My dad is considering having a THR of his left hip. He's 69 and wants to keep all of his original parts as long as he can. He's in great shape other than the hip. He has asked me about a new procedure in which a material is injected into the hip to help alleviate the pain. Has anyone heard of this or know where more info could be found? Thanks

-- David Cox (david2960@hotmail.com), April 01, 2004

Answers

David, I am sure this is not the same thing but just in case, I had cortisone injected into my hip to help with pain. I am a female so this doesn't apply to your father but the cortisone caused a menstrual cycle that lasted a month or longer but more importantly cortisone destroys osteoblasts which are what keep the hip strong. So while it dulls the pain (the shot also has a numbing agent) it has long term effects that are not great. I'd keep looking for information, be skeptical of what you find online but make a list of questions that your father can ask the doctor about.

-- Dawn Shroyer (dawn@wmbinc.com), December 29, 2004.

Hello, I have just had bilateral hip resurfacing done in December and I am feeling great. 3 weeks post-op and I am walking fine with one crutch. Hip resurfacing is a good alternative for active people because there is no risk of dislocation. You can look this up on surfacehippy.com or activejoints.com. The injection you are talking about is Synvisc and it is synovial fluid manufactured from chicken combs. This had good results in the knees but not so good in the hip. I know, I had it done. Even if you do get good results from the injection it is very temporary and the injections are expensive.

-- Diana M. Kate (polydk@hotmail.com), January 04, 2005.