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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

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.