Sticky Postings
Welcome to Hip Resurfacing News
Up to Date News About Hip Resurfacing
Looking for Information
to learn about Hip Resurfacing?
Visit the
Surface Hippy Website - A Patient to Patient Guide to Hip Resurfacing
About 8000 unique visitors a month visit Surface Hippy
to learn about hip resurfacing.
I have a large Patient to Patient website dedicated to Hip Resurfacing called
Surface Hippy. About 8000 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
Monday, July 14. 2008
Read complete article by clicking here
May 1, 2008 By Avery Comarow
If he could have, Brad Barnum would have kissed the ground when he climbed
out of the car in Ruidoso, N.M., at the end of March. But the 53-year-old
building contractor had undergone major remodeling himself—and his new knee and
two new hips ruled out kneeling for a few more weeks. Still, he was ecstatic.
More than two months after leaving for the hospital, he was home, and he had
afforded the otherwise unaffordable. By having the work done in India, at
Wockhardt Hospital in Bangalore, he'd gotten his new joints for just $23,000.
Even after adding about $5,000 for airfare, passport, visa, and incidentals, the
total was nearly 80 percent less than the $125,000 or more he easily could have
been charged by a U.S. hospital. And that bill wouldn't have included physician
fees and "ancillary charges."
Barnum is one of thousands of Americans—estimates range from an
ultraconservative 5,000 to 500,000 annually if minor procedures are counted—who
are leaving the States for surgery when they have to come up with funds
themselves. They may be self-employed or work for a small business and lack
health insurance, for example, or their procedure may not be covered. More than
1 in 4 workers earning at least $60,000 a year went without insurance in 2006,
according to a Census Bureau survey; too well-off to be eligible for medical
assistance, they can often wring tens of thousands of dollars out of hospital
"rack rates" by going abroad. Some employers and big insurers like UnitedHealth
and Blue Cross and Blue Shield are so intrigued by "medical tourism" that
they're beginning to sniff for signs that it might be smart to cover it. "I was
totally amazed not just at the quality of the medical care but at the quality of
the service," says David Boucher, an assistant vice president of healthcare
services at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina who has visited many
facilities abroad. "The initial driver may be price, but patients' positive
experiences will do a lot to advance the movement."
So far, there's been mostly talk, with little action from employers and health
carriers. In fact, the first verified case of major surgery abroad as an
employee benefit took place only earlier this year. (The patient reportedly paid
nothing out of pocket for a knee replacement—in fact, the company, a North
Carolina manufacturer, paid him a tidy sum for saving so much money.) Wockhardt,
where the procedure was done, won't name the company.
Meanwhile, patients are finding their way abroad on their own. Wockhardt's
hospitals in Bangalore and Bombay operated on about 850 U.S. patients in 2007,
more than double the 2006 total. In Thailand, Bangkok's Bumrungrad Hospital says
it treats more than 38,000 Americans a year—a somewhat inflated figure that
represents "patient encounters," not individual patients, and includes
expatriates. Other hospitals in India and Thailand, as well as centers in
Singapore, are actively courting Americans, and the governments of South Korea
and Taiwan are about to launch campaigns.
Low-budget dentistry, Botox-ing, lipo, and other cosmetic work have for years
drawn Americans into Mexico and to other Latin American countries. But the
growth in serious elective surgery halfway around the world is new. Josef
Woodman, who publishes the Patients Beyond Borders series of guidebooks to
finding good care, thinks about 50,000 patients a year leave the country for
major noncosmetic elective procedures such as joint replacement, coronary artery
bypass, new or repaired heart valves, or back repair.
Many, like Barnum, do the legwork on their own. But concierge services like
MedRetreat.com and IndUShealth.com are multiplying, to help with lists of
potential hospitals, appointment scheduling, arranging airport pickup and
drop-off, and general hand-holding. (Information from Woodman's annual hospital
survey has been incorporated into the World Hospital Finder, a U.S. News search
tool for people who are seeking care abroad.)
Read Complete Article by clicking here
Saturday, July 12. 2008
Pseudotumours Risk For Hip Resurfacing Highlights Need For Regular
Clinical Follow-up For New Devices
Link
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114601.php
July 11, 2008
As the incidence of metal-on-metal hip resurfacing has increased in recent
years, especially in younger patients, research published in the Journal
of Bone and Joint Surgery - British Volume (JBJS-Br) discusses
occurrences of "pseudotumours" as a result.
