Thanks for your site and the information you have provided.
I am a 55 yr old wife, mother, and grandmother facing 2 revisions for bilateral BMR.
Rt. hip began “clunking” within 12 months. I was told it would “settle in”.
Last year my abdomen became distended and I was diagnosed with abscesses in both psoas muscles.
Since the hip X-rays ” looked great”, the larger abscess was aspirated, no infection was found and I was told the problem wasn’t my hips. Four additional aspirations were performed.
After reading this web site and other cases on the web, I sent my case information to a surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Fl.
It was immediately accepted and after a consult and further diagnostics, metallosis was confirmed.
Extensive metal debris is apparent, chromium level is 40.9.
I was told to prepare for my life ” never being the same again”, daily physical therapy, muscle weakness due to loss of the psoas muscles and constant pain.
Not to mention the permanent loss of my hip, thigh, buttock and back tissue.
The psoas muscle abscess is a rare occurrence but it does occur. I want to get this information out.
My gastroenterologist was clueless as to a potential cause and X-rays were normal.
Everyone with BHR is at risk.
My first surgery is scheduled for July 9. Hopefully the second one can be performed in Oct. Then a long long road ahead.
My frustration is only exacerbated by the knowledge that these hips are still being implanted in the US.
It is very apparent that most physicians are unaware of the problems or the symptoms.
I even had one surgeon tell me that he would replace the hip ” in 45 minutes”.
When I asked about the abscesses, he said that “wasn’t his concern”!
- Mass General Hospital in Boston has a metal on metal hip center, primarily for diagnosis.
- And Duke University medical center is also collecting information.
- The Mayo Clinic has established protocols for the chromium and cobalt testing at the lab in Rochester MN.
An important side note…my surgeon instructed me to increase iron and calcium intake prior to surgery.
I began researching supplements for increasing collagen and muscle and learned that Vitamin B 12 is a form of cobalt. After bringing this to my physician’s attention, she advised me to discontinue everything with B 12. Hopefully she will add this to her instructions for patients with metallosis.
I am also having success with kinesiotaping. It is helping to stabilize my hips and strengthen the existing muscle prior to the surgery.
I found a wonderful physical therapist who is helping me “pre – hab with isometric and pool exercises. I hope that strengthening the healthy muscles now will help compensate for the loss of the diseased muscles.
Related articles
- Toni’s story of pain and depression – Smith & Nephew Birmingham hip … same old story again… (earlsview.com)
- S&N tries to fade out of Metal on Metal QUIETLY… Smith & Nephew Voluntarily Withdraws Hip Component (earlsview.com)
- Stuart’s nightmare gets worse – DePuy ASR is the curse of our generation (earlsview.com)
- Hip Pain: Is It Tendinitis? (everydayhealth.com)
- 200 Irish Patients Plan DePuy ASR Hip Implant Lawsuit | NewsInferno (earlsview.com)
- Comment Example: Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee (earlsview.com)
- Understanding Hip Flexor Pain (everydayhealth.com)
- The Psoas: Is it the most important postural muscle? (dailycupofyoga.com)
- Dodgy hips in recall Today’s News – The Mercury – The Voice of Tasmania (earlsview.com)
- Gluteal bursitis icd 9 (zackerycarringt.typepad.com)
- Psoas – Pso Psore! (myyogicjourney.com)
- Stuart’s Story – Gets Worse – Beware Metal on Metal Hell (earlsview.com)
- Bernstein Liebhard LLP Reports On Smith & Nephew Hip Recall (prweb.com)
- Howard’s Lament – Lawyers dodge the tough jobs! (earlsview.com)
- Joann’s Story – another BHR Disaster – they keep coming… (earlsview.com)
- Faulty hips may mean surgery (stuff.co.nz)
Earl's View 
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l also had the BMR 7 years ago. At the age of 51 I was excited about this new technique. Seeing that I also owned and operated a very busy barbershop. Standing on my feet without pain from my hip would be a miracle for me! I was born ,it seems with degenerative joint disease. At 50years of age I had four fusions done in my lumbar area which turned out to be a large success. So I upon hearing about the BMR for the younger more active patients with hip problems I could not have it done fast enough. Little did I know that five years later my nightmare was just beginning. To make a long story short, I came up with heavy metal poisoning from cobalt, and chromium. Upon the removal of the BMR I was black everywhere inside where the BMR was. So much so that my doctor scraped the black film from my pelvic bone. In 25 years of surgery my physician as well as my anithesiologist had never seen anything like it. I also was found to have shards of the metals in my blood stream. My doctor took a biopsy sample of the area that had blackened, but could not find a lab to look at it. After a long stay in the hospital, I now have a complete hip replacement. It’s been just horrible. The pain is still there due to the lack of muscle, and weakness is a everyday fight besides having stress fractures showing up at the end of my metal device in the femur. The BMR basically took my quality of life and flushed it down the toilet. Not to mention my profession and my living which I can know longer do. I can’t play with my grandchildren anymore or go shopping. Trying to find a attorney to take on Smith and Nephew has also been a total nightmare. Every attorney it seems wants the easier lawsuits out there and not for the BMR. I realize that I was one of the first to have this procedure in my area, but it shouldn’t matter if the device wasn’t the later device where a device was added to the BMR which caused the recalls. My pain and poisoning is just the same. Maybe even worse! It still did damage!! I will never walk the same again, or ride my bike. Sleeping in a bed is out of the question now, and I now have to rely on disability for income! A big whopping $200.00 a month, since I’m married. Smith and Nephew made their money, why care about the people they put a device in that clearly was not safe from the get go! Surely if they had tested it right they would have seen that it caused blackening around the device area and scraped shards of metal off into the bloodstream!! If you need any records of my surgery, and the follow up leading to it, please let me know? And thank you for letting me read of others who have been through this. I don’t feel so alone now!
Sincerely,
Virginia Wolff
Hi Virginia,
that is so similar to so many other S&N victims I’ve spoken too – would you like me to publish your story on the blog?
I have also invited you via email to our Facebook group – there are lots of other S&N victims on there & if you post your story on there you will get lots of feed back.
Earl