Re: Help! I might have missed the resurfacing boat....Marie

July 20, 2004

I'm with Edith, Marie...see what Dr. s says before going into

complete panic mode - though perhaps much easier said than done!

As far as DeSmet, he was my 3rd choice...more due to

being " geographically undesireable " from CA and ignorance. It's not

like traveling to Europe for surgery was top of my list. And to add

insult to injury, I went from knowing and being confident about all 3

of the main devices - C+, Conserve, and finally the BHR...and it was

not easy! All I can say offer is that through my research, I learned

that DeSmet seems to be the " master " so-to-speak when it comes to

challenging cases that OS's here in the US don't want to / can't take

on.

I am so with ya though on changing courses. My first doc was Dr.

Beaule at JRI and he was great! He gave of his time, followed up

with me, as well as Chuck and (Beaule's asst). Insurance

issues just lead me to pursue further, and I ended up going with

DeSmet.

Good luck, and do keep us posted!

DeSmet 9/7/04

In surfacehippy , " hipcnm " wrote:

> Hi everyone,

>

> I'm scheduled for Left hip resurfacing on August 11th. I just had

my

> pre-op X-ray today... my AVN has progressed a tremendous amount

since

> February. It looks like half of my femur head has collapsed and is

> even starting to slough off. It's wierd, because I'm uncomfortable,

> but not really miserable (except sometimes at night).

>

> I'm donating my blood and having my pre-op class on Thursday (I'm Dr

> 's patient). I'm going to drop off the film at his office. I'm

> really scared that he will say it's probably going to be impossible

> and that I'll need to have a large diameter THR instead. I'm 46 and

I

> want to resume being very active. Does anyone know what I won't be

> able to do if I get a THR instead of Resurfacing (not that I'll have

> any choice)? I know that I'll have to face a couple (or several) of

> those gruesome revision surgeries in my lifetime.

>

> I remember reading something about Dr DeSmet resurfacing people with

> very advanced AVN successfully. Is this true? I doubt that I'd

have

> the where-with-all to change doctors this late (I really like Dr

> s). I doubt it would be worth it... does anyone know more about

> this situation?

>

> Marie

July 20, 2004

I'm with Edith, Marie...see what Dr. s says before going into

complete panic mode - though perhaps much easier said than done!

As far as DeSmet, he was my 3rd choice...more due to

being " geographically undesireable " from CA and ignorance. It's not

like traveling to Europe for surgery was top of my list. And to add

insult to injury, I went from knowing and being confident about all 3

of the main devices - C+, Conserve, and finally the BHR...and it was

not easy! All I can say offer is that through my research, I learned

that DeSmet seems to be the " master " so-to-speak when it comes to

challenging cases that OS's here in the US don't want to / can't take

on.

I am so with ya though on changing courses. My first doc was Dr.

Beaule at JRI and he was great! He gave of his time, followed up

with me, as well as Chuck and (Beaule's asst). Insurance

issues just lead me to pursue further, and I ended up going with

DeSmet.

Good luck, and do keep us posted!

DeSmet 9/7/04

In surfacehippy , " hipcnm " wrote:

> Hi everyone,

>

> I'm scheduled for Left hip resurfacing on August 11th. I just had

my

> pre-op X-ray today... my AVN has progressed a tremendous amount

since

> February. It looks like half of my femur head has collapsed and is

> even starting to slough off. It's wierd, because I'm uncomfortable,

> but not really miserable (except sometimes at night).

>

> I'm donating my blood and having my pre-op class on Thursday (I'm Dr

> 's patient). I'm going to drop off the film at his office. I'm

> really scared that he will say it's probably going to be impossible

> and that I'll need to have a large diameter THR instead. I'm 46 and

I

> want to resume being very active. Does anyone know what I won't be

> able to do if I get a THR instead of Resurfacing (not that I'll have

> any choice)? I know that I'll have to face a couple (or several) of

> those gruesome revision surgeries in my lifetime.

>

> I remember reading something about Dr DeSmet resurfacing people with

> very advanced AVN successfully. Is this true? I doubt that I'd

have

> the where-with-all to change doctors this late (I really like Dr

> s). I doubt it would be worth it... does anyone know more about

> this situation?

>

> Marie

July 22, 2004

A surgeon experienced in resurfacing AVN will be more confident to take

on more difficult cases - for example AVN is far more common in India

and the Far East than Europe and America. That said, AVN is AVN, so if

the surgeon has seen enough he will be confident wherever he is. One

good solution for an unresurfaceable hip is a 'modular' resurfacing -

BHR makes a resurfacing diameter head which fits on a stem like a THR.

This gives the advantages of a metal - metal anatomically sized bearing

with a stem for those who have lost too much bone. Some surgeons use

this as their first choice 'THR'. Speak to your surgeon.

Brockwell FRCSEdOrth FHKAMOrth

Specialist in Orthopaedic Surgery

SportsmedHK

Hong Kong Surgical Specialists

715 Jardine House

Central

Hong Kong

Tel + 852 2715 4577

Fax +852 2716 4577

Mob +852 6050 1351

Re: Help! I might have missed the resurfacing

boat....Marie

I'm with Edith, Marie...see what Dr. s says before going into

complete panic mode - though perhaps much easier said than done!

As far as DeSmet, he was my 3rd choice...more due to

being " geographically undesireable " from CA and ignorance. It's not

like traveling to Europe for surgery was top of my list. And to add

insult to injury, I went from knowing and being confident about all 3

of the main devices - C+, Conserve, and finally the BHR...and it was

not easy! All I can say offer is that through my research, I learned

that DeSmet seems to be the " master " so-to-speak when it comes to

challenging cases that OS's here in the US don't want to / can't take

on.

I am so with ya though on changing courses. My first doc was Dr.

Beaule at JRI and he was great! He gave of his time, followed up

with me, as well as Chuck and (Beaule's asst). Insurance

issues just lead me to pursue further, and I ended up going with

DeSmet.

Good luck, and do keep us posted!

DeSmet 9/7/04

In surfacehippy , " hipcnm " wrote:

> Hi everyone,

>

> I'm scheduled for Left hip resurfacing on August 11th. I just had

my

> pre-op X-ray today... my AVN has progressed a tremendous amount

since

> February. It looks like half of my femur head has collapsed and is

> even starting to slough off. It's wierd, because I'm uncomfortable,

> but not really miserable (except sometimes at night).

>

> I'm donating my blood and having my pre-op class on Thursday (I'm Dr

> 's patient). I'm going to drop off the film at his office. I'm

> really scared that he will say it's probably going to be impossible

> and that I'll need to have a large diameter THR instead. I'm 46 and

I

> want to resume being very active. Does anyone know what I won't be

> able to do if I get a THR instead of Resurfacing (not that I'll have

> any choice)? I know that I'll have to face a couple (or several) of

> those gruesome revision surgeries in my lifetime.

>

> I remember reading something about Dr DeSmet resurfacing people with

> very advanced AVN successfully. Is this true? I doubt that I'd

have

> the where-with-all to change doctors this late (I really like Dr

> s). I doubt it would be worth it... does anyone know more about

> this situation?

>

> Marie

July 22, 2004