hvyironfr8dog
new member
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2006
- Messages
- 6
I have had bi-lateral hip-arthritis for 6 years. Been through all the normal meds. Celebrex, Mobic, Vioxx, Bextra...now Arthrotec. Tried all the natural approaches to fix this.....the Glucosomine/Condritine Sulfates, MSM, Boswella, all the natural so-called fixes including the rub-on lotions.
The only temporary relief I get is from products like "Blue-Stuff" or it's derivates... that have cetain botanicals and of course, "Emu Oil" in them, along with other nartural remedies. However,...all that stuff I have found, is just temporary relief!
Over the years, I even tried injections of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) directly into each joint to supposedly re-grow my cartilage. I didn't see much difference... but I couldn't afford it after 5 shots. I don't know what hurt more....the $375/shot to each hip, five times each over 2 months....which is a big shot the to wallet or the shots themselves.
I also tried Suppartz, an FDA approved injectable for arthritic knees ONLY. I don't know what the hell the difference is between arthritic knees and hips. Luckily, I found a OS who agreed to try injecting it into my hips, (what they call "off-label") to see if that would work. It didn't appear to do much.
My last effort was something called "Cold Laser Therapy", in which a pad of electronic diodes of low voltage laser lights are placed over the painful area and, thus, reduce the pain.... after many treatments. It's approved in Canada and used by many sports team over there and some professional teamstrainers in the US are using this methodology with great success for sprains and broken bones and such. Although there is ancedotal evidence from the manufacturers that arthritis can be relieved from Cold Laser Therapy... it didn't appear to help me much.
All this has brought me to today. In pain....still... even worse than the last year. But...the more research I do, the better educated if get.
I've known about MIS for several years, but the OS I had didn't approve of it. He wanted to do the traditional cut...you know.... the old 12 inch scar way. I said....."I don't think so"! So I have put off surgury with him for 2 years now. Ya know, the reason many doctors don't approve of the newer MIS procedures is simply because they don't know how to do it.....nothing more.
So my search continued this week....and lo and behold I found a OS who is very talented, does well over 300 MIS procedures per year. However, I went to him because his bio said he was doing the latest and greatest....the MIS-2 procedure (two-2 inch incisions instead of one 4 inch incision).
During my consultation I find out he no longer does the MIS-2 procedure only the MIS-1...which is about a 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inch incision. he never explained why he doesn't do the MIS-2 anymore. Oh well....My research continues.
The latest and greatest now is HIP RESURFACING. Its been done around the world for several years, originated and popular in Europe (England, I understand) and it the most "bone-sparing" of all the procedures. Very few doctors are performing it in the US, as of today. Its only been approved by "our wonderful FDA" (LOL) since May 2006 so many doctors are not only not aware of it....they certainly have not been trained.
Research the different prostesis available for your hip procedure and you will get dizzy. There are many different companies, Smith and Nephew, Zimmer, Biomet, etc. See them on this site or others...just do a google search! Try "ReCap Total Hip Resurfacing System", or just "Hip Resurfacing", or "Biomet Hip Resurfacing"... and you'll see what I mean.
I have an appointment with a surgeon here in Ft. Lauderdale next week to see if I am a candidate for this newest "HIP Resurfacing" Procedure, a procedure in which "only the femoral head" is reshaped, if you will, and then capped with a new larger, metal ball cap. Kind of like a new hat, if you will, placed over the head...the femoral head, that is. I believe this is metal on metal BTW, which may or may not be to your individual liking, depending on your research and what OS you talk to.
No stem is inserted into your thigh bone, thus no chance of thigh pain, which is a common complaint in the traditional hip procedure. The hip socket, of course, is still repaired like the traditional procedure, in that it is reshaped and "cupped" with a metal device so that the new capped femur fits in.
The advantage, I read, is less bone cutting, as the femoral head is just re-shaped for the metal capp, thus no risk of thigh pain from the stem.....a larger ball is capped on..thus less chance of dislocation as it is more stable than the traditional prostesis which ALL use a rather small metal or ceramic head. This procedure is the latest and greatest out there and preferred now for patients who are "more active" and plan on continuing an active lifestyle.
The other great advantage that I can see from this new procedure is that....if several years down the road, it doesn't work out...you can always have a MIS done in which they totallly cut off the arthritic femoral head, and insert the full prostetic stem with another MIS incision. Remember once they cut off your femoral head, there is no way to put it back on, so you could not have the traditional cut done, have that fail, and then say you want to try the Hip Resurfacing Procedure as that would now be impossible since the last doc already sawed that off. You get my logic here?
The downside...in my research...is that there has only been 60,000 procedures done worldwide so far.... as opposed to the 300,000 per year in the US alone for the normal hip replacement procedures, MIS and traditional that is. That alone may scare some people off...but not me.
The thing that may scare me off....I don't believe this procedure is done in the MIS way, according to my MIS doctor yesterday anyway. . But I think he just wants my business.
