Vicky’s response to a post that was encouraging newbies to stay close to home for surgery.

A little background: The original post was by a patient that chose a newer doctor that explained to her that he had done approximately 50 surgeries. Out of the 50 he had only 1 problem, and he thought that was pretty good odds. Re: physician choice

Glad your surgery went well. To me, I look at how far I traveled to go on some of my vacations, and all I got out of those were some photos. My hip, well, if a newer doctor doesn't place the device correctly, there is no getting a refund. It is back for another major surgery like about half a dozen patients that I have personally spoken to in the last few months have had to face. They chose to stay close to home for convenience sake, went to a newer doctor, ended up with a fracture or loose cup within a year or so and either had revisions to THR's or are scheduled for one. They all tell me, if they only had it to do again.

Again, I am glad yours went well, but the newbies reading on here should be aware of the risks involved in going to a newer doctor. This is a technically difficult procedure and there is a proven learning curve.

If you are willing to take the risk of a misplaced device and being a failure waiting to happen, well, that is a personal decision. I know of at least three people that their newer doctors told them their device placement was fine even perfect when that was far from the truth. I am not sure if they do not know enough about hip resurfacing to even recognize a misplaced device or not, but that is one scary thought. These doctors told them that the reason their resurfacings failed was anything other than the fact that they themselves made an error in the surgery. This was confirmed by some top doctors via email diagnosis. It was such a shame that some of these patients were living in pain having their doctors tell them there was nothing wrong, it was all in their head or to live with it.

So, newbies, staying close to home is a nice convenience, but when you are looking at something as major as a hip that can determine whether or not you will remain mobile and active the rest of your life, then it should be taken very seriously. If your future mobility and livelihood is worth gambling away, then go ahead, try out a newer surgeon, stay close to home, toss a coin, roll the dice...

...I don't happen to be a gambler.

Vicky
LBHR Dr. Bose Dec 01 05