Articles 2008

Patients hip to new surgical technique

Link   http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/business/807983,2_3_AU24_CASTLE_S1.article

February 24, 2008

By ROWENA VERGARA rvergara@scn1.com
AURORA -- It's a breakthrough that has rocked Europe for the last 10 years. Internet bloggers can't stop buzzing about it. And every year, Americans are going overseas just to get it -- until now.


It's not some cosmetic procedure or the latest fad diet program. But the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing System, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2006, has gained the attention of baby boomers and active seniors who have the aches and pains (likely from arthritis), but don't want to commit to a total hip replacement.

One of the select facilities across the United States doing the procedure is Castle Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine in Aurora. Dr. Mark Shinsky of Castle Orthopaedics, who joined the practice in September, is one of the only surgeons in the Fox Valley trained to implant the Birmingham hip.

Made of cobalt chrome, the implant includes a metal cap anchored by a pin that locks into the femoral neck. A metal socket then hooks into the pelvis bone. Only a few centimeters of bone around the ball are shaved to fit tightly inside the hip implant.

In comparison, a total hip replacement requires the loss of the femoral head, or ball, which is replaced by a metal ball. That is then attached to a metal stem that goes into the shaft of the femur. The socket is replaced with metal and plastic components.

The Birmingham hip is recommended for people younger than 65 who are active and want to return to a mobile lifestyle, Shinsky says. A hip replacement, in comparison, is usually meant for patients in their late 60s and early 70s who live a sedentary lifestyle.

Although it gained FDA approval two years ago, the procedure has been done more than 60,000 times around the world since 1997.

"Patients like it a lot, and they do extremely well after this surgery and bounce back well," Shinsky said.

Jack Giesenschlag, 49, of Oswego, had the procedure done by Shinsky at Rush-Copley Medical Center in October. Five weeks after the surgery, he went back to work, and traveled for business appointments within seven weeks.

He plans to get back into bowling, something he hasn't been able to do for six years because of a deformed left hip. Giesenschlag acquired Leg Perthese disease, a children's syndrome in which circulation to the femoral head is blocked.

"It was hurting me on an everyday basis. I used to be a collegiate bowler, and I gave up golf last year because I couldn't tolerate the pain of it," he said. "I would have to say it was almost pain free going through the entire process."

The Birmingham's cobalt chrome components make it more durable than a total hip implant. Traditionally, only the ball in a hip replacement is made from cobalt chrome and the socket is lined with a plastic cup, which could wear out over time, according to the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Web site.

The dislocation rate is also virtually nonexistent. Dislocation is the leading cause of implant failure in a total hip replacement, according to the site. Still, total hip replacements are performed 300,000 times a year in the U.S.

Recovery time after the two-hour procedure is also impressive. Shinsky says patients can go back to skiing, swimming, playing tennis or running hopefully within a year.

The Birmingham hip is not the only device available to patients wanting a resurfacing procedure, so it is recommended that patients research their alternatives, and speak with a physician.

 

Glucosamine fails to ease hip arthritis Two-year study shows no improvement in pain or joint movement

February 19, 2008

Link MSNBC NEWS

Many people take glucosamine for arthritis-like symptoms but results of a new study suggest that glucosamine has no clinically meaningful effect on pain, function, or disease progression in patients with arthritis of the hip.

In a study lasting 2 years, Dr. Rianne M. Rozendaal and colleagues at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands randomly assigned 222 patients to glucosamine (1500 milligrams daily) or to placebo. The patients had relatively early stages of the hip arthritis; about half of them had mild arthritis for a period of 3 years or less.

The research team took care to ensure the integrity of their results. The supplier of the glucosamine was required to double-check that the tablets were the correct dose, and all physicians, patients, and researchers were blinded to group assignment. The rate of completion was high (93 percent), and the study was conducted without drug company funding.

In spite of the carefully controlled trial conditions, treatment allocation (glucosamine or placebo) had no significant effect on pain scores, physical function, stiffness, use of pain medication, or progression of hip arthritis, Rozendaal's team reports in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The writers of a commentary published with the study, note that despite numerous studies, definitive evidence of glucosamine's efficacy is lacking. They attribute much of the uncertainty to non-standardized glucosamine preparations, inadequate "blinding" in studies, and differences in outcome measures. MSNBC NEWS

By Salamander Davoudi Published: February 8 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 8 2008 02:00

Link News Article from ft.com

Smith & Nephew, Europe's largest medical devices company, lifted full-year sales more than 20 per cent, slightly outperforming analysts' expectations, on the back of growing demand for its orthopaedic products.

