Re: Young@Heart/Old@Hip - FDA

[Guest guest]

,

Forgot to comment about FDA approval in my last posting. Approval

for the Medical C+ device was expected for this year. Some

thought June - August but now it looks as though it won't be until

at least 2005 if then. I don't want to seem pessimistic but I

initially was hoping (naively) for approval of any device in 2003.

The Medical rep often posts here and maybe he can offer more

information about the process and timing.

Even if it is approved in 2005 you need to consider the learning

curve for an OS that has never performed this surgery before. The

procedure is more difficult for resurfacing than for THR. You don't

want to be on the early part of that curve. You also need to

consider your level of pain and how it is affecting your life. I

lived with the pain for two years, many on this site have endured

the pain longer. Most of us wish that we would have had the surgery

sooner than we did. I regret that we didn't switch insurance

policies for me to have the surgery in 2003, a year earlier than I

did.

Regards,

Fred

Dr. Gross, C2K 1/21/04

ps I fished on Lake Michigan for salmon and trout once out of

Pentwater and we did quite well. Most of my fishing for steelhead

and salmon is on the Pere Marquette and the Manistee. I've heard

that the Muskegon River is good also. F-

> > > Thanks for the feedback on doctors. I sent a note to Dr.

Gross's

> > > assistant yesterday to see how I start the process, if I'm

> qualified

> > > & if my HMO will cover the procedure. I'm going to shoot for

> October

> > > if that fits in their schedule. A few questions:

> > >

> > > 1) Does anyone have any feedback on if HMOs are covering this

> type of

> > > procedure?

> >

> > Insurance converage varies a lot from company to company, but I

> think

> > it's fair to say that HMOs in general are less likely to cover

> > resurfacing.

> >

> > Don't let some greedy, penny-pinching insurance company keep you

> from

> > getting this done!!!

> >

> > > 2) My X-Ray looks like the cartilage is about gone, so how

long

> can I

> > > wait before I will no longer be a candidate for resurfacing?

> Could

> > > October be too late, or is that too difficult to predict?

> >

> > It's difficult to predict. Obviously, it's best if you discuss

this

> > with Dr. Gross (he is, after all, the expert). Just as a point of

> > information, I went bone-on-bone last November and was

resurfaced in

> > April.

> >

> > > 3) Elbow Crutches? Just saw a post that said to get elbow

> crutches

> > > instead of the under arm style. Do those work better and are

a

> lot

> > > of people using them? I never thought much about if before.

> >

> > They're more compact, easier to handle, and they're *much* more

> > comfortable. I think they take a little more upper body work to

> > stabilize. I had both (underarm crutches from JRI, and elbow

> crutches

> > that were lent to me by a friend). What I found was this: I was

too

> > wobbly to use the elbow crutches the first couple of days, but

after

> > that I put the underarm crutches away and never used them again.

I

> did

> > find that I had to be careful with the elbow crutches when I had

> > worked up a sweat (my upper arms tended to slip out of them).

> >

> > >

> > > Couldn't sleep tonight, pain in the hip and thinking about the

> whole

> > > replacement process. Just when I thought my hip wasn't

bothering

> me

> > > that much, it was killing me yesterday.

> >

> > I was in a lot of pain right before my surgery, but I don't

think I

> > realized just how bad the pain had been until I woke up in the

> > recovery room and it was *gone*. It's really insidious the way

> > constant pain eats away at your quality of life.

> >

> > Steve (bilat C+ 4/20/04, Amstutz)