RE: anyone else go in for resurf / wake up THR?

[Guest guest]

Just the fact that he said " in case he would need to go for a THR " means that

you don't have 100% certaint going in. No surgeon should guarantee 100%

anything until he really sees what the deal is with his own eyes during surgery.

Perhaps the stateside doctors are just a bit more upfront about managing

expectations because of our overly litigious society.... On the positive side

here,

keep in mind that surgeons participating in these U.S. trials are only really

interested in taking on those patients who have the greatest chances of

getting successfully resurfaced. Neither the surgeons nor the device

manufacturers

want failures.

In a message dated 06/30/2004 3:08:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

kinwitted@... writes:

> He said in case he would need to go for a THR

[Guest guest]

Dear Toby,

Thankyou so much for your most touching post. You've talked about what

was so difficult and how you are managing it. Of course, a revision to

a THR is what I am afraid of (I am waiting to see if I have an

infection, as I am still having too much pain at 7 months). Your

account of how good you are now was so encouraging. And I know how

disappointed you are at the same time. I am sure your positive spirit

will help your THR last as long as possible.

Eleanor

anyone else go in for resurf / wake up THR?

Like probably a lot of prospective resurfacers I was told my OS

(Dr.

Mont) that while I was a good candidate for a resurfacing he would

ultimately make the final decision in the operation. I'd known for a

few years that I had osteoarthritis in my right hip and that surgery

was going to be the only solution. The first couple docs I saw said

total hip replacement was my only option. Finding out about hip

resurfacing was the best news I had heard since I was first diagnosed

with OA.

I remember reading the hospital stay diary on Thunderball Hip

(http://www.thunderballhip.50megs.com/custom.html) and getting the

sweats when I reached the " SCREWED UP MOMENT " . My experience was

similar except for one important detail. The part where he finds out

that the nurse was wrong about him getting a THR. I woke up from

surgery with my mom there telling me that Dr. Mont had tried but was

unable to affix the resurfacing implant to his satisfaction and had

revised to a ceramic on ceramic THR. I won't be proud here; I started

bawling. That was to my mind the worst possible outcome of that

surgery. I knew it was a possibility but I just hoped for the best and

prepared for the worst.

The technical reason given to me by Dr. Mont for the change was

that

the acetabular component wouldn't hold solidly. Maybe my bones were

too soft? I don't know. Apparently to make it hold he would have to

use screws to hold it. As of right now, there are plenty of cups with

screw holes to match a THR femoral component but none to match the

resurf femoral component. He expects that design revision to work its

way down the pipeline soon but unfortunately for me, it's not here yet.

Now before this seems like too much of a downer I should say that

the

point of this post is not to scare anyone. Yes I was very bummed out

about not getting my first choice implant. But at the time I was told

I was too heavily medicated and too busy mending my body to care. Now

I'm less than a week away from my 6-week follow-up appointment and I

feel great. I have NO pain in my hip joint and more range of movement

than I've had in years (keeping in mind the movement restrictions which

are the same regardless of your implant). I'm shocked that I have such

a natural feeling joint given the size of what is in me.

Considering that I am living with what I believed to be the worst

possible outcome I feel really really good. Dr. Mont optimistically

gives my implant a lifespan of 20 years with the sole caveat that I

don't start running marathons. That's too short for my liking but to

keep it in perspective, Odysseus got home in less time than that. So

it's not like I won't get plenty of enjoyment out of it in the

meantime. I know that given my age (28) I will certainly need a

revision or 3 and that yeah, when that time comes I may have some

bitterness at having gotten a THR so young. But for now I'm too busy

feeling good and looking forward to enjoying the rest of the summer and

years to come of happy pain-free mobility. If only I could do

something about these damned itchy TEDs.

