"psycholist" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Gary,
There's a lesson in this dialog that might be worth passing along. In a
case where gradual degeneration has led to the need for a hip replacement,
there's obviously no choice in the matter. In my case, where the hip
problem was the result of trauma, my orthopedic surgeon faced a decision
whether to try to repair or replace the hip. I remember her telling me
about this, but it was after the fact, so it was kinda irrelevant to me.
But from this dialog, I'm awakening to the issue involved. I remember my
her saying she debated with herself which way to go 'cuz there was so
little
Quoted message said:of the bone that was not severed. But she decided that, since I was so
healthy and so active, she'd try to save the hip, knowing that would be
stronger and longer lasting if it worked. I have three enormous titanium
screws holding things together. There was a significant concern about
avascular necrosis, but it never materialized and I healed up quite
nicely.
Quoted message said:I wouldn't say my hip is as good as ever, but it's awfully close.
The miracle of modern medicine! Since I've been dealing with my condition,
I've just been amazed at what can be accomplished by a skillful surgeon and
a determined patient.
Quoted message said:My point in sharing this is that, if anyone has a trauma situation and is
faced with a choice whether or not to repair or replace the hip, you'll be
better off going the repair route ... if it works. The original bone with
titanium reinforcement is stronger and lasts longer. Rehabilitation takes
longer because the broken bone has to heal. And if avascular necrosis
happens, you'll be going in again for the replacement in only a year or
two.
Quoted message said:This isn't a huge risk, but it's there.
Amen to that. Original equipment trumps after-market whenever it's
possible!
Quoted message said:With replacement, the
rehabilitation is said to be faster (though I haven't heard of anyone
getting through it any faster than I did with my repair), but longevity of
the artificial joint is an issue. I believe you said 30 to 40 years. I
thought I was told more like 20 years ... but that may have been what the
doc told me I could expect since I'm such a cycling fool.
No, you were probably told that. However, the vast majority of total hip's
involve a prosthesis with some type of "plastic" cup in the socket portion
of the prosthesis. This is what is usually replaced when revision surgeries
become necessary. For a young, active individual, everything I was told and
have read pointed to a ten to twenty year "life" for the prosthesis.
I have a 100% Titanium Alloy prosthesis. There is no urethane cup in the
socket. Metallurgy and machining processes have finally progressed enough
that friction between the two metal surfaces is negligible; negating the
need for the "cup." Since there is no cup, this component won't be wearing
out in ten to twenty years.
The life of my prosthesis is an expected thirty to forty years. At the
point, it has worn beyond "tolerable" use, the socket portion will be
replaced with a slightly larger socket. Bone grafts will be used to aid in
holding the new socket in place - a similar process to replacing loose
appliances today. Assuming nothing speeds up this process, I will be in my
late '60's to mid- or late-70's. Also, there is the chance over this time
that new surgical procedures and materials may dictate a totally different
approach.
Quoted message said:FWIW, my broken hip came at almost the same time and involved precisely
the
Quoted message said:same repair as what Floyd Landis had. I presume you watched Floyd pacing
Lance up those mountains two weeks ago. That's about 18 months out from
his
Quoted message said:surgery.
Wow, that's amazing. I actually didn't know he had recovered from such an
injury. Again, it's a testament to modern medicine and the human will - as
corny as that can sound.
Gary
