Hip replacement v. Hip resurfacing anyone?

[quattro]

Well, I'm not having either done in the next few weeks, but I did recently learn that arthritis in my left hip is quite severe, and a tear in my labrum can not be repaired based upon this condition. Cycling is ok but I do experience some discomfort. I have officially hung up my running shoes after 30+ years. Wondering what other forumites have/had this condition and whether you have had a full hip replacement or a hip refurfacing and your experiences. I'm starting to do the research for what will some day be inevitable. I'm in the Boston area and have been seen by Dr. McCarthy of the Kaplan Center for Joint Reconstructive Surgury at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Had an MRI Arthrogram that showed the damage, have no idea how long it will be before the pain and discomfort reaches a level that will cause me to have to make this deciision. Trying to figure out if there are good reasons for putting it off longer or doing it sooner. Thanks for your input.

quattro

[csm]

There was an article about this and other hip remedies in a recent issue of Men's Journal.
not sure if you've seen it....

[quattro]

I subscribe to Men's Journal and did see that article, thanks.

[ald]

I had mine done a few years ago. At that time my insurance would not cover resurfacing. After a lot of research, I wound up getting a total hip replacement. The surgeon convinced me that the larger ball and socket that they can use with total hip replacement is much stronger, stabler, and more durable. He used the anterior approach, so no muscles were detached and the recovery was amazingly fast! Since then absolutely no problems at all. The only restriction is that I am not allowed to run.

I put the surgery off until I could no longer bear the pain, it was a pretty easy decision at that point.

[quattro]

ald, thanks for your personal insights. I have not gotten as far as speaking with my Dr. about what he thinks would be best for my case, or what my insurance will cover, also about technique where no muscles were detached. Good things to know about and look into at this stage, thank you. I'm very glad to hear you had no problems, it really helps to hear this.
Best,
quattro

[gasman]

The anterior approach is clearly better for recovery for an active or even not-so-active person..
There aren't a lot of surgeons in the U.S. doing resurfacing. It was briefly popular maybe 30 years ago but had poor outcomes. The techniques now are much better but I only know one person who had it done and he went to England where they do the procedure a lot.
The key is to wait until you really need to have something done because you can't stand the pain, most surgeons are going to make you wait until that point anyway as a new joint has a limited life-span. You are smart to start looking now. Find a surgeon who does either procedure -a lot. Hopefully you can find someone who has done 1,000 cases.

[gdw]

Here's a site with info which might be useful. A friend had her's resurfaced last year by Dr Rector and is very pleased with the results.
http://www.coloradohipresurfacing.com/index.html
She's an avid cyclist, does brevets, and was back on the bike shortly after the surgery.
http://www.coloradohipresurfacing.com/English/Company/Patient_Testimonials.html
Another friend is having her's done after Ride the Rockies

[Kingfisher]

I had mine done a few years ago. At that time my insurance would not cover resurfacing. After a lot of research, I wound up getting a total hip replacement. The surgeon convinced me that the larger ball and socket that they can use with total hip replacement is much stronger, stabler, and more durable. He used the anterior approach, so no muscles were detached and the recovery was amazingly fast! Since then absolutely no problems at all. The only restriction is that I am not allowed to run.

I put the surgery off until I could no longer bear the pain, it was a pretty easy decision at that point.

Same here, identical situation, but resurfacing was too new when i had my total hip replacement. Pain was pretty bad when i decided to go forward. Go with what was said above, larger ball and socket and anterior less invasive approach. It's been 3.5 years and it feels great...back to my old self and no restrictions (except running, done enough of that already) Biking is one of the best recuperative exercises out there. Good luck.

[SPOKE]

just had a total replacement on December 8th. results so far are very good. one thing that i believe is important to consider is not to wait so long for the procedure that you have stopped exercising and have lost most or all of your fitness.
in my case cycling didn't cause any pain but i had a constant dull ache when i tried to sleep. also had occaisional weakness in my knee area due to the nerve getting pinched. since cycling was not a problem i managed to keep pretty good fitness. which allowed me to easily hop around on one leg for almost 6 weeks just to take a shower.
in my case i was on non-weight bearing status for 4 weeks after surgery since i really didn't have an existing hip socket for the new cup to fit into. i needed to let the bone grow into the implant before i could put weight on it.

[conorb]

Well, I'm not having either done in the next few weeks, but I did recently learn that arthritis in my left hip is quite severe, and a tear in my labrum can not be repaired based upon this condition. Cycling is ok but I do experience some discomfort. I have officially hung up my running shoes after 30+ years. Wondering what other forumites have/had this condition and whether you have had a full hip replacement or a hip refurfacing and your experiences. I'm starting to do the research for what will some day be inevitable. I'm in the Boston area and have been seen by Dr. McCarthy of the Kaplan Center for Joint Reconstructive Surgury at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Had an MRI Arthrogram that showed the damage, have no idea how long it will be before the pain and discomfort reaches a level that will cause me to have to make this deciision. Trying to figure out if there are good reasons for putting it off longer or doing it sooner. Thanks for your input.

quattro

I've had both of my hips replaced. The first one was in May of '01 and the second in Sept. '01. I did a full (total) replacement on both hips with surgery going in through the side of each leg rather than through the lower back.

The recovery time is longer (about 4-6 weeks non weight bearing) but the hips should (hopefully) last longer.

I waited as long as possible (pain) before having mine done and had them done at age 38, which is still quite young by hip replacement standards. I expect I have another 10/11 years and I'll have to do them again.

Recovery was a walker for a 6 weeks and then a cane for a few months. Getting my left hip replaced ended up putting an enormous strain on my right hip over the 4 months before I had it done. I still have a few issues with nerve pain and general soreness on my right side but at least I can tie my own shoes and ride a bike again. I couldn't do any riding before my replacements. In fact the Doctor told me after the first surgery that he was surprised that could stand much less walk considering how bad the hip was.

My recommendation is to get it done. You'll feel better and be more active. Living with pain is not really living. You're just waiting for the pain to go away and it doesn't really ever do that.

Here's my left hip.

http://www.vendettacycles.com/pics/misc/hip.jpg

Good luck,

Conor