I am terrified for the first time

[cryinsham30]

@happyhopper

Yes, I have the rejuvenate, with poly cup/ceramic ball, the "bad" cobalt/chromium stem and titanium femur section.

Surgeon will be installing a zimmer single piece stem system, and leaving the stryker cup in place and trying to stay with a larger diameter ball (current one is 18). My cobalt level is high but not scary high, but my "psuedotumor" is on the large size, meaning lots of tissue death/melted fat.

 

[Josephine]

A good hip revision surgeon, who patients specifically seek out for revisions, would be doing maximum of 50 hip revisions a year.

Not entire true, my friend. I have a list of surgeons in the UK who do revisions and some top 80-100 a year and that's with 110-220 primaries.
But I will agree that 316 a year is pretty good going even if he does NO primaries!

I also wonder why this surgeon has to order a specific extractor tool when he is doing so many revisions.

There's nothing mysterious in that. I had a case once where the implant to be removed had been in place for about 30 years and was now obsolete to the point where nobody have ever heard of it! Happily I discovered the name of the manufacturer and knew one of the directors who, when I contacted him, said he knew where to get the appropriate set of removal instruments - in the company museum! They arrived in a beautifully crafted wooden box with dove-tailed joints and a velvet lining! Sadly I had to return them when we'd finished! But ti can happen and my kudos are very much with the surgeon who was pro-active enough to look out the appropriate tool for this job. The right tools make all the difference.