Quote:
Originally Posted by bryan239
The doctor who replaced my right hip was a joint replacement specialist. The surgeon who just replaced my left hip is a revision specialist. It makes me a bit nervous because I have been with my original surgeon for 10 years now and he said that he would be replacing my left hip..not the revision specialist. Everything now is going to the revision specialist and my original just seems to be backing out of the picture very slowly. I just feel so lost in all of this, I dont know whats going on and they dont want to give up much info on the subject. And I dont know who is at fault for any of this. It does feel like they just took years away from my life...I can only have that hip replaced so many times before I am at the end of the line.
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Bryan,
Not if you had about $100K laying around...there's hardware out there (a more "financially sound" friend of mine, at the time, in his 40's also...granted, thanks in part to his daughters' settlement to a shooting of which he was a victim [long, ugly story] they split the cost with him) that is hard, ceramic hardware that can be used, but even 15 years later, the FDA calls it "experimental", thus giving the insurance companies an excuse, even in younger patients, an excuse not to pay for it; and he had his right hip, I believe, replaced with it. The average life expectancy of this so-called "experimental" hardware is about 30-35 years. Fine how even in younger populations, we're not "entitled" to a longer life of the replacement. Their feeling after yesterday is my surgery, albeit as uncomfortable as I am, is my surgery can waiit until April 15.
I've made some "adjustments" in who is responsible for my health care. The orthopedic surgeon is staying on, but I have fired my PCP and my PMR doctor-the doc previously doing my prescribing is going to resume my care
when he signs off Monday morning. Enough is enough and it burns my butt.
I'm sorry for your situation--still make sure you find out if it's a DePuy. There's a class action lawsuit involved and it may help you recover some damages; but not the bone that's been cut out; but something is something. Here's the link I found to the announcement:
http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsSt...=712780&cat=10
As with anything, there's a statute of limitations with anything: usually 2 years from finding about the injury or "violation." So, if you are interested, and I would be, but I'm not you, of course, I'd recommend looking for an attorney...I believe there's several national firms involved. With the disability this is causing, and further disability it is likely to, I'm sure the ambulance chasers would be happy to "help." Don't let them charge more than 40-45%. They do have considerable expenses; medical experts who are willing to testify are not cheap, and so forth, but anything more than that is highway robbery.
Good luck.