Mercy physicians resurface instead of replace some painful hips

COON RAPIDS, Minn. 11/27/2007--To his amazement, five weeks after hip surgery at Mercy Hospital, Wade Paulouski was hiking in the Rocky Mountains.

Wade

Wade Paulouski of Andover, Minn. reaches a mountain summit on a hike in Colorado five weeks after hip surgery at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Minn.

The 50-year-old had always been active -- rock climbing, jogging and going up and down ladders on construction jobs. But about two years ago, he began experiencing pain.

"It would go away and come back," says Paulouski. "I went to five different surgeons. I couldn’t believe it. They told me my hip was gone – worn out."

Paulouski went to the library and Internet to research hip replacement surgery, and that’s when he learned about an alternative to total hip replacement, the Birmingham Hip resurfacing technique. He also learned that orthopedists Kurt Anderson, M.D. and David Edwards, M.D., of Orthopaedic Consultants, PA, in Coon Rapids perform the technique.

Dr. Anderson stands in front of Wade's x-ray.

Kurt Anderson, M.D., is the orthopedist who performed Paulouski’s hip resurfacing procedure at Mercy. Behind him is an x-ray of Paulouski’s hip after the procedure.

"The procedure isn’t for everyone, but for people with hip pain because of osteoarthritis, dysplasia or avascular necrosis, who are under 60, it is an option that allows them to be very active," says Dr. Anderson, who performed Paulouski’s procedure.

The joint’s surfaces are covered with an all-metal implant that looks more like a tooth cap than a hip implant. This is what a Birmingham Hip Resurfacing device by Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics looks like. The resurfacing implant closely matches the size of a patient’s natural femoral head (hip ball), allowing a greater range of motion than a traditional total hip replacement implant.

After surgery, Paulouski stayed at Mercy for four days and with his sister for four days. "I was pretty laid up and used a walker and went really slow." After three weeks, he was pain free.

Two weeks later, to test his hip, he went hiking with his son in Colorado. "I remember saying, 'I can’t believe I’m doing this. I thought I'd be crippled.'"

Total hip replacement involves the removal of the entire femoral head and neck. Instead of replacing the entire hip joint, hip resurfacing simply shaves and caps a few centimeters of bone within the joint.

Mercy Hospital, located in Coon Rapids, Minn., is a 271-bed non-profit hospital that serves the northwestern Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Part of Allina Hospitals & Clinics, the hospital provided care to more than 165,000 people in 2006.

Orthopaedic Consultants, P.A., is one of the Midwest's largest, oldest, and most renowned medical groups. Orthopaedic Consultants’ 30 orthopaedic surgeons sub-specialize to cover every aspect of orthopaedic medicine, and many are considered experts in their particular field of practice. More information can be found by calling 763-712-5500.

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