Are you a candidate for Birmingham Hip Resurfacing?
If you suffer from painful hip arthritis in young or middle age and need pain relief, you will benefit by a Birmingham hip Resurfacing.
This surgical procedure is designed to conserve more bone than a total hip replacement. Rather the head is reshaped & resurfaced with  a metal cap. On the socket side, the acetabulum is scraped and fitted with a metal socket.
The Birmingham Hip Resufacing prosthesis got FDA approval in 2006. It has been used in India much earlier and has relieved many young patients of hip arthritis.
What is Birmingham Hip resurfacing?
This implant has two components. On the femoral side, there is a metal cup made of cobalt chrome with a central peg. On the socket side there is a metal socket made of the same material and coated on the outside with Hydoxy apatite. Hydroxy apatite resembles bone tissue. Fixation occurs by natural bony ingrowth into this coating.
Hip resurfacing relieves pain and restores normal function. Young and middle aged patients upto 65 years can benefit from hip resurfacing.

Indications for Hip resurfacing- If you have the following conditions you may be considered for Hip resurfacing.

1. Primary osteoarthritis
2. Early Avascular necrosis
3. Post traumatic arthritis

Advantages of Hip Resurfacing
1. Less bone loss on the femoral side
2. Less risk of dislocation
3. Better range of movements

Some risks of this procedure are
1. Femoral neck fracture
2. Metal wear particles can damage bone & soft tissues.
3. Metal ion elevation in blood and urine

Best candidates for BHR
1. Suffer from Osteoarthritis
2. Young than 60 years
3. Bone shape is normal
4. Bone density is normal
5. No cavities or cysts in bone
6. Limb lengths are equal

Men younger than 65 years with good bone stock are the best candidates. Women with favorable criteria like a big frame may be considered.

While Hip resurfacing is an attractive option, it is not a panacea for everybody. Patients with the following criteria are not suitable candidates
1. Poor bone denisty
2. Large cysts in neck
3. Short or abnormal neck
4. Large cysts in head extending beyond 30% of the head
5. Infection
6. Impaired or anticipated deterioration of kidney function ( Renal failure, Sickle cell disease)
7. Bony fusion
8.Unequal limb lengths
Women in child bearing age are not good candidates. Post menopausal women with good bone density can be considered.

Hip Resurfacing Procedure
You can get an appointment for surgery at short notice. Just e mail us at drvenkat@kneeindia.com.
You will spend about 5 days in hospital. By six weeks you would have returned to normal walking and activities.
You can see the recovery of Mr.Chris Browne, one of our previous patients from Greece in this video. You will be amazed by the flexibility & mobility on the first anniversary of his right hip resurfacing.

Video shows recovery after Hip Resurfacing surgery at 1 year.

Dr.Venkatachalam is one of the few surgeons who perform Hip resurfacing. He received training in this procedure at the Zimmer institute. Please see our patient testimonials for Hip resurfacing here.
http://www.hipsurgery.in/patient-stories/
Visit our website, Hip Surgery India

Your health travel trip to India for a hip resurfacing will save you thousands and give you an opportunity to see the ancient culture and traditions of South India.

Watch hip resufacing patient story of Dr. Venkatachalam from MJRC, India. The patient Mr.Chris Browne had regained his full mobility & flexibility 1 year later.

People dread getting old. If you are Caucasian and approaching your forties, you may have already noticed that some of the things you did as a teenager aren’t that easy anymore. As a general rule, if you take care of yourself when you are young, getting old will be easier. Joint pains develop and progress to restrict your life style and stop you enjoying outdoor activities.

A lot of people will have to face as a part of the aging process one of those things is hip replacements for hip pain.

According to The National Institue of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases there are over 193000 hip replacements performed in the U.S. each year. In the UK, the numbers are about 5, 00000 per year.

Hip Resurfacing is Viable Alternative to Hip Replacement
Patients who had hip resurfacing surgery, such as the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing technique, reported a better quality of life, less pain and greater satisfaction a year after surgery.

Patients who had hip resurfacing surgery, such as the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing technique, reported a better quality of life, less pain and greater satisfaction a year after surgery than those who had a total hip replacement, according to a study presented at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) 2009 Annual Meeting.

The study was based on data on the outcomes of 214 total hip replacement patients and 132 hip resurfacing patients that was recorded in a joint registry maintained at a single surgeon’s practice from 2003-2006. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Elizabeth Anne Lingard of Freeman Hospital in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, was the study’s lead researcher.

