My Surface Hippy Adventure

Hip Resurfacing vs THR

A picture tells a 1000 words, so here is one where the person got a THR (total hip replacement) on one side and a HSR (hip surface replacement) on the other. See where the bone is missing on the THR side (left hip)? Although the metal spike is deep and solid in the femur, the remaining bone does not get utilized as fully or naturally as with the HSR (metal is cupped over the ball of the femur), and bone, like muscle, needs to be exercised to avoid deterioration. The early HSR devices (1980s) often came loose and gave the procedure a bad name. Since the middle 1990s, the device has been vastly improved, as well as surgical procedures to implant it, led by Dr. Amstutz in Los Angelas and Dr. McMinn in Birmingham, England. Dr. Bose was a student of McMinn, and he further developed the technique since beginning his practice nearly 10 years ago. It was great to see some pictures of a recent patient of his, a tae kwon do teacher from Louisiana, on the first page of an article titled "The Doctor Is In...INDIA" in a June People Magazine article. This patient was quoted $40,000 to have the procedure done in the U.S., and his cost came to only $6,500 for surgery and hospital costs (what I will pay) and approx. $10,000 for all expenses, which his students raised!

posted by Gary Klein @ 10:57 AM