Patient Success Stories

Hip Resurfacing—No More Pain, 20 Years to Gain

At 46 years of age, Dr. Marc Wiener regularly played basketball, golf and tennis. When he began experiencing pain in his hip he resisted surgical treatment. As a physician he knew that a total hip replacement might limit his ability to be active. As a solo practitioner, he was also concerned about how a lengthy recovery period would impact his career and his patients.

But when his ability to play sports became severely limited and even walking became painful, Dr. Wiener decided to look into a new procedure known as hip resurfacing as an alternative to a total hip replacement. He consulted with Dr. Mitchell Sheinkop, a Professor of Orthopedics and leading authority on hip and knee disorders at the Neurologic & Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago. Dr. Sheinkop, who has successfully completed over 80 procedures, is very enthusiastic about this innovative technology.

A standard hip replacement procedure involves removing the head of the femur bone and replacing it with an artificial head. Hip resurfacing keeps the entire femur bone in tact. Rather than removing the head, the surgeon reshapes the head, placing a metal cap on the bone surface. "During my professional career I have never seen such marvelous initial results from any type of implant," says Dr. Sheinkop who is one of handful of surgeons in Illinois currently performing this procedure. "Hip resurfacing technology has the promise of outliving the patient."

Keeping the bone in tact offers patients several advantages. First, the recovery period is much shorter. "Patients are able to walk out of the hospital in two days and return to work in five," says Dr. Sheinkop. "In three weeks they are out playing golf and going to the health club."

Dr. Wiener's hip resurfacing procedure was scheduled for first thing in the morning. "I remember I watched a White Sox game that afternoon," reports Dr. Wiener. "Then I saw a physical therapist. Dr. Sheinkop came by around 5:00 and told me if I could walk to the door and back steadily, I could go home and I did." Rather than crutches, Dr. Wiener used a cane.

A second major advantage to the hip resurfacing is that the femur bone is not compromised. When the head of the femur is replaced in a standard procedure, the artificial head is connected to a metal stem and cemented into the femur. The cement, over time, can degenerate and cause damage to the bone making future procedures impossible.

"Resurfacing requires less boney resection so that should a patient need a second surgery there is preserved bone to work with." explains Dr. Sheinkop. "Hip resurfacing is not here to replace total hip replacement," he continues. "It is in addition to the choices which a surgeon has to offer patients who have pain."

"My goal is for this to last for the next twenty years," says Dr. Wiener of his newly resurfaced hip. He is off to a good start, he reports. "I'm playing basketball better now than I was five years ago."