I am a 27 yo female born with bilateral ddh. I had 5 surgeries before 5 yrs old, then a hip fusion on the right ten yrs ago. I went into the hospital expecting to have a left leg shortening to correct length discrep. but surgery changed last minute to a fusion due to avn & future potential arthritus. I have never been happy with the fusion & desperately want to have a thr so that I can live a normal life. I would like to be able to sit on the floor to play with my baby & ride a bike, etc; nothing extreme. I have moderate pain in my back and knee constantly. My left hip is doing well. How do I find a doctor that will take a serious look at my case instead of just dismissing it due to age?

-- Colleen Tupper (colleen-joe@comcast.net), January 16, 2004

Answers

Read about Dr. Michael Mont at www.aboutavn.com. I have been treated by Dr. Mont for AVN. I have not had thr. He has used other surgical methods to try to save my hips.

-- tina dorsey (thedorseys5@comcast.net), January 18, 2004.

Dr. Daniel Estok at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston is fantastic.

-- Kathy (K_miller_2000@yahoo.com), November 16, 2004.

Hi Colleen, I was born with dysplasia and dislocated at 18 years. I was referred to Brigham and Women's in Boston for a special type of Chiari osteotomy performed by two surgeons with the last names of "Poss" and "Millis". I am not aware if they are still at the hospital, or if they perform the thr from fusion, but they might be good resources to start with. I lived in CT at the time, and went to the "Keggi" orthopaedic group. Kristaps Keggi and his nephew run the practice and do nothing but hips, young and old. It might be worth the trip down. They did my hip replacement almost eight years ago, and I'm doing great. They are in Waterbury, CT 203 753 1980. I still remember the number. Scary.

Good luck. Gina

Gina

-- gina epifano (ginamarie2@msn.com), December 29, 2004.