I am an active 31 yr old with a ceramic hip done 9 yrs ago. The last 9 yrs have been great and I made almost 1000 skydives on this ceramic hip. Lately, pain and joint stiffness is a part of everyday life. X-rays show some detoriation of the bone stock. Doctor originally recommended a metal on metal change. Manufacturer says we would have to redo the cup in order to convert to metal on metal. Doctor is now recommending simply replacing my current liner. I was looking forward to not doing this again when metal on metal was on the itinerary and accepting the potential of increased metal ions in my system. Are there other manufacturers who make a metal liner without having to redo my cup? My doctor highly advises against redoing the cup on a hip which has been stable for the last 9 years. Do you agree?

-- Janice Dolan (jjjdolan1@yahoo.com), September 23, 2003

Answers

Unfortunatley, there are no metal liners available. I am unclear as to what is causing your problem. If there is "detoriation of the bone stock" it generally indicates that things are not stable. The liner should be changed only if the liner is the problem (i.e. it is worn out). I agree with your doctor that a stable cup should not be torn out.

-- Mesfin Lemma, M.D. (mlemma2@jhmi.edu), September 25, 2003.