J45 — November 2009 —Hip Pain and Replacement

Intro: Every year thousands of people undergo hip replacement surgery to get rid of pain caused by arthritis. The good news is that most hip replacement operations are successful, and people who have them are pain free. But sometimes, after years of wear, those replacement joints can loosen. New technology is making that happen much less often. But for people who do experience pain because of a worn out replacement, doctors at Mayo Clinic have ways to fix the problem.

"I WAS IN MY 20'S WHEN I STARTED HAVING TROUBLE."

HIP PAIN THAT CYCLIST CINDY BRABBIT SAYS GOT PROGRESSIVELY WORSE. CYCLING HURT. AND SO DID HER OTHER HOBBIES SUCH AS RUNNING MARATHONS AND PLAYING TENNIS.

"EVENTUALLY I COULDN'T DO ANY OF THOSE ACTIVITIES ANYMORE."

SO, AFTER YEARS OF DEALING WITH THE PAIN, SHE DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. CINDY WENT TO MAYO CLINIC WHERE DR. DANIEL BERRY OPERATED ON HER HIP.

"THESE ARE MS BRABBIT'S X-RAYS BEFORE HER SURGERY."

DR. BERRY SAYS CINDY'S HIP REPLACMENT WAS PUT IN WITH WHAT'S CALLED UNCEMENTED TECHNOLOGY. MEANING THE NEW JOINT IS DESIGNED TO GROW INTO THE BONE WITHOUT THE NEED FOR CEMENT.

"SO MOST OF THEM, ONCE THEY GROW INTO THE BONE, ARE NOT PARTICULARLY LIKELY TO LOOSEN UP. HAVING SAID THAT, MANY OF THE IMPLANTS USED IN THE PAST USED CEMENT. BONE CEMENT AND CAN GRADUALLY LOOSEN."

AND CAUSE PAIN. IMPLANTS CAN ALSO COME LOOSE WHEN THE PLASTIC PART OF THE IMPLANT WEARS OUT, LEADING TO BONE LOSS AROUND THE JOINT. IT HAPPENED TO THIS OTHER PATIENT WHO CAME TO SEE DR. BERRY FOR A REVISION.

"YOU CAN SEE THAT THE SOCKETS HAVE BECOME LOOSE, SCREWS HAVE BROKEN AND THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF BONE LOSS."

DR. BERRY SAYS IF YOU EXPERIENCE PAIN AFTER YOU'VE HAD A HIP REPLACEMENT, SEE YOUR DOCTOR. BECAUSE THE MORE THE IMPLANT DETERIORATES, THE MORE DIFFICULT IT IS TO FIX.

CINDY'S HIP REPLACEMNT IS STILL STRONG. AND IT'S HELPING HER STAY ACTIVE.

"I WANT TO DO THINGS I COULDN'T DO BEFORE. I WANT TO GO CYCLING, I WANT TO CLIMB MOUNTAINS AND NOW I CAN DO IT. I'M AS GOOD AS NEW.

FOR MEDICAL EDGE, I'M VIVIEN WILLIAMS.

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