I had a Birmingham hip replacement done in California approximately 4 yrs. ago. I have had problems with it, but 3 months ago, I developed a severe bone infection in femur just below the implant. The Ortho Surgeon said it will take 3 surgeries to fix this problem. First, he must remove the ball and stem which is causing the infection and replace it with some temporary brace. Then the wound care center must surgically implant a spacer bar and slow release antibiotics for 6 weeks to try to clear the infection in the bone. If that is cleared up, then the Ortho Surgeon must go in a do a regular full hip replacement. It has been a nightmare and there is still more to come it seems.
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Wow, who was your doc? Did he have much experience doing hip resurfacings at the time? I am SO sorry to hear this. I live in CA, what part are you in? Northern or Southern? I rarely suggest any docs in N. CA. That is why I flew out of here for my surgeries. Let me know if I can help you in any way, get your x-rays evaluated anonymously by some top surgeons to find out what really happened. You can reach me at vicky@ vmarlow.com just delete the space after the symbol. Really tragic Steve!
Vicky
Vicky,
Does “Surface Hippie” and the doctors and manufacturers that sponsor “Surface Hippie” compensate you in any way for your referrals?
Hi Katie,
The disclaimer is on EVERY page of my website in the bottom blue section
?Surface Hippy Info is not financially controlled by or affiliated with any device
manufacturers, surgeons or medical centers performing this procedure.”
I have NEVER received ANY kickbacks, commission or any form of compensation for what I do. I refuse ANY conflict of interest, my interest is to only help patients find a solution to their pain, period. I do have a few Ads on my website which all the funds go into Hip Resurfacing Educational Foundation, Inc, a Non-Profit. I cannot touch those funds in any way and do not collect any money from it. The money goes right back into building more websites, paying for domain names and taking trips to orthopedic conferences to gain more knowledge.
In the 6+ years I have been doing this work, I have never made a dime off of any of this. I hope that answers your questions? The docs normally charge fees of around $350 for a consult but because they know I do this for free, they are kind enough to offer free email opinions to patients anonymously, in other words, those that have a problem do NOT have to reveal their names or docs names or where they live, just show their x-rays. The docs actuallly prefer it that way so they are not badmouthing an associate. I am more than happy to help any patient in need. Every surgeon I deal with is one of the top in the world and they ALL do BOTH THR’s and Resurfacings. Most reply back to me within 24 to 48 hours of you sending me your x-rays, which is pretty amazing, unless of course that doc is out of town. I would be more than happy to answer any other questions you might have.
Vicky
One other thing, PLEASE remember that most docs that did your surgery will NOT admit to fault and will tell you your component is placed ideally when in fact what I have found most of the time is SO untrue. Just look at some of these x-rays of poor patients who’s docs told them nothing is wrong with you, you must have a metal allergy and just look at how poorly these components are placed. On the first one click on Read more under it to see the amazing CAD overlay to really see how poorly the component is placed, more leaning to the back and at a completely wrong angle! My heart goes out to these patients. One with the stem sticking out of their bone???? Cups placed SO deep that there are two holes in the wall of the pelvis??? And their docs ALL told them there components were placed perfectly. When I got other opinions, they found out the TRUTH, it was NOT metal allergy, it was POOR placement and surgeon error. And I have become very good friends with many of these patients because now most are pain free and living happy lives again.
http://www.hipresurfacingsite.com/X-Rays-Problem-Cases/Xrays-Problem-Cases/menu-id-114.html
Vicky
Hi Steve, sorry to hear about dilemma with BHR! Do you know what kind of infection (name) that has got into your bone?
Steve, keep your head up there are plenty of us BHR to reach out to. First and foremost get well. Once you feel up to it contact me ( )
Ask for your hip from the hospital and put it in a safe, once you are up to it, find out from your surgeon exactly what the cause was in his opinion and from what he sees on the BHR.
You will be fine.
Howard Sadwin
Steve, I too am the another BHR THA victim, and as Howard alludes, there are many here on the site and their numbers seem to increase daily. And though you are in a real bad spot, Earl has passed through a similar ordeal (though his MOM hip was by a different manufacturer), and he’s out driving across Australia and again gainfully employed. Have you read Earl’s story by any chance? I can only say I felt better after having done so.
