Hip Resurfacing News

Welcome to Hip Resurfacing News

I have a large Patient to Patient website dedicated to Hip Resurfacing called   Surface Hippy.  About 7000 unique visitors a month  use the website to learn about hip resurfacing. Many don't have time to keep up with what's new in hip resurfacing, so I decided to place news media articles about Hip Resurfacing on the Hip Resurfacing News Website.  It is a place to quickly find out what is new and what is changing in the field of hip resurfacing.

Hip Resurfacing came of age in the United States when the FDA approved Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) in May 2006. Previous to the FDA Approval, hip resurfacings were done in Europe, Canada, Australia and other countries outside the United States. Orthopedic surgeons have been performing hip resurfacing surgeries since 1997 in most countries. Over 90,000 people world wide have received hip resurfacings.

Since the FDA Approval of the BHR and Cormet in the US, there are a large number of new surgeons learning the techniques and many people wondering if the surgery is right for them. There are new surgeons training, new medical studies completed regularly and general articles published in newspapers, magazines and in the media daily. Keeping up with all of the information becomes a real task for most people. People are trying to find pertinent information without spending hours and hours searching online - that is the purpose of Hip Resurfacing News.

Patricia Walter - Owner/Webmaster of Hip Resurfacing News and Surface Hippy

Hip resurfacing helped triathlete compete again

Link  www.dallasnews.com

The patient before: Michael Montgomery, 33 years old,  of Trophy Club was a 31-year-old Ironman triathlete.

For more than three years, triathlons offered him some semblance of normalcy. Most of his life revolved around a stressful job in which he traveled the country as a business-applications consultant.

That is, until he began having intolerable hip pain after the 2006 Ironman Arizona. In four months, he went from finishing a marathon to being unable to run a 5K.

An old hip injury from his college wrestling days probably caused avascular necrosis, a condition following the loss of blood supply that resulted in his hip tissue dying and the bone collapsing.

Initially, Mr. Montgomery thought total hip replacement was his only choice and that he would never run again. Through research, he learned that cyclist Floyd Landis of Tour de France fame had a similar diagnosis and had undergone a newly approved option using the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing System.

Dr. Jay Mabrey, chief of orthopedics at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, had just become certified to use the device. He had chaired the Food and Drug Administration Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Devices Panel, which approved the implant in May 2006.

It's riskier than total replacement and appropriate only for young, active patients.

The patient now: Six months after the procedure, he completed the April 2007 Ironman Arizona.

What is it? The Birmingham Hip Resurfacing System preserves more bone than total hip replacement. It's similar to a tooth cap. Doctors shave and cap a few centimeters of the bone within the joint with a metal implant rather than replacing the entire joint.

Why he chose it: Mr. Montgomery wanted to resume running. A total hip replacement device can't withstand the impact of running.

What you need to know: The Birmingham Hip Resurfacing System has a higher failure rate than total hip replacement. Total hip replacement makes sense for most people who are content to do low-impact activities.

 

Collapsing bone threatened to sideline triathlete Michael Montgomery (left),
but a hip resurfacing procedure returned him to competition. He and
Dr. Jay Mabrey examine his X-rays.

Resurfacing emerges as possible option to hip replacement
By Mary Jo Feldstein
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
05/07/2008

Link http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/healthcare/story/C2824CE782266F9186257442000778B3?OpenDocument

The procedure gives many patients the chance to relieve pain and stay active. Physicians caution their peers to select patients carefully and make sure they're capable of performing the complicated procedure.

"Patients should have a long discussion with their physician," said Dr. Jay Mabrey, chief of orthopedics at Baylor University in Dallas and chairman of the Food and Drug Administration panel that reviews orthopedic devices. "I spend more time in my practice talking people out of hip resurfacing than talking people into it."

Such restraint can be difficult as a few device makers put their marketing teams in gear to maximize this latest profit center.

Hip replacements typically only last two or three decades, leaving young recipients with few options for their golden years. Hip resurfacing, on the other hand, can preserve enough healthy bone for a hip replacement later on in life.