The researchers estimate that approximately 1% of patients who have
metal-on-metal hip resurfacings develop pseudotumours within five years of
treatment. A pseudotumour is 'a soft-tissue mass associated with the
implant…neither malignant nor infective in nature', but that causes pain and
discomfort to the patient.
Most worryingly for patients and doctors is that the causes of the tumours
are unknown. The research discusses possible causes including 'toxic
reaction to an excess of particulate metal wear debris.' The article
stresses the need for further research to be done into the incidence of
pseudotumours in patients who have had this treatment.
The paper concludes that the incidence of pseudotumours must be related to
metal-on-metal hip resurfacing highlighting 'the need for regular clinical
follow-up for new devices'. Such follow-up would follow NICE
recommendations, but the current NHS climate makes this difficult, if not
impossible, to achieve.
Read the research abstract
Notes
- The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery - British Volume is a world
leading orthopaedics journal with an Impact Factor of 1.868
- JBJS-Br publishes twelve issues a year of high-quality,
peer-reviewed research, overseen by an international editorial board led by
Editor James Scott
- The Journal was first published in 1948 by The British Editorial
Society of Bone and Joint Surgery, a registered charity (No. 209299), with
the object of the advancement and improvement of education in orthopaedic
surgery and allied branches of surgery and the diffusion of knowledge of new
and improved methods of teaching and practicing orthopaedic surgery in all
its branches
- You can find out more about the Journal at
http://www.jbjs.org.uk
Journal
of Bone and Joint Surgery, British Volume
Saturday, July 12. 2008
Link
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114601.php br> 11, 2008
As the incidence of metal-on-metal hip resurfacing has increased in recent
years, especially in younger patients, research published in the Journal
of Bone and Joint Surgery - British Volume (JBJS-Br) discusses
occurrences of "pseudotumours" as a result.
The researchers estimate that approximately 1% of patients who have
metal-on-metal hip resurfacings develop pseudotumours within five years of
treatment. A pseudotumour is 'a soft-tissue mass associated with the
implant…neither malignant nor infective in nature', but that causes pain and
discomfort to the patient.
Most worryingly for patients and doctors is that the causes of the tumours
are unknown. The research discusses possible causes including 'toxic
reaction to an excess of particulate metal wear debris.' The article
stresses the need for further research to be done into the incidence of
pseudotumours in patients who have had this treatment.
The paper concludes that the incidence of pseudotumours must be related to
metal-on-metal hip resurfacing highlighting 'the need for regular clinical
follow-up for new devices'. Such follow-up would follow NICE
recommendations, but the current NHS climate makes this difficult, if not
impossible, to achieve.
Read the research abstract
Notes
- The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery - British Volume is a world
leading orthopaedics journal with an Impact Factor of 1.868
- JBJS-Br publishes twelve issues a year of high-quality,
peer-reviewed research, overseen by an international editorial board led by
Editor James Scott
- The Journal was first published in 1948 by The British Editorial
Society of Bone and Joint Surgery, a registered charity (No. 209299), with
the object of the advancement and improvement of education in orthopaedic
surgery and allied branches of surgery and the diffusion of knowledge of new
and improved methods of teaching and practicing orthopaedic surgery in all
its branches
- You can find out more about the Journal at
http://www.jbjs.org.uk
Journal
of Bone and Joint Surgery, British Volume
Tuesday, July 8. 2008
Link
http://www.newsweek.com/id/46170
July 2006
At 42, Sally Seeley was barely able to walk. Diagnosed with osteoarthritis in
her late 20s, she tried a range of treatments from water aerobics to Vioxx. But
her condition only got worse. Finally, an orthopedic surgeon recommended total
hip replacement. She worried that she was too young for such surgery, but she
just couldn't stand the discomfort any longer. "The pain was gone immediately,"
says Seeley, now 49. Three months ago, she had her right hip done; she's already
back at work.
Joint replacement was once considered a last resort for elderly patients who
were immobilized. Now, thanks to improved artificial joints made from
longer-lasting materials like titanium, patients in their 50s and younger are
signing up in growing numbers. More than 600,000 hip and knee replacements were
performed in the United States last year. While the average patient was well
over 60 years old, the number of people younger than 65 getting the surgery has
grown by 20 percent over the past five years. "Maybe 10 or 15 years ago, the
threshold was the ability to walk or do errands," says Dr. Edwin Su, an
orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. "Now it's
continuing to ski, golf or windsurf."
