Guest guest Posted April 12, 2004 Report Share Posted April 12, 2004 I'm sure others will write you with their own recommendations, but I encourage you to check out Dr Gross's website: www.grossortho.com He is in Columbia, S.C., and did my left hip resurfacing in early February. His office handled all of the insurance stuff and the procedure was paid for by my carrier ( " out of network " costs, but -- hey! That's okay.) Dr Gross has done many resurfacings -- somewhere just over 300, I think. And, yeah, your average orthopaedic surgeon does NOT encourage resurfacing. Remember that -- they'll discourage you from doing it. Check out www.activehips.com also. Cornet also has a website. Good luck. Joyce (Dr Gross, LHR, 2/04) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 12, 2004 Report Share Posted April 12, 2004 > I just joined surfacehippy today. I am looking for more information > about resurfacing in the US. I have a friend who went to Belgium and > had the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) device by Dr. De Smet and he > has nothing but great things to say about it. Belgium sounds great, > but I don't know if flying overseas is a real option for me. He went > to Belgium b/c it wasn't covered by insurance and it would have been > about 3x the cost in the US. As I do my research I see there are > devices in the US that are similar. Does anyone know how the > Conserve Plus, Cormet (sp?), or others compare to the BHR. The design of all these devices is quite similar. There are some slight differences in the manufacturing technology which may result in slightly different wear characteristics, but there's not any evidence that any of these devices is superior to the others. The BHR has a longer track record, and is available in a wider range of sizes. It also has the option of a special dysplasia cup (secured by screws) for patients with severe dysplasia. The " normal " cup for all of these devices is " press fit " into the pelvis. > Are they > FDA approved Not yet. The Conserve Plus has completed its FDA trials and final application has been made to the FDA for marketing approval. So far, the FDA has not approved the application. It'll probably happen later this year. >and/or covered by insurance? It depends on your insurance (and on how persuasive the staff at your surgeon's office is in dealing with them). Some people have gotten them completely covered, some people have gotten partial coverage (like, everything except the cost of the device or the difference in cost between a THR and a resurface), and some have been denied completely. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason. > The doctor I have been seeing prefers total hip replacement vs > resurfacing. I'm not totally sure why. He does 400/year and is well > known as one of the best in the area (Central Wisconsin). I am It's something he's familiar with. He hasn't been trained in resurfacing, and may not be aware of the newer devices. He may be thinking of the failures of the metal-on-polyethylene resurfacings that were attempted in the 1980s, and may not know much about the metal-on-metal devices of today. > confident in his abilities, but should I be looking for someone with > more resurfacing experience or at least more pro-resurfacing? Yes, you should. >I know > that Dr. De Smet is the expert, but are there doctors in the US that > are just as good? De Smet has done more resurfacings than anyone in the United States, but there are a number of US surgeons who have done several hundred by now. De Smet is famous for taking really difficult cases (severe dysplasia, poor bone quality, etc) and successfully resurfacing them. Everybody's got a favorite doc. I've been pretty impressed in my dealings with Amstutz (LA), but I'm not getting the surgery for another 8 days (so my opinions may be different at the end of the month ;-) ). I've corresponded with De Smet and found him to be really responsive, informative, and approachable. Gross (South Carolina) seems to have the magic touch in dealing with insurance companies, etc, etc. Evryone here pretty much swears by the surgeons who actually worked on them. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 13, 2004 Report Share Posted April 13, 2004 calani22: Thank you for asking those questions. I too am new to the site and I was wondering about those exact same things. I live in Ohio and my doctor never mentioned resurfacing at all - he just said " take these pain killers and when you can't stand it any longer come back and we can do a total hip replacement. " Thanks to those who replied - your responses are greatly appreciated. Norrod > I just joined surfacehippy today. I am looking for more information > about resurfacing in the US. I have a friend who went to Belgium and > had the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) device by Dr. De Smet and he > has nothing but great things to say about it. Belgium sounds great, > but I don't know if flying overseas is a real option for me. He went > to Belgium b/c it wasn't covered by insurance and it would have been > about 3x the cost in the US. As I do my research I see there are > devices in the US that are similar. Does anyone know how the > Conserve Plus, Cormet (sp?), or others compare to the BHR. Are they > FDA approved and/or covered by insurance? > > The doctor I have been seeing prefers total hip replacement vs > resurfacing. I'm not totally sure why. He does 400/year and is well > known as one of the best in the area (Central Wisconsin). I am > confident in his abilities, but should I be looking for someone with > more resurfacing experience or at least more pro-resurfacing? I know > that Dr. De Smet is the expert, but are there doctors in the US that > are just as good? > > It is really exciting to see all of the excitement created by the > people at surfacehippy. So many similarities with the stories. > Pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 16, 2004 Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 At 02:12 PM 4/16/2004 +0100, you wrote: >Just started reading posts. Could any kind soul tell me what AVN is? >Thanks >Alan Avascular Necrosis where part of the bone dies and the hip eventually collapses. Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 16, 2004 Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 It doesnt really show up on an X-ray until the late stages and the hip has started to collapse. It is generally discovered through an MRI. I have it and received a resurfacing as treatment for it. In my experience, I started feeling pain in my hips. The pain was not constant, but would fluctate. Eventually, I was diagnosed through an MRI. At that time, my x-rays showed nothing. However, it did progress and the collapse begain appearing on the x-rays after a few months. Usually, the disease progresses fairly quickly. Most people diagnosed progress to collapse within 18 months. > >Just started reading posts. Could any kind soul tell me what AVN is? > >Thanks > >Alan > Avascular Necrosis where part of the bone dies and the hip eventually > collapses. > > Cindy > > > > > _____ > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.