- Tobias, c/c THR Dr Mont 5/27/04

PS. For prospective patients of Dr Mont I have good news. He has

recently changed his technique and is now using a smaller incision to

perform the operation. Mine is only 8cm long! I expressed a moment of

doubt to his colleague about this and he told me 'Don't worry, stable

fixation is still our number one priority. If we have to open you up

further to get a good handle on it we won't hesitate to do so. It's

just we no longer have to.'

PPS. For those who haven't had a catheter before I would just like to

say that that was the single most unpleasant & uncomfortable part of

the whole hospital experience. (Except for the whole not getting a

resurfacing part. ;-) )

[Guest guest]

I had the " what's your 2nd choice " discussion with him the day before

surgery. He presented me with 2 options that sounded equally good.

Ceramic on ceramic or metal on metal. I went with his recommendation

because I'd been so focused on resurfacing I stopped researching THRs.

>

> Toby,

> Thanks for your post and update. I'm scheduled for bilateral

> resufacing with Dr. Mont, right hip on 7/19/04 and left hip on

> 7/26/04. I still need to discuss with him what he'll use if he

> can't resurface. I never thought about a catheter. I've never had

> one. It sounds awful. Best of luck on your recovery.

> Randy

>

[Guest guest]

I had the " what's your 2nd choice " discussion with him the day before

surgery. He presented me with 2 options that sounded equally good.

Ceramic on ceramic or metal on metal. I went with his recommendation

because I'd been so focused on resurfacing I stopped researching THRs.

>

> Toby,

> Thanks for your post and update. I'm scheduled for bilateral

> resufacing with Dr. Mont, right hip on 7/19/04 and left hip on

> 7/26/04. I still need to discuss with him what he'll use if he

> can't resurface. I never thought about a catheter. I've never had

> one. It sounds awful. Best of luck on your recovery.

> Randy

>

[Guest guest]

Someone on this site said they asked Dr. DeSmet if they should

discuss options if he gets in and finds that he cannot resurface

them. According to that person, Dr. DeSmet said if that happened, he

would be the first one! I had AVN and soft bones; 2 of my hippy

sisters also had soft bones, but the good doctor resurfaced us all.

Bev RBHR 2/19/03

> > Toby,

> > Thanks for your post and update. I'm scheduled for bilateral

> > resufacing with Dr. Mont, right hip on 7/19/04 and left hip on

> > 7/26/04. I still need to discuss with him what he'll use if he

> > can't resurface. I never thought about a catheter. I've never

had

> > one. It sounds awful. Best of luck on your recovery.

> > Randy

> >

[Guest guest]

Someone on this site said they asked Dr. DeSmet if they should

discuss options if he gets in and finds that he cannot resurface

them. According to that person, Dr. DeSmet said if that happened, he

would be the first one! I had AVN and soft bones; 2 of my hippy

sisters also had soft bones, but the good doctor resurfaced us all.

Bev RBHR 2/19/03

> > Toby,

> > Thanks for your post and update. I'm scheduled for bilateral

> > resufacing with Dr. Mont, right hip on 7/19/04 and left hip on

> > 7/26/04. I still need to discuss with him what he'll use if he

> > can't resurface. I never thought about a catheter. I've never

had

> > one. It sounds awful. Best of luck on your recovery.

> > Randy

> >

[Guest guest]

Someone on this site said they asked Dr. DeSmet if they should

discuss options if he gets in and finds that he cannot resurface

them. According to that person, Dr. DeSmet said if that happened, he

would be the first one! I had AVN and soft bones; 2 of my hippy

sisters also had soft bones, but the good doctor resurfaced us all.

Bev RBHR 2/19/03

> > Toby,

> > Thanks for your post and update. I'm scheduled for bilateral

> > resufacing with Dr. Mont, right hip on 7/19/04 and left hip on

> > 7/26/04. I still need to discuss with him what he'll use if he

> > can't resurface. I never thought about a catheter. I've never

had

> > one. It sounds awful. Best of luck on your recovery.

> > Randy

> >