anyone else go in for resurf / wake up THR?

[Guest guest]

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. ;-) )