Here's the difference: During traditional hip replacement, both the head and neck of the femur, or thigh bone, are removed and replaced with metal or plastic implants. During hip resurfacing, the head of the femur is resurfaced with a metal hip "joint" and the rest of the thigh bone is left intact.

Patients who opt for hip resurfacing often return to some strenuous physical activity after surgery.

Goodman hasn't completed another marathon since his surgery a year ago, but he occasionally jogs shorter distances and he regularly attends high-energy spinning classes.

He isn't hip resurfacing's only cyclist. Professional cyclist Floyd Landis underwent the procedure before his contested Tour de France victory.

Resurfacing costs more than a traditional hip replacements, with a price tag of $10,000 to $12,000 versus about $8,000.

Patients, on average, have similar recovery times. Hip resurfacing patients who get better faster, generally do so because they were younger and healthier before the surgery than the average hip replacement patient, said Dr. Robert Barrack, an orthopedic surgeon with Washington University Orthopedics at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Hip resurfacing is not for everyone. Barnes-Jewish considers it ideal for active men and women under age 60. People with osteoporosis, diabetes and women who plan to have children are among the other classes of patients warned to stay away.

Patients also need to find a qualified physician. Since it was only approved by the Food and Drug Administration two years ago, few surgeons are proficient in performing the procedure, which is considered more difficult than hip replacement.

Barrack said it takes about 50 cases to consistently achieve the best results. Because only 10 percent of patients qualify for resurfacing, Barrack estimates a surgeon would have to see 500 patients to reach the threshold.

That's a high volume of patients for a physician outside of a large medical center, Barrack said. He is a paid consultant for Smith & Nephew, a maker of hip resurfacing products, though the expertise he provides the company is related to other products.

Smith & Nephew's Birmingham Hip was the first FDA approved hip resurfacing product in the United States. It's been a solid product for the British company, driving growth in revenue and profit. The hip replacement market is worth about $2 billion, but Smith & Nephew had controlled hip resurfacing's estimated $20 million slice of the pie. Now, as other device makers work through the approval process, Smith & Nephew is facing new competition.

A concern is whether efforts by device makers to increase the market will encourage physicians with less experience to perform the procedure or recommend it to the wrong patients.

Mabrey said he's keeping this procedure for the most active of patients. A recent example is a triathlete who completed an Ironman competition a few months after surgery.

"That's the kind of person I aim for," Mabrey said.

Link  http://nwanews.com/nwat/News/64008/

BENTONVILLE — John Hill has run several Boston Marathons over the years, but crossing the finish line in 2006 was anything but pleasant.

Hill, a Bentonville resident for more than a decade and an executive with Nestle in Rogers, was accustomed to tackling the 26. 22-mile marathon in Beantown in as little as three hours, 27 minutes. But on April 17, 2006, Hill’s time skyrocketed to just shy of six hours. And he was in excruciating pain on top of that.

“ The only way I even made it to the finish line was to stop every so often and put more ice in my shorts, ” Hill recalls. “ I knew the end was near. It was going to be over for me. I wasn’t going to be able to run anymore. ”

Once a confident long-distance runner, Hill had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis prior to legging out the 2006 Boston Marathon. And at 44 years old, the condition had nothing to do with age. Instead, an extra piece of bone on Hill’s hip was rubbing against cartilage in the right joint of his hip, causing the protective material to deteriorate at a much more rapid rate than usual. The only surgical procedure being prescribed was total hip replacement — and that would mean giving up running altogether.

While attempting to stomach the fact that part of his life would soon be erased, Hill stumbled upon a story about a new surgical procedure called hip resurfacing. The procedure was so new, in fact, that it was not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, few had been performed in the United States, and the majority of insurance companies were not covering the procedure. Still, a glimmer of hope was ignited that has led to Hill holding on to the life he has always known.