I will report what the new OS tells me after I see him next week...that is...if this procedure can be done with the smaller MIS incision, a 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inch incision (MIS-1) thus, with a shorter recovery period, as that is what I am ultimately interested in...to minimize my time off from a paycheck.
The only temporary relief I get is from products like "Blue-Stuff" or it's derivates... that have cetain botanicals and of course, "Emu Oil" in them, along with other nartural remedies. However,...all that stuff I have found, is just temporary relief!
Over the years, I even tried injections of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) directly into each joint to supposedly re-grow my cartilage. I didn't see much difference... but I couldn't afford it after 5 shots. I don't know what hurt more....the $375/shot to each hip, five times each over 2 months....which is a big shot the to wallet or the shots themselves.
I also tried Suppartz, an FDA approved injectable for arthritic knees ONLY. I don't know what the hell the difference is between arthritic knees and hips. Luckily, I found a OS who agreed to try injecting it into my hips, (what they call "off-label") to see if that would work. It didn't appear to do much.
My last effort was something called "Cold Laser Therapy", in which a pad of electronic diodes of low voltage laser lights are placed over the painful area and, thus, reduce the pain.... after many treatments. It's approved in Canada and used by many sports team over there and some professional teamstrainers in the US are using this methodology with great success for sprains and broken bones and such. Although there is ancedotal evidence from the manufacturers that arthritis can be relieved from Cold Laser Therapy... it didn't appear to help me much.
All this has brought me to today. In pain....still... even worse than the last year. But...the more research I do, the better educated if get.
I've known about MIS for several years, but the OS I had didn't approve of it. He wanted to do the traditional cut...you know.... the old 12 inch scar way. I said....."I don't think so"! So I have put off surgury with him for 2 years now. Ya know, the reason many doctors don't approve of the newer MIS procedures is simply because they don't know how to do it.....nothing more.
So my search continued this week....and lo and behold I found a OS who is very talented, does well over 300 MIS procedures per year. However, I went to him because his bio said he was doing the latest and greatest....the MIS-2 procedure (two-2 inch incisions instead of one 4 inch incision).
During my consultation I find out he no longer does the MIS-2 procedure only the MIS-1...which is about a 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inch incision. he never explained why he doesn't do the MIS-2 anymore. Oh well....My research continues.
The latest and greatest now is HIP RESURFACING. Its been done around the world for several years, originated and popular in Europe (England, I understand) and it the most "bone-sparing" of all the procedures. Very few doctors are performing it in the US, as of today. Its only been approved by "our wonderful FDA" (LOL) since May 2006 so many doctors are not only not aware of it....they certainly have not been trained.
Research the different prostesis available for your hip procedure and you will get dizzy. There are many different companies, Smith and Nephew, Zimmer, Biomet, etc. See them on this site or others...just do a google search! Try "ReCap Total Hip Resurfacing System", or just "Hip Resurfacing", or "Biomet Hip Resurfacing"... and you'll see what I mean.
I have an appointment with a surgeon here in Ft. Lauderdale next week to see if I am a candidate for this newest "HIP Resurfacing" Procedure, a procedure in which "only the femoral head" is reshaped, if you will, and then capped with a new larger, metal ball cap. Kind of like a new hat, if you will, placed over the head...the femoral head, that is. I believe this is metal on metal BTW, which may or may not be to your individual liking, depending on your research and what OS you talk to.
No stem is inserted into your thigh bone, thus no chance of thigh pain, which is a common complaint in the traditional hip procedure. The hip socket, of course, is still repaired like the traditional procedure, in that it is reshaped and "cupped" with a metal device so that the new capped femur fits in.
The advantage, I read, is less bone cutting, as the femoral head is just re-shaped for the metal capp, thus no risk of thigh pain from the stem.....a larger ball is capped on..thus less chance of dislocation as it is more stable than the traditional prostesis which ALL use a rather small metal or ceramic head. This procedure is the latest and greatest out there and preferred now for patients who are "more active" and plan on continuing an active lifestyle.
The other great advantage that I can see from this new procedure is that....if several years down the road, it doesn't work out...you can always have a MIS done in which they totallly cut off the arthritic femoral head, and insert the full prostetic stem with another MIS incision. Remember once they cut off your femoral head, there is no way to put it back on, so you could not have the traditional cut done, have that fail, and then say you want to try the Hip Resurfacing Procedure as that would now be impossible since the last doc already sawed that off. You get my logic here?
The downside...in my research...is that there has only been 60,000 procedures done worldwide so far.... as opposed to the 300,000 per year in the US alone for the normal hip replacement procedures, MIS and traditional that is. That alone may scare some people off...but not me.
The thing that may scare me off....I don't believe this procedure is done in the MIS way, according to my MIS doctor yesterday anyway. . But I think he just wants my business.
I will report what the new OS tells me after I see him next week...that is...if this procedure can be done with the smaller MIS incision, a 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inch incision (MIS-1) thus, with a shorter recovery period, as that is what I am ultimately interested in...to minimize my time off from a paycheck.