Each patient enrolled in the study completed a questionnaire preoperatively and one year after surgery. The questionnaire included the Western Ontario and MacMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (referred to as WOMAC, it is a 24-item questionnaire that is completed by the patient and focuses on joint pain, stiffness and loss of function related to osteoarthritis of the knee and hip) and the SF-36, a self-report questionnaire completed by the patient that measures health-related quality of life (and generates 8 subscales: physical functioning, role limitations due to physical problems, bodily pain, general health perceptions, vitality, social functioning, role-limitations due to emotional problems, and mental health; and 2 summary scores: physical component and mental component). The patients also completed a questionnaire regarding satisfaction with their procedures and outcomes one year after surgery.

The study showed that one year after surgery both groups of patients experienced significant improvements in WOMAC and SF-36. Hip-resurfacing patients, however, posted significantly higher WOMAC scores for decreased pain symptoms. When asked about patient satisfaction with the surgery, a greater number of hip-resurfacing patients said they were satisfied with their ability to perform functional activities after surgery.

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For more information:
Keywords: hip resurfacing, hip replacement, joint replacement, orthopedic surgery, minimally invasive surgery
Dr.A.K.Venkatachalam, Consultant Orthopedic surgeon at the Madras Joint Replacement center opines that hip resurfacing allows excellent range of movements with least incidence of dislocation in males younger than 60 years. While choosing female patients who demand hip resurfacing, one has to be more selective says the surgeon. Females with small femoral head circumference less than 44 mm had a higher risk of complications like femoral neck fracture. Therefore female patients with large bone size in the appropriate age group with good bone density are also suitable candidates for Hip resurfacing.

Dr.A.K.Venkatachalam, consultant Orthopedic suregeon
Madras Joint Replacement center
Chennai, India

http://www.hipsurgery.in

E mail- drvenkat@kneeindia.com

Mr. Leonardo who turned 60 last December had come down with bilateral hip arthritis and was unable to enjoy life. Hailing from New York, he is settled in Spain now. He is one of several Americans expatriates who lack medical insurance. Hospitals in New York shunned him when he sought treatment for knee and thigh pain. A diagnosis took a while to arrive as it didn’t cross the mind of the doctors that he met in a New York hospital to get hip x rays when he complained of thigh and knee pain.

Often pain arising in the hip is first perceived in the knee on account of a common nerve supply.

He sought bilateral hip resurfacings in India in 2008 from Dr.Venkatachalam. This Joint replacement specialist performed a right hip resurfacing late last year. However the left hip had deteriorated to an extent to preclude a resurfacing. Mr. Leonardo was not keen to have a hip replacement as this would restrict his movements and had a risk of dislocation. His surgeon offered him a Proxima hip which has a unique design. It is not available in the United States.

Moreover costs of a Hip replacement in the US are priced above $50,000.

Hip arthritis strikes middle aged and elderly Caucasians. Its treatment has been a total hip replacement in those over 70 as the prosthesis is expected to outlive its recipient. In a total hip replacement, surgeons cut the head and neck portion of the upper end of the thigh bone (femur) and implant a stemmed metal prosthesis into the bone. A cup is fixed into the socket of the pelvic bone.

However younger people afflicted by hip arthritis will outlive a conventional hip replacement and will need additional surgery later on. To skirt around these problems there are other alternatives to a total hip replacement which have better longevity.

Better materials, bone preservation, navigational aids are all used to increase the longevity of a joint replacement.

One such implant is the Proxima hip. This is a mini total hip and is an alternative to a total hip replacement. The stem portion of the total hip prosthesis is done away with and the prosthesis is impacted in the metaphysic of the femur. Bone in the neck of femur is not cut away as in a THR. Large diameter metal on metal (MOM) or Ceramic on metal bearings can be coupled to the stem to achieve a very durable joint. It is particularly useful when a resurfacing cant’ be done on account of advanced bone loss or presence of cavities in bone.

Designed by an Italian surgeon and launched in the international market in 2002, the hip has more than a decade’s follow up.

The Proxima hip was introduced in South India by Dr.Venkatachalam in 2006.

This is the first time in India that this prosthesis has been used for an American patient.

Mr. B will spend a week in hospital and then recuperate in a lovely sea side resort.

Hemmed in by the recession, Americans like Mr. Leonardo are seeking treatment abroad.

The attractions of having a surgery abroad are many.

No doubt will you be able to save 70 percent from your hospital bill;

You will get an equivalent or better personalized service than in an American hospital.

Indian surgeons like Dr. Venkatachalam of www.hipsurgery.in have been trained in the UK.

The driving force in medical tourism is not only costs but availability of innovative procedures. Americans being consumerists are always looking out for best quality & value. Mr Leonardo can now boast to a friend back home that he has now got a Ferrari hip in India in comparison toa Dodge hip that one would get back home.