On April 21, Hill, now 46, will be among the more than 20, 000 runners from across the country competing in the Boston Marathon. More importantly, Hill, who underwent the hip-resurfacing procedure 14 short months ago, expects to run the world’s oldest and most popular marathon pain-free, and even has his eye on finishing in under four hours.

“ If I think about it too much, I get overcome with emotion, ” Hill said. “ A year ago, none of this would have been possible. It wasn’t even imaginable. When you get a second chance at life like I have, you can’t help but feel humbled. I had already been told to start developing my exit plan from running. And in a few weeks, I’ll be doing the Boston Marathon. ”

The hip-resurfacing procedure, performed on Hill by Dr. Robert Barrack in St. Louis on Jan. 23, 2007, has been practiced in Europe for several years but has just recently started to gain acceptance in the United States. Rather than removing the entire hip, the resurfacing procedure introduces a special metal into the hip joint where the cartilage once was. As a result, bone-on-bone contact, which causes arthritis, pain and disability, is replaced by metal on metal.

The realization that he would not have to lose his hip meant Hill could continue to run marathons. But, more importantly, he would remain the father and husband he had been to that point in his life.

“ I coach my 6-year-old daughter (Mary Lou’s ) softball team, and there was a time when I was having trouble getting from one end of the field to the other, let alone running, ” Hill explained. “ I have a 9-year-old daughter (Sophie ) and an 11-year-old son (Brody ) that run AAU. I’ve always been right there, running with them. I enjoy being involved. My family is a priority. When my doctor performed the surgery, that was the thing I told him. I said, ‘ Now I can play with my kids. ’ ”

Read Complete Story   http://nwanews.com/nwat/News/64008/

March 2008

SAN FRANCISCO -  A study indicates that having a metal-on-metal bearing surface and performing high-impact activities preoperatively may be positive predictors for participating in high-impact sports after total hip arthroplasty.

To determine which patients would participate in high-impact sports activity following total hip arthroplasty (THA) and to examine the factors linked to participation in these sports, David R. Marker, BS, and colleagues submitted pre- and postoperative questionnaires to 303 THA patients who had a mean follow-up of 3 years.

The investigators found that 30% of patients participated in at least one or more high-impact sport postoperatively for an average of 4.3 hours per week.

A regression analysis revealed that a preoperative high activity level and metal-on-metal bearing surface were the only statistically significant factors to predict participation in high-impact sports postoperatively. Moreover, while a comparison of patients participating in high- and low-impact sports revealed similar preoperative Harris Hip Scores, the investigators discovered that the high-impact sport participating patients had higher postop Harris Hip Scores.

"There are many patients participating in these high-impact sports, up to 30% in our cohort," Marker said during his presentation at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 75th Annual Meeting, held here. "The preoperative participation, as well as the metal bearing surface, were found to be predictive of postoperative participation. We found [in] the short-term follow-up that the high-impact sports patients had similar and better outcomes."

For more information:

Marker DR, Seyler TM, Ulrich SD, et al. High-impact sports after THA: Is the bearing type and independent predictor of activity level? Paper #16. Presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 75th Annual Meeting. March 5-9, 2008. San Francisco.

April 2008

Using potent anticoagulants such as low-molecular-weight heparin to prevent pulmonary embolism in total hip or knee arthroplasty patients, as recommended by the Chest Physicians Consensus Statement, may actually increase the risk of all-cause mortality compared to multimodal prophylaxis measures, according to a systematic literature review published in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.

"We believe the American College of Chest Physicians should reconsider their guidelines to reflect the fact that PE (pulmonary embolism) occurs despite the use of potent anticoagulants and may, in fact, expose patients to increased mortality after surgery," the authors said in the study.

Nigel E. Sharrock, BMedSci, MB, ChB, and colleagues at the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, conducted the systematic review, which included 20 English language studies published during the last 9 years. The researchers focused on studies that involved patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and divided publications into three categories based on the venous thromboembolism prophylaxis regimen.

