Hi Wap,
Welcome! I am a lifetime skier too, use to be PSIA certified, taught at Vail. If you can not ski or do the things you love, then perhaps it is time. To me at least, it is quality of life and without being able to do the things I love it just wouldn't be ok. I put off my surgery for several years due to denial and wanting to try every alternative I could find. Now in hindsight, I wish I had just had it done right away. I am 15 months out from simultaneous bilateral THR. I downhill and x/c ski, horseback ride(including jumping), rollerblade, hike, mountainbike, run a little, kayak, you name it, without the pain! Why wait till you are on your last leg, when you can have that?? Plus it will be much better on your recovery if you have it done while you are still fit!
As far as the type, a 4" opening is considered by most to be MIS. It is a term that is used kinda loosely it seems to me. My surgeon calls it MIS and I have a single scar on each hip, one 3" and the other 3 1/2". But some surgeons refere to MIS as the approach using 2 small insicions. I believe that type takes some special equiptment and training. Most important is that your surgeon be great at the technique that he uses!
If you are not planning on any high impact sports like running, I would think ceramic/ceramic would be a good choice for you. I have metal/poly only because like Marilyn, my surgeon knew I wanted to be able to run still. He felt the poly would be slightly more cushioning and less chance of fracture. Now if you are planning on skiing the bumps really hard, that may be an issue, but then most OS would have a fit about that!! I tried it once and it did not work so good! I was afraid I really damaged something as my hips hurt for over 2 months following that dumb move, but they are ok now and my 1 year check up looked great. So now I plan on staying off most black diamonds and going for the trails where the big sweeping fast GS turns will have to do. You know, if you were able to get your surgery really soon, you could be skiing by the end of this upcoming season!! Hows that for something to think about? Where do you ski? We live in VT and Mad River is my fav.
Best of luck to you and keep us posted!
PS: Hey Marilyn, how is that new bike doing??
Andrea
(Believe in Barbaro)