Hip PAO Surgery and Travel costs
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Hi!
I have recently received some good news on the front of fixing my hip. I now have one doctor who has agreed to see me at Stanford on August 15. He believes he can do either a PAO surgery or a FO surgery to fix my problems and get me back to being pain free. This means multiple trips out to California plus surgery costs. There is also the cost of medical equipment afterwards since insurance does not cover everything. There are no doctors in Arizona that do the surgery and only probably a total of 25-30 doctors in the US which are well respected.
I was hoping to fund the surgery by making and selling my pieces, however, I have gotten to the point now where I cannot stand or sit for long enough to make more than one piece on the torch per day. I have set a goal right now of the low end of my approximate travel and medical bills.
A little background... I am a 37 year old female and have has pain and aching in my hip for many many years. I had a series of cortisone shots in the hip which did nothing to relieve pain long term. I then decided to live with the pain. About 9 months ago it got unbearable. I am in pain moving, sitting, or standing, I cannot get comfortable no matter what I do.
After being shuffled around, I went to a doctor for a consult for a hip arthroscopy for a pincer impingement and a labral tear, he informed me that because of the angle of my joints, he is not able to repair the impingement without causing the socket to be too shallow and cause hip dysplasia and that if he fixed the labrum, it would tear again from the pressure. He recommended a PAO and/or a FO.
A Periacetabular osteotomy is a hip preserving procedure performed to correct a congenital deficiency of the acetabulum (hip socket). Basically, the acetabulum is supposed to cover the head of the femor evenly, when it is incompletely covered, it can cause damage. A PAO preserves the patients hip joint rather than replacing it with artificial parts. It consists of cutting the bone around the acetabulum that joins it to the pelvis. Once the acetabulum is detatched from the rest of the pelvis by a series of controlled cuts, it is rotated to the best position. The dysplastic roof is brought over the head of the femur giving the head normal coverage.Once all is in the correct position screws are inserted into the bone to maintain the correct position during healing. These are sometimes, but not always removed a year or so post op.
This is also a long recovery involving no weight bearing on the right side for months.
If you are intereseted in knowing more about what a PAO is, here is an animation: http://www.hss.edu/animation-PAO-periacetabular-osteotomy.htm
and here is a website with more info: http://www.clohisyhipsurgeon.com/treatment-options/periacetabular-osteotomy-pao-for-acetabular-dysplasia
Just because I think it is cool, here is my hip and as you can see, the femoral head is angled out instead of in to the socket.
I have recently received some good news on the front of fixing my hip. I now have one doctor who has agreed to see me at Stanford on August 15. He believes he can do either a PAO surgery or a FO surgery to fix my problems and get me back to being pain free. This means multiple trips out to California plus surgery costs. There is also the cost of medical equipment afterwards since insurance does not cover everything. There are no doctors in Arizona that do the surgery and only probably a total of 25-30 doctors in the US which are well respected.
I was hoping to fund the surgery by making and selling my pieces, however, I have gotten to the point now where I cannot stand or sit for long enough to make more than one piece on the torch per day. I have set a goal right now of the low end of my approximate travel and medical bills.
A little background... I am a 37 year old female and have has pain and aching in my hip for many many years. I had a series of cortisone shots in the hip which did nothing to relieve pain long term. I then decided to live with the pain. About 9 months ago it got unbearable. I am in pain moving, sitting, or standing, I cannot get comfortable no matter what I do.
After being shuffled around, I went to a doctor for a consult for a hip arthroscopy for a pincer impingement and a labral tear, he informed me that because of the angle of my joints, he is not able to repair the impingement without causing the socket to be too shallow and cause hip dysplasia and that if he fixed the labrum, it would tear again from the pressure. He recommended a PAO and/or a FO.
A Periacetabular osteotomy is a hip preserving procedure performed to correct a congenital deficiency of the acetabulum (hip socket). Basically, the acetabulum is supposed to cover the head of the femor evenly, when it is incompletely covered, it can cause damage. A PAO preserves the patients hip joint rather than replacing it with artificial parts. It consists of cutting the bone around the acetabulum that joins it to the pelvis. Once the acetabulum is detatched from the rest of the pelvis by a series of controlled cuts, it is rotated to the best position. The dysplastic roof is brought over the head of the femur giving the head normal coverage.Once all is in the correct position screws are inserted into the bone to maintain the correct position during healing. These are sometimes, but not always removed a year or so post op.
This is also a long recovery involving no weight bearing on the right side for months.
If you are intereseted in knowing more about what a PAO is, here is an animation: http://www.hss.edu/animation-PAO-periacetabular-osteotomy.htm
and here is a website with more info: http://www.clohisyhipsurgeon.com/treatment-options/periacetabular-osteotomy-pao-for-acetabular-dysplasia
Just because I think it is cool, here is my hip and as you can see, the femoral head is angled out instead of in to the socket.
Organizer
Corri Dawn Young
Organizer
Mesa, AZ