Specifically, Group A included the use of low-molecular-weight heparin, ximelagatran, fondaparinux or rivaroxaban, Group B included the use of a multimodal prophylaxis, and Group C included the use of warfarin.

"Multimodal prophylaxis (Group B) was defined as a protocol consisting of intention to use regional anesthesia (epidural or spinal) with or without intraoperative heparin during surgery or pneumatic compression and aspirin after surgery," the study authors noted.

The researchers found that the lowest number of deaths occurred among patients in Group B. Patients in Groups A and C were more than two times as likely to die compared to those in Group B, with no significant difference between Group A and Group C.

Patients in Group A also had a 60% to 70% higher risk of nonfatal PE compared to patients in Group B.

Nonfatal PE occurred in 94 of 15,839 patients in Group A (0.6%) vs. 25 of 7,193 patients in Group B (0.35%), according to the study.

"We show clinical PE occurs despite the use of powerful anticoagulants. The rate of 0.6% is comparable to the rate of 1% previously described with warfarin and low-molecular-weight heparin in cohort studies.

"This literature cannot support the use of powerful anticoagulants to prevent PE, although they clearly reduce the risk of venographically evident deep vein thrombosis," the study authors wrote.

For more information:

Sharrock NE, Gonzalez Della Valle A, Go G, et al. Potent anticoagulants are associated with a higher all-cause mortality rate after hip and knee arthroplasty. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2008;466:714-721.

Link  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3641322.ece

Baby boomers are competing for hip operations with older people, and the pain and strain will be felt by the health service

Martin Richards has been sports-mad all his life, playing five-a-side football, tennis, squash and badminton. At 50 he tried taking up waterskiing but found that he couldn't crouch down to pick up the tow handle; if he fell he had difficulty getting up again. “I would lie there like a beached whale,” he says.

He thought he probably had a groin injury, but pain and difficulty moving got worse, he put on weight and eventually X-rays showed advanced osteoarthritis. “Your hips are shot,” a consultant told him. “I went away, lost 2st (12.7kg), then came back for the operation. A year later I had the other hip done.”

Richards was soon back playing all his favourite sports, fishing and camping. At 57, five years after surgery, he says that he feels fantastic: “It was a total life change. I feel very lucky.”

Richards underwent a procedure called hip resurfacing, invented ten years ago in Birmingham by the orthopaedic surgeon Derek McMinn and named the Birmingham Hip, though there are now many imitations. Instead of removing the head of the thigh bone and replacing it with an artificial ball (hip replacement) a hollow metal cap is fitted over the head of the thigh bone, which corresponds with a metal casing inside the hip socket. The procedure is now recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) for younger and more active patients though not all orthopaedic surgeons agree about its role. “Some see it as a holding operation,” says Jane Tadman, of the Arthritis Research Campaign, “postponing the day when a traditional hip replacement will be needed. Others claim it is a perfectly good - and less invasive - procedure in its own right.”

Because resurfacing is a relatively new technique, there is little data on outcomes, though early reports suggest a success rate of more than 95 per cent at five years after surgery. In one trial, hip resurfacing performed better in young active patients than total hip replacement. But the materials used were different - metal on metal for the resurfacings, metal on polyethylene for the replacements - and it may be that if the more expensive metal or ceramic bearings were used, the replacement would perform better.

“Hip resurfacing has been well marketed,” says Tom Pollard, an orthopaedic specialist registrar. “But it is not yet certain that it is superior to total hip replacement using comparable materials in the longer term.”

Martin Richards was told that his new hips should last about ten years, though he admits he probably does too much. “They may wear out before then.” He says that it's important to be a good weight before and after surgery, and you have to work hard to regain fitness: “I couldn't have done it without the support of physiotherapists at my local hospital. If I can get to 60 with these hips, swimming, playing tennis and squash, I'll have had a good run.”

Richards may need total hip replacement if his resurfacing fails, but one advantage of resurfacing is that this is usually a straightforward procedure compared with revision of a primary total-hip replacement.

