Battling with the Decision

[GrannyC]

I think the most important questions are how many surgeries the surgeon performs a year and what is success rate. My OS did around 500 hip/knees a year but that is very high. I forget success rate now but it was somewhere around 99% if I remember correctly. His office actually had a publication available in the waiting room with that information in it. Then it broke down the 1% that were not successful into the reasons they were not successful.

I will have to admit that I was not aware of all these guidelines beforehand as I hadn’t found BS and just didn’t know. The first OS I met with seemed fine but when I contacted his office with a question after my visit, I had a very difficult time getting an answer back. I didn’t feel good about that because I want someone I can contact and get a response after my surgery so I asked my GP for a referral and he recommended the OS I chose. It was a good choice. They were easy to contact after my surgery 24/7. I ended up calling them on a weekend after surgery and a nurse called me back within 5 min. I used patient portal after surgery to contact them a couple times and they always answered my question by phoning me rather than email which I find nice.

I think the surgeon you choose is far more important than the approach they use. I did ask which approach he used and he said anterior which was fine with me but I probably would have used him even if he said posterior. Good luck in your search!

 

[GrannyC]

One more point. You were wondering about recoveries. As time permits, you might want to read some forum posts on the recovery side starting from the member’s first post. Many members documented their recoveries right from the beginning including myself, Mojo333, Layla and others. If you go back to some older pages, you can find many more. Often members move on after 6-8 months or so as they get their lives back and move off BoneSmart. Keep in mind though that everyone’s recovery is different and we all recover at a different pace so those are all just examples of what may happen.

As far as work, since you sit much of the time st work, you might be ready to go back sooner than some others. If it is a possibility, too, you could consider some sort of phased return where you start back just part time - maybe 5 hrs a day for 3 days a week (or whatever would work) and gradually increase your hours/days over the following weeks until you are back full time. Those are just some things to think about and consider as you are trying to make your decision about surgery.

 

[miscverb]

So you don't need to tell surgeons you're shopping. The good surgeons assume that ... and getting second or third or fourth or fifth opinions is totally legit in medicine ... Surgeons don't know if this is your first visit or consult ... or your tenth ... and they don't really care ... Yes, each surgeon took their own X-Rays ... The office will cover that when you call the office, and no I have never had an office ask, "Is this a second opinion?"

I did a lot of internet reading about surgeons ... I read a lot of patient reviews about their experiences with various surgeons. I searched through the local magazine's annual list of "top doctors"--comes out annually. I'm sure there's a magazine like that near you--you know the one that has "Best Trips for the Fall" ... "Best Restaurants" ... they also lists of top doctors sand dentists. Castle Connolly has a designation for top surgeons ... One thing I got from this board and from online reviews by patients (you can google that) is that finding the right surgeon (someone you're comfortable with) is often what allows the rational brain to shut up the fear brain and move forward. You want the feeling of this person is really sharp and skilled and will take good care of me.

Ask exactly what you want to ask ... and you don't need to hide your fear ... Half of being a good surgical is being able to calm people's fears ... often by being confident and really clear and detailed in how they explain their thinking and explain your condition.

You're bone and bone and having trouble walking regularly, they will all pretty much say hip replacement is the only option (which is true) ... So the issue become--and yes, this comes up in the meeting--where are YOU in thinking about surgery? None of the surgeons I consulted with (I actually met with others years ago when I got my first diagnosis) ... none of them pushed hard for the surgery ... They seem to want their patients to be ready for the surgery.

The main questions to my mind ... how many hip replacement surgeries have they done? What is their current approach: anterior, posterior, anterolateral? And the key question: how many surgeries have they done using their current approach? My personal view is I wanted masters (trying to shut up my fear brain) ... so I wanted people who had done thousands of surgeries.

Most of the top surgeons specialize in hip and knee joints and they do about 300 of each a year ... My guy does 340 hip replacements a year exactly, he told me. If you want anterior (which surgeons openly admit is a tricky surgery to master) ask them how many anterior surgeries they've done ... 100 is rock-bottom minimum, 500 is better. Again, me, I'd want over 1,000. BTW: asking this question shows you're informed. They're not insulted. Surgeons know this info off the top of their heads like you know how many years you've worked in your job and how long you've worked with your current supervisor.

The two surgeons I really liked have done about 3,000 hip surgeries each using their current approach. You can ask about recovery timelines ... how long til you can resume a lot of activities. Ask about pain levels, whatever you want! Tell them that you live alone! Totally valid concern.

Bottom line: they know patients are terrified ... they're OK with that ... no need to even hide your fear ... The right surgeon will have answers that reassure you. Sometimes people figure out yes, I want this guy to do my surgery. But I'm not ready now. But they call the surgeon when they are ready.

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Very much appreciated.

 

[Going4fun]

And you can also call the surgeon's office afterwards to ask followup questions ... Totally legit ... and lots of surgeons are fine with followup in-person appointments to handle questions you want to ask.

 

[Layla]

Hey, the surgeons make a lot of money on performing THR's. You have the right to ask as many questions as you want. You're interviewing him in an effort to make an educated decision on whether you want to allow him to perform a major surgery on your body. The suggestion above in regard to calling the surgeons office is good also. I'm sure the OS won't call you back but the PA or a nurse will who are familiar with the OS's protocol.
Wishing you comfort as you contemplate scheduling a date.
@Mersada