Patients

Patient Testimonial

Ken
CONSERVE® PLUS Total Surface Arthroplasty Patient Profile

Ken is 68-years-old and had been living with hip and back pain for over ten years. Ken's job required him to be active and in motion at a moment's notice, should there be a security breach. When he could no longer run up the stairs in an emergency or even walk the floor of the hotel, he considered retirement.

In June of 2002, he took a sightseeing tour to Alaska with his wife and had to sit out most of the tour because he couldn't walk. That was the last straw. His primary care physician believed his pain could be related to his back and that there might be spinal complications, so he sent him to a neurosurgeon. The neurosurgeon performed a lumbar laminectomy, a surgical procedure to alleviate pain, caused by neural impingement near the spinal region. The procedure was unsuccessful. During his first follow-up appointment, Ken experienced pain in his hips again walking from the parking lot to the office. His surgeon suggested physical therapy for one month and during this time the pain got worse, not better.

Unwilling to accept this any longer, Ken went back to the doctor who finally suggested that he see an orthopaedic physician. Going on a referral from the neurosurgeon, the doctor told Ken, "You have a problem, but I can correct it." The doctor said that he needed new hips and scheduled him for total hip replacement surgery in one hip immediately, with an additional surgery for the other hip three months later–without even taking time to speak with Ken about his options.

Ken wondered whether there was another option that did not require total replacement surgery but his doctor knew of no other options. Unsure of how he felt about total hip replacement, Ken wanted time to consider this surgery and get a second opinion because he felt there had to be another way. When Ken got a letter in the mail one week later to schedule the appointment for the hip replacement, he was angry.

Turned off by this doctor's approach, Ken took it upon himself to find other options, and came across several websites for people with joint pain, one of which was Yahoo! Health group, surfacehippy.com. Reading the information, he found alternative treatments such as hip resurfacing, which preserves as much of the patient's bone as possible should a total hip replacement be necessary in the future. Total resurfacing provides joint stability while reducing pain.

Learning about Wright's CONSERVE® PLUS Total Resurfacing Hip System from the surfacehippy.com website, Ken went to Wright's website to find a doctor in Texas who was participating in Wright's hip resurfacing clinical trial. Dr. Grecula in Galveston told him that he was a candidate for the clinical trial of the CONSERVE® PLUS Arthroplasty where an artificial cobalt chrome femoral head is inserted onto the femur. Very little bone is removed to insert the device allowing Ken to retain as much healthy bone as possible, in case future operations are needed. A matching cup is also inserted into the socket, giving the joint a fluid motion and promoting bone longevity.

Ken had hip resurfacing surgery on his left hip on October 13, 2003 and is experiencing wonderful results; he has since had his right hip done, as well. Ken said, "This hip resurfacing surgery did me a lot of good, I'm not a vegetable anymore."

He is active and back to a normal life. He has no limitations and is doing everything he's always wanted in retirement. He is looking forward to a Caribbean cruise with his entire family. After this cruise, he is going on a Mediterranean cruise. He climbs stairs, ladders and is careful about his hips but he does everything he wants to physically. He even fell two steps off a ladder and is OK. He's 95% and his hips are good.

For additional information on the CONSERVE® PLUS Total Resurfacing Hip System, please review the patient information brochure.