Helen Cotterell was only 42 when she began to feel pain in her knee that increased in intensity over the next six years and osteoarthritis was diagnosed in her right hip. “My GP told me: ‘Oh you're miles off a replacement'.” A friend recommended her to see a consultant privately who gave her a year before she would need surgery. “When I went back, I'd worn another quarter of an inch off the bone.” Resurfacing was recommended because she was so young: “He said it could stand one or possibly even two revisions before I would need a full replacement; he reckoned he could get me through into my nineties.” Even so, Cotterell was uncertain: “Do I really need this op?” she asked. “You tell me,” said her consultant. “I thought, yes, I want to climb mountains with my kids, who were only 10 and 13 at the time, I want to keep up Scottish reeling, I don't want to limp down Oxford Street and sit in agony like an old woman in Topshop while my daughter tries on clothes.”

After a second operation on her other hip, Cotterell went to a remedial masseuse: “She taught me how to walk properly - swinging each foot forward like a catwalk model rather than waddling, which I'd got used to when the hips hurt.” She has no idea why the disease struck her so young: “My grandfather had a hip replacement at 70 but he was crippled by then. They were more stoic, that generation, weren't they?”

Smith & Nephew and Corin battle to win over America's hip generation

Link http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/health/article3601581.ece

Smith & Nephew and Corin are both vying to win the key US market for hip replacements

Matthew Goodman

BEFORE he had surgery, Cory Foulk, a 49-year-old Hawaiian architect, found even everyday tasks such as getting in and out of the car caused him considerable pain. His condition, arthritis triggered by a cycling accident, had deteriorated over several years.

Three years ago, though, he had a hip replacement. US doctors had been reluctant to carry out the procedure on such a relatively young patient, but Foulk went abroad and found a British surgeon prepared to do the work using a new type of implant that had yet to make its way to America. The new hip was made by Smith & Nephew, the FTSE 100 medical-equipment group.

Link  http://03530.com/2008/03/25/horse-stopped-from-visiting-patient-at-hospital-bedside.html

Wilcox Hospital has around 70 beds, includes an intensive care section and offers treatments for cardiac and a range of other conditions. It is part of Hawaiian Pacific Health.

Two Kaua’i patients who had not seen each other for 25 years were recently reunited at the hospital. Payton Hough and Jeff Habig were the first to receive the new Birmingham hip resurfacing procedure at the hospital, performed by orthopedic surgeon David Rovinsky.

Corin Group Introduces Vertical machining centre to reduce lead times

Medical implants and instrumentation manufacturer has introduced 'lean' cell-structured machining systems - including high speed machining - to reduce overall manufacturing lead times

Link  http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/siz/siz235.html

Medical implants and instrumentation manufacturer, the Corin Group, has introduced lean, cellular production techniques, which have transformed individual component machining times, as well as overall lead times. Newly-established routines have also streamlined production through reduced work handling and separate set-ups.

In addition, investment in another area has eliminated costly outsourced machining operations and allowed the company to take full control over its processes.

By establishing cell machining incorporating a Fanuc Alpha T21E high speed, 24,000 rev/min vertical machining centre (VMC), has, for example, been able to demolish lead times on hip replacement 'cups' from three days down to just one day.

Also, Corin invesed in two Fanuc Alpha wire EDM machines, to bring back in-house previously sub-contracted wire edm work.

Production manager, Trevor Buggins, at Corin explained that the Group's global reputation had been built around a policy of continual improvement.

It impacts every department of the 200 plus-employee company, which in more recent times, has attracted increased business from countries such as Japan, North America, Turkey and Venezuela.

Corin produces a wide range of products for the medical sector, hip, knee, ligament and spinal replacement items, as well as 'instrumentation packs' that provide surgeons with a complete set of tools for the appropriate task.

The company processes stainless steel, titanium and cobalt chrome alloys, for example, in various quantities to meet its growing forward order book and stock demands.