Revenues in its key orthopaedic reconstruction business advanced 13 per cent over the full year to $1.24bn (£639m), driven by strong sales of its Birmingham hip resurfacing system.

David Illingworth, chief executive, said he expected growth across all four businesses this year and raised the interim dividend 10 per cent to 7.3 cents.

But analysts were disappointed that outside the US, sales in orthopaedic reconstruction rose only 5 per cent in the fourth quarter.

The company said this was partly due to a disruption from a knee recall and partly because European markets were more mature.

Read More News Article from ft.com

A new surgical robot is making medical undergraduates three times more accurate during practice hip operations, according to pilot study to be discussed at a conference this week (8 February 2008).

Link News Website

 

Delegates at the British Society for Computer Aided Orthopaedic Surgery Conference will hear that results from a pilot study saw graduates 95 per cent more confident using this robotic technique than when using conventional surgical methods in training.

 

Professor Justin Cobb, Head of the Biosurgery and Surgical Technology Group at Imperial College London, conducted the trial on 32 undergraduate medical students at Imperial College London from December 2006 to December 2007. The pilot study tested whether planning before an operation, combined with the latest robotic navigation equipment could increase the success rates of students practising hip resurfacing arthroplasty procedures – a method for correcting painful hip bone deformities by coating the femoral head with a cast of chrome alloy.

Link Governor Otter's Hip Resurfacing Article

(BOISE) – Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter underwent successful resurfacing surgery on his right hip today. He thanked Idahoans for their support and asked for their patience during his recovery.

“Lori and I will be focusing on getting me up and around for the next several weeks, so we hope you all will understand. We both appreciate your concerns and well-wishes more than we can express, and we regret any inconvenience this causes,” Governor Otter said. “There’s no good time for something like this. But I needed to take care of this little hitch so I can devote my time and energy more fully to serving the people of Idaho.”

The Governor spent much of Monday preparing for today’s surgery. His schedule of public appearances and other meetings has been cleared for his recuperation, and he apologized to all those individuals and groups affected by the changes. It has not yet been determined when he will be back on the job full-time.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Colin Poole of Intermountain Orthopedics at St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center in Boise. Governor Otter was resting comfortably after the procedure, which lasted about two hours. He is expected to be able to go home by the weekend.

Link  http://www.mariondaily.com:80/articles/2008/01/31/news/news01.txt

MARION - In the past, if you had hip problems in your 40s and 50s, you were looking at 20 years of pain killers and a limited lifestyle before you could get a hip replacement.

Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Richard Morgan is offering a procedure for treating hip arthritis and other degenerative joint diseases that lowers the age of the target group by as much as 20 years.

Previously, the target group for hip replacement surgery was 70 years old. The replacements only lasted 20 years and the procedure was thus postponed until the patient was likely not to outlive the replacement.


That left a lot of younger patients in the position of having to live on painkillers.

Now Dr. Morgan is able to help younger patients with a different procedure called the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing System. It is the only FDA-approved hip resurfacing device in the United States.

“It is a more difficult procedure than a total hip replacement,” Dr. Morgan said. “The incision is larger, but less bone is removed.”

The reason the system lasts longer than traditional total hip replacements is that, with the Birmingham procedure, both the socket and the ball of the hip are made of metal and thus wear on the joint is minimal. These metal parts are attached to healthy bone and less real bone is removed for the procedure. Candidates for the Birmingham Hip must have healthy bone surrounding the joint.

The Birmingham Hip has been done for 20 years in England and the wear on the joints has proved to be minimal.

Dr. Morgan began doing the Birmingham procedure at Heartland about a year ago. So far he has done six of the new procedures.

Recovery is quick as with a total hip. Six weeks on a walker is all that is required.

Dr. Morgan cautions that the Birmingham procedure is designed to get people back on the golf course or back in the gym. It is not intended to restore a professional athlete to the NFL.