[fortitudine]

And here again...

I hope our docs don't get tired of us 'waffling'. I know I have already had Dr. Fenk-Mayer read three sets of films plus I have seen Dr. Bertagnoli. But it's getting on for 2 years since I saw him, almost a year since Dr. FM looked at films, and 3 years since I was told my case was 'urgent'. And I am that much better educated.

As so many say, it's not just the hardware that is critical, it's the surgeon too. When you research replacement hips and knees, (as I am, because I need one, and because I write about orthopedics) you don't generally find that much discussion about the 'Nestle' hip or the 'Heinz' hip. Once you have chosen your hip/knee surgeon, it's more about the doc's hardware preferences and your anatomy. And then there is the issue of the cemented versus the non-cemented implant (knee/hip). Nevertheless, the success rate stays pretty much the same and it's pretty high (90-95%).

In a way, spinies are luckier than other joint replacement patients, because 'soft' options like nucleus replacement are much further along than cartilage replacements.