A 'flagship' product, the Cormet Hip Resurfacing system, combines the principles of conservative arthroplasty with metal-on-metal bearing technology to provide a solution for patients with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

It is in producing the components for Cormet that the Fanuc Alpha T21E VMC has been used to impressive effect.

Permalink

Here's a nice story, if it happens: Lightning coach John Tortorella has given captain Tim Taylor the option of playing in the team's final game of the season April 5 at Atlanta. It would be a way for the center to finish his 13-year career as a player instead of on the sideline, where he has been since Sept. 7 hip surgery.

"He deserves that type of respect,'' Tortorella said. "He's been a loyal guy to the organization and has done a lot of things on and off the ice people don't even know about, so he deserves that right.''

The surgery is called hip resurfacing and corrected his painful, right-hip dysplasia by shaving and smoothing the head of the femur, topping it with a chrome alloy cap and fitting it into the hip socket that also was coated.

Taylor, 39, said he is "ecstatic'' at the results. He has skated since mid February but has practiced fewer than 10 times.

Read Tim's Hip Resurfacing Story by clicking here

"I don't want to say yes. I don't want to say no,'' Taylor said of playing. "Now I'm practicing every day. Maybe the last day of the season, maybe I get that itch.''

If Taylor doesn't play, he will end his career with 746 games, 73 goals, 167 points and Stanley Cups with the Lightning in 2004 and Red Wings in 1997.

Seemed the more we talked about it Monday at the Ice Sports Forum, the more Taylor liked the idea of playing.

"That would be nice,'' he said. "To sit on the bench at the end of a game and to know, 'Okay, it's over now,' would be really nice.''

Dave Grigg Ten Year Anniversary

L C+ 3/24/1998 R C+ 2/12/2004 Dr. Amstutz

I'm saying hello on the eve of my ten year anniversary. In early 1998 there were fewer than 40 resurfacings in the U.S. and of course no surfacehippy group or knowledge base. My thanks to Keith and all you posters.

My story

A former runner, I had been crippled with OA for a decade and needed crutches just to stand more than 2 minutes. Dr. Amstutz said he'd only seen one or two more diseased hips in his career. I placed a lot of trust in him and it sure paid off. I was riding the life cycle 5 days post-op and skydiving 7 weeks post-op (not doctor approved). My other hip was resurfaced by the good doctor early in 2004. I moved to the Palm Springs area 19 months ago and took up competitive tennis, both singles and doubles and have won a couple of local tournaments.

Other than airport security delays, I couldn't be happier.

Dave C+, Dr. Amstutz, L 3/24/1998, R 2/12/2004

Farmer has hip op in India

Link  To Original  Story

LAURA DEVLIN

18 March 2008

Stuart Agnew - operation in India

Farmer Stuart Agnew knew that major surgery was on the cards as his hip became increasingly more painful during a busy lambing season.

But for the 58-year-old, being at the mercy of NHS waiting lists was a daunting thought as he tried to negotiate his way through a hectic farming calendar.

Eventually, the pain became so intense that he felt forced to take action and sought out private treatment halfway across the world in India.

Yet there was an unexpected bonus awaiting him when he discovered he could not only have the surgery at a time to fit in with the day-to-day business of running the farm, but save himself £5,000 in the process.

Mr Agnew, who represents the county on the NFU's national council, became so frustrated at struggling around his farm at Helhoughton, near Fakenham, that he searched the internet for an overseas surgeon and braved a nine-hour flight to Bombay.

Bloodless hip surgery at GSMCH

Link  http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/9315/38/

Tuesday, 18 March 2008

CHANDIGARH: Bloodless hip surgery would be performed at the Gian Sagar Medical College and Hospital, near here, with an internationally acclaimed orthopaedic surgeon Gursharan Singh Chana visiting the hospital regularly every two months.

Disclosing this here Tuesday, Dr Sukhwinder Singh, vice-chairman of the Gian Sagar Educational and Charitable Trust, said that Dr Chana, who is settled in the United Kingdom, would visit the GSMCH every two months.