Doctors compare joint replacement to replacing tires on a car that's out of
alignment. Over the decades, your weight can wear down your bones. This is
especially true for patients with arthritis, where inflammation destroys the
cartilage surrounding the joint, causing the bones to grind together painfully.
In knee replacements, the most common joint-replacement procedure, doctors cut
into the joint and remove the damaged portions of the tibia (the lower leg
bone), patella (kneecap) and femur (thigh bone). They are replaced with metal
and plastic components. The surgery lasts at least two hours and requires
general anesthesia. Artificial knees generally last from 10 to 15 years. Hips
are the second most commonly replaced joints, followed by shoulders...
Thursday, June 26. 2008
I am honored that some of my overseas patients have got
together and made a plaque in appreciation of our hip
surgery team and a donation for the Jay Coulter fund.
Gary Klein has come back to Chennai to get his second hip
done. He brought the plaque and the donation.
I have attached a picture of the plaque.
With best regards
Vijay bose
chennai
Asian Regional
Center for Hip Resurfacing (ARCH)
Website
Tuesday, June 3. 2008
Hip, knee implant makers agree to pay $311M settlement
Link
http://blog.nj.com/ledgerupdates/2007/09/hip_knee_implant_makers_to_pay.html
Posted by John P. Martin and Jeff Whelan September 27, 2007
The nation's largest manufacturers of hip and knee implants today agreed to
pay $311 million to settle allegations that they bribed top surgeons to
recommend their products.
Agents gathered evidence that orthopedic surgeons routinely accepted lavish
vacations, gifts and annual "consulting fees" as high as $200,000 from medical
device makers in return for endorsing their implants or using them in
operations.
The 30-month investigation, headed by federal prosecutors in New Jersey, marks
one of the larger settlements of its kind and follows a wave of cases to
spotlight questionable ethics within the health care industry.
"With these agreements in place, we expect doctors to make decisions based on
what is the best interest of their patients - not the best interest of their
bank account," U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said in a statement.
The agreements covered five firms, including DePuy Orthopaedics, a subsidiary of
New Jersey-based Johnson and Johnson. Together, the companies control more than
90 percent of the U.S. market in reconstructive implants, a billion-dollar field
expected to surge in coming years.
Three of the manufacturers -- DePuy, Zimmer Holdings and Biomet, Inc. -- are
based in Warsaw, Ind. The others are Stryker Corp., of Kalamazoo, Mich. and
Smith and Nephew PLC, of London.
The civil settlements ranged from $169 million for Zimmer to $26.9 million for
Biomet, based in part on the market share of each defendant, authorities said.
Stryker will not pay any money.
In criminal complaints filed in federal district court in Newark, the companies
admitted paying surgeons consulting fees that violated the federal Medicare
Fraud Statute. The law prohibits companies from offering inducements to doctors
who participate in Medicare. About two-thirds of the 700,000 knee and hip
replacement surgeries performed each year are covered by Medicare.
As part of the agreement, each will also pay for a federal monitor to supervise
their practices for 18 months. The monitors include former U.S. Attorney General
John Ashcroft and the former U.S. Attorneys for New York and Los Angeles.
Friday, May 23. 2008
Friday, May 23. 2008
Dr.
Bob Arnot's Bilateral BHRs with Dr. Su
Read Dr. Bob's Complete Story by Clicking Here
As a television medical
correspondent for decades on shows like Today,
Dateline and the CBS evening News and author of 12
books on consumer medicine, I have to admit it. I
have never faced a more vexing decision than
choosing between a total hip replacement and hip
resurfacing. The claims and data appeared wildly
contradictory and each surgeon’s take was miles
apart from the others...
...I called great friends in
orthopedics at the leading Harvard hospitals and in
NY, Baltimore and Los Angeles. The word I got was
emphatic. Don’t do the hip resurfacing, it’s a
failed concept. It failed in the 70s and its doomed
to fail again...
...I began reading the entire world
literature. I called doctors in France, England,
Belgium, Germany. The more I read, the less I seemed
to know...
...Then I came upon
Surface Hippy Website and read everything on it...
...I went back over my notes, reread
the literature and it suddenly became incredibly
clear. What did I really want?
...The decision ended up being a no
brainer. Hip resurfacing with two BHRs .
READ MORE
Wednesday, March 26. 2008
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.
Continue reading "Corin Group Introduces Vertical Machine Center"
|