When people have not experienced what we have, (in this MOM-GO-ROUND), they cannot understand at all what we are going through, so they can only sympathize will us, to a degree. In fact, my wife sympathized with me less and less as time went on — until we went back to the surgeon and hospital, etc. Those enmeshed in this thing, enduring this ‘unreal’ medical hell, can TOTALLY empathize with one another.
I have metalosis, and as a result tissue loss and a loosening of the acetabular cup — after nearly THREE WHOLE YEARS of very cautious use! What a bill of goods we’ve been sold! And out west here you usually get the pleasure of paying twice in 3-5 years — what I bargain. No medical doctor should allow a prosthetic salesman to encourage them to use an unproven, significantly different product (than those it cited as precedent for the BHR THA) so as to need only the nod of the FHA to allow it’s sale in the US (Approved December 2008, and my BHR ‘ride’ started three months later). They had x number of rotation of the hip on the ‘hip simulator’ showing LITTLE sign — yeah, that helps pin it down — of metal ‘debris’ wear on the device. Go to the FDA’s site and file a complaint about your ordeal and the manufacturer of your device. We need more S&N people to report in, so our piece of garbage is recalled (Sooner rather than later). The apparent reply of the FDA, “That does sound like all your other ones, S&N”, allowed S&N to install untested metal alloys in living beings of blood and bone. I feel like I’m in an episode of twilight zone at times, but I maintain some degree of sanity on this site.
I’m sorry for what you’re going through man, but you’ll come through. We’ll all come through it, and I want to hear (and say) it as often as I can. As if to remind myself.
Faris
Hi Steve, so sorry to hear about the problems you’re having with your hip replacement device. Consumers Union’s Safe Patient Project has a national campaign to improve the safety of medical devices. Because of intense lobbying from the medical device industry, more than 90 percent of devices do not have to undergo testing on humans before they are sold to, or implanted in, us. Consumers Union has called on Congress to require more rigorous testing before medical implants are allowed on the market and to establish a better system for monitoring devices after approval, including a national system for notifying doctors and patients when safety problems come to light. If you would like to learn more about our efforts, please visit us at http://safepatientproject.org/topics/drugs_and_medical_devices/medical_device_safety
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Vicky Marlow and surface hippy are OK. She pays for everything herself. I don’t agree with everything regarding the BHR, but
she is a stand up person trying to help others. She was fortunate with her BHR implants, however there are more and more folks showing up with problems with the BHR.
The numbers of adverse complaints registered through the FDA was over 500 MOL in 2012. This number may seem small but it represents approximately 10% of the real number of adverse events. If Smith & Nephew would be so kind to tell us home many BHR’s were sold in the USA we would have a better number of successes vs. failures.
The UK has warned patients of the BHR implant to have blood checked for chromium and cobalt levels as well as having an MRI.
Yet the FDA is still accumulating information !!!! probably hoping this hip debacle will blow over and time will heal.
Also quite often there is a representative ( trained by Smith & Nephew or affiliates) in the O.R.
So if the finger is pointed towards the surgeon, my understanding some of these reps are trained to assist the surgeon or observe the surgery. If there was a rep present you probably didn’t know, I did not.
Hope this maybe of help.
Respectfully
Howard Sadwin
FYI – Vicki died earlier this year from a bad viral infection.
Vicki who
Vicki Marlow, hip resurfacing site etc.
My condolences to Vicky’s family. If she died from a viral infection could this have been a result of the BHR implant?
I believe she had two BHR’s implanted.
I must have missed the condolence note from Smith & Nephew as she was an avid promoter of this device.
It seems that 3-5 years after the BHR is implanted is when severe enough problems appear and removal of the device is apparent.
Why so long you may ask, due to the lack of information forwarded by the manufacturer to the public, lack of protocol
and Smith & Nephew is trying to squeeze every last sale of the BHR, even though the UK has posted warnings that this device may be hazardous to human health.
Howard Sadwin