On Jul 30, 2011, at 8:21 AM, Michael Penor wrote:

Hi Vicky,

In the final week prior to my hip surgery I had several conversations with Dr. Su's partner (who communicated with him while he was in OR), and Dr. Steven Weeden in Fort Worth. Based on my last x-ray on Monday of last week it became apparent that I had lost a sizable chunk of bone on my left femoral head since the prior x-ray just over a month ago. In addition, as you can see in the pictures attached, I was in the process of losing another chunk of bone. Dr. Su recommended that I have Dr. Weeden perform the surgery if I preferred his THR options opposed to the Smith and Nephew Oxinium on a highly cross linked poly. Dr. Su stated that Dr. Weeden is the best at mixing and matching THR devises.

**WARNING VERY GRAPHIC PHOTOS BELOW OF ACTUAL FEMORAL HEAD***

  Dr. Weeden performed my THR on Tuesday of last week, July 18th. As you can see in one of the photos attached he used large head with a short stem. The device is actually a BHR socket and ball attached to a Smith and Nephew short stem. He used posterior approach with the incision being just shy of 5 inches. Dr. Weeden told me pre-surgery that he would absolutely resurface the joint opposed to a THR is that is what I preferred, but that in his opinion that it would most likely fail in under eight months. He has never had an hip resurfacing failure during his career. Respecting that, and his opinion, I sided with his suggestion to do the THR.

Based upon on the pictures of my bone attached, Dr. Weeden holds the opinion that a standard resurfacing would have been a very short term fix, resulting in a failure regardless of whom had performed the procedure.

I thought I would pass the news and pictures along to you so that you would know the end result. Obviously I did not want a THR, but based upon the condition of my bone I believe it truly was my best option outside of a medium resurfacing overseas. That being said, I do believe that Dr. Weeden probably is the best at offering alternative THR devices. He chose the particular devise that he did for me based upon our conversations around my desire to return to trail running. While he does not necessarily agree that it is in my best interest to run, he feels confident I can do so with this device. In addition, he was able to save approximately 2 inches of bone by using the short stem.

A little about my experience: I received excellent care from Dr. Weeden and the hospital staff at Plaza Medical Center in Fort Worth. Texas Hip and Knee Center, the group Dr. Weeden is part of, is located across the street from the hospital. The Texas Hip and Knee Center group essentially owns the seventh floor, of Plaza Medical Center, consisting of 40 beds. The entire staff, from bed nurses to the anesthesiologist who administers the spinal and breathing anesthetic in all sense work for this group of doctors, and know exactly how they want things done and their expectations through every step of the process. I knew I made the right decision the minute I woke up. I felt no pain and the last thing I remembered was being wheeled back to the OR. I've experienced very little pain and discomfort since my surgery was performed last Tuesday. I was released last Friday morning to return to Arkansas. Since my surgery I have taken very little pain medication and short of some discomfort sitting, I feel pretty good.

A side note concerning Dr. Weeden's communication with me regarding my surgery: Dr. Weeden called me to address my concerns and discuss my options three times prior to our post opp on Monday of last week. I met him in his office for the first time in person on Monday of last week. July 17th. We again discussed my concerns and options. He spent around an hour with me and brought several physical THR devices and parts, as well as the BHR, which I saw, touched and held. He called me again around six o'clock on Monday night to check on my father and I, and to find out how we were doing and getting along in Fort Worth. The next morning, Tuesday, the day of surgery he came to see me and to discuss again the procedure and verify once more the correct hip and device prior to me going back to OR. He came in to see me twice on Wednesday in the hospital, and once on both Thursday and Friday. I know that Dr. Weeden had four surgeries (what he described as a light day) on Tuesday, and five on Wednesday. In short, I cannot say enough about the time he spent with me. I do not know where he finds all of the time. One thing was apparent to me, he is very passionate about what he does, and very caring of his patients. I think he would be a great person for you to get to know. He is a huge advocate of hip resurfacing. 

As you well know, the last thing I wanted was a THR. That being said, due to my condition, I do not think I really had much of a choice. Feel free to disagree if you believe otherwise after seeing the photos of my bone. For what it is worth, if you come along a patient with a case similar to mine, I certainly recommend Dr. Steven Weeden.

Again, I would like to thank you for all of the help and support you have provided me through my experience. I will certainly be a strong proponent of hip resurfacing, of you, and what it is that you do. I wish I had met you over a year ago. I feel certain that I would currently have bi-lateral BHR's were that the case.

Feel free to post my e-mail.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Penor

**WARNING VERY GRAPHIC PHOTOS BELOW OF ACTUAL FEMORAL HEAD***