He would train orthopaedic surgeons in bloodless hip surgery for which a 15-day training course would be organized every two months.

Dr Sukhwinder Singh said that Gursharan Singh Chana, a doctor of Indian origin, would deliver a lecture on minimal invasive surgery for total hip replacement and hip resurfacing at the Gian Sagar Medical College and Hospital on March 20.

He said that Dr Chana would interact with the faculty of the GSMCH on March 20 morning and in the evening he would address orthopaedic surgeons of Patiala. On March 21, he would be interacting with orthopaedic surgeons of Chandigarh and on march 22 he would have an interactive session with orthopaedicians of Ludhiana.

Dr Sukhwinder Singh said that an internationally acclaimed orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Chana has devised a minimally invasive approach to hip joint to carry out total hip replacement and hip resurfacing. He has devised Chana reamer handle to allow accurate surgery of the hip joint.

Dr Chana is presently working as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, NHS Trust Birmingham, since October 2002.

Dr Chana has the vast experience of carrying out the over 2500 total hip replacements, over 2000 total knee replacement, over 1500 hip resurfacing, 200 hip replacements using minimally invasive surgical approach, 200 hip resurfacings using minimally invasive hip resurfacing.

Over the last two years he has been involved in developing instrumentation and implants for hip resurfacing procedure to be carried out using a minimally invasive approach through Comis Orthopaedics, a company based in Yorkshire.

The implant is being used currently in the U.K. This implant is the only one of its kind that can be delivered using a minimally invasive approach with obvious benefits of early discharge from hospital, blood transfusion is not necessary in 95 per cent of patients and the patients tend to return to normal activities at an earlier stage compared to patients who undergo open surgery. The average incision size is 7 cm. with this approach as opposed to 20 cm. using an open approach.

Link Link http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8029116&nav=menu66_5_1

March 17, 2008

Reported by: Britney Glaser

Each year, 200,000 Americans undergo total hip replacement.  For younger patients leading active lives, this surgery can oftentimes leave them with physical limitations they did not have before going under the knife.  But now, there's an exciting new hip procedure - one that's transformed the cycling career of a Tour de France winner.

For 15 years, cycling has been Floyd Landis's passion - but when he broke his hip while training in 2003, the arthritis that developed eventually became unbearable.  "It's hard to explain arthritis if you've never had it," says Landis, "it's just something that's always there - and it affects everything, it affects your mood.  I'm quite happy that it's been solved."

Landis peddled with the pain until 2006.  After winning Tour de France, he chose a revolutionary technique called Birmingham Hip Resurfacing to repair his hip.  Orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. John Noble, performs the BHR procedure locally and says it's the ideal alternative to total hip replacement in younger patients.  "I would say that the young, active patients who have significant arthritis or significant dysplasia - that is a shallowness of the socket - those are patients who would benefit from hip resurfacing," says Dr. Noble.

BHR uses a bone-conserving technique where surgeons shave just a few centimeters of bone rather than removing the entire hip joint.  "We divide the tissue directly over the bone," says Dr. Noble, "we make an exposure to dislocate the hip and move the hip and ball out of the way to allow exposure to the socket and then we ream the socket with a device that looks like a cheese grater and then we implant the socket."  The size of the implant is matched to the patient's own joint, reducing the risk for dislocation or uneven leg length.

Dr. Noble says the results have been phenomenal.  "99.5 percent of the patients were either pleased or very pleased with their procedure," says Dr. Noble, "and those are pretty extraordinary results - we just don't see that very often with many operations."

It's been a year and a half since Landis had the BHR procedure.  He is now back to riding and says his determination *and hips are the strongest they've been in years.  "It's as good as new," says Landis, "and certainly is much better than it was the last two years when I had the arthritis problem.  I'll certainly be better off and not just because of that, but more determined than ever."

*If you're wondering what brought Floyd Landis to Southwest Louisiana, he took part in a ride over the weekend that raised $5,000 for the Calcasieu Community Clinic.

*To learn more about the BHR technique, click here.