

> > table and he could see what condition my hip was in. That

sounded

> > completely reasonable to me and it wasn't what I wanted to hear.

> > However, he said, from what he saw in my x-rays, he was about 95%

> > certain that I was a good candidate. Of course, what I heard the

> > loudest was the missing 5% and that continues to bother me.

>

> 95% certainty is pretty high, especially since I doubt he would ever

> say 100%!

>

> > My questions are these: How many of you are Dr. Mont's patients

and

> > are in my age range? Also, did he tell each of you the same

> thing?

> > How many of you awoke from the surgery with a total hip

replacement?

>

> My wife Anne, who is 45, had surgery with Dr. Mont in July. She had

> osteoarthritis as a result of a congenital condition (dysplasia

> epiphysealis hemimelica) which also left her with a fused knee and a

> partially fused ankle. Dr. Mont accepted her for resurfacing, with a

> warning that there was a risk that he might have to do a THR. (I

don't

> recall him quoting any probabilities.) As it turned out, after

getting

> the C+ femoral component in place, he was unable to get a good press

> fit with the acetabular component, due to deformity related to her

> congenital condition and bone cysts. So he had to use screws--and

the

> C+ doesn't have an acetabular component that allows the use of

screws.

> As far as I know, only the BHR has an acetabular component that

takes

> even one screw, and Dr. Mont needed two in order to get good

fixation

> in Anne's case.

>

> So, Anne ended up with a metal-on-metal THR. She is five months

> post-op today and still marvels at how good she feels.

>

> > I am aware that I can go to Europe and avoid the trials, thus

> > eliminating that concern. However, I would prefer having the

> surgery

> > done closer to home but only if I'm feeling comfortable that my

> > chances for resurfacing aren't being compromised by the need for

> > trial performance.

>

> Obviously, we don't know what would have happened if Anne had her

> surgery in Europe. The BHR's " dysplasia cup " might have halped in

her

> case, although Dr. Mont needed two screws to fix the cup he used. I

> can tell you that she feels great, her range of motion continues to

> improve and she has absolutely no restrictions with her THR. We

expect

> that her MOM THR will last for a very long time.

>

> Hope this helps you in your decision-making.

>

> Jim

[Guest guest]

:

You can always get another opinion as to your eligibility for the

procedure. If a second resurfacing doctor tells you, " no problem " then Dr.

Mont can do the procedure as well as anyone. It is certainly nice to return

to a favorite lifestyle. Good Luck.

C+ @Duke Med. Ctr.(5/23/01 @ age 63)

Dr. Mont

Hi everyone,

First, I want to thank a gentleman and his wife who I met two weeks

ago when my husband and I were in the waiting room at Mont's office.

He was there for a check up after having his leg lengthened. Prior

to that procedure, Dr. Mont had performed resurfacing on his other

leg last Sept. He and his wife were kind enough to share his

resurfacing experience with me. He told me about this group and said

I could get a lot of information here. He was absolutely right. For

the past couple of weeks I've been reading the postings and am

feeling much better now about having surgery.

Before leaving Dr. Mont's office I scheduled resurfacing surgery for

this coming March 10. However, I left his office with some concern

and that has been reinforced by a couple of postings I've read here

that refer to trials and the need for successful numbers. I'd like

to share my concern and hear back from anyone who cares to comment

but in particular Dr. Mont's patients.

Dr. Mont told me he likes to perform resurfacing on " young patients "

and he gave me his reasons. One of those reasons is the activity

level of the younger population. I'm not old but at 59 I certainly

can't be considered young either. However, up until recent years I

have been extremely active teaching martial arts, lifting weights,

hiking, etc, and in better condition that most young people. 5 years

of forced retirement from that lifestyle has softened me up quite a

bit but I think I'm still in better condition than most my age. And

I would like the opportunity to return to that way of life.

I told Dr. Mont that I wanted resurfacing and gave him all the normal

reasons why. He said he could not guarantee it until I was on the

table and he could see what condition my hip was in. That sounded

completely reasonable to me and it wasn't what I wanted to hear.

However, he said, from what he saw in my x-rays, he was about 95%

certain that I was a good candidate. Of course, what I heard the

loudest was the missing 5% and that continues to bother me.

My questions are these: How many of you are Dr. Mont's patients and

are in my age range? Also, did he tell each of you the same thing?

How many of you awoke from the surgery with a total hip replacement?

I am aware that I can go to Europe and avoid the trials, thus

eliminating that concern. However, I would prefer having the surgery

done closer to home but only if I'm feeling comfortable that my

chances for resurfacing aren't being compromised by the need for

trial performance.

Happy Holidays.