Hip resurfacing

I had the Birmingham Resurfacing done and it served me well for 17 years. I had to have Girdlestone Procedure done in 2022 due to infection. I would advise you to get consult with Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in Revisions as soon as possible. I wish you all the best.....Cindy

Hello Cindy thanks for the heads up about getting in touch with a orthopedic surgeon who does revisions! I will be getting that information ASAP

Thank you Cindy, I am waiting for a ct scan in May and will see my orthopedic Surgeon hopefully soon after that. I'm just not sure if he has done Revisions before which is my worry. How did your revision go? Is it worse than the first surgery. I have osteoarthritis, I had 1 hip resurfaced since I was so young, one complete hip replacement and two shoulder replacements . I am very worried if all of those start giving me problems but for now I have to take care of this issue. It is causing to much Chromium in my blood which in return is causing my Hypoglycaemia, low blood sugar. Thank you kindly for your response.

Hi....I never had a revision done. In 2022, my surgery was done on an emergency basis due to infection and sepsis that I was not aware of until a few days before. The plan was to put antibiotic spacer in for 3 months, then revision with a traditional hip replacement, however, the infection had done so much damage to bone and muscle, they couldn't put one in. The surgeon had to decide at the time to amputate my leg or just remove the Birmingham Hip along with the dead, necrotic bone and muscles. I no longer have a hip joint and although I have to use a walker or crutches to walk, I have a pretty full life and no pain, except for generalized osteoarthritis pain, which I take NSAID for daily. Girdlestone is a salvage procedure named after a Dr Girdlestone if you want to Google it. I'm 72 and live in the USA. If you have a Facebook acct, there are 2 groups I belong to that are helpful if you want to join. First one is "Hip Replacement Complication Forum" (there are over 2000 members) and the other is "Girdlestone Procedure Outcomes" which was just started in 2025 and has 29 members. The first group especially may be very helpful if you are having issues and will be going through a Revision. Wishing you the very best! Cindy

So did they diagnose your resurfaced hip as failing? I have 2 resurfaced hips. The right is 15 years old and the left is about 9. Still going strong here. I also had high cobalt and chromium levels that were about twice the normal level so I started taking NAC. After 2 months, my levels were in the normal range. I hope your hip hasn’t failed, but try NAC in the meantime. Good luck!

The hip is causing me pain but I am worried about high chromium. After asking many doctors, I am told it is very possible that my hypoglycaemia was caused because of high chromium. I am waiting to see a surgeon for a hip revision. Can you please tell me what is NAC I would love to find something to bring down the chromium level in my body which in return maybe get rid of my hypoglycaemia, the tin taste in my mouth and the tiredness. No one was helpful in telling me how to get rid of the chromium. They all say the same thing, I have to get rid of the resurfaced hip. I'm at my wits end. Seeing my family dr next week and will ask for another blood test to see if the chromium levels have stabilized. Again please tell me what NAC stands for??

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/nac-benefits

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7183002/

I keep losing my reply this morning - how high is your chromium level? Is your cobalt level also elevated?
NAC is N-acetyl cysteine, a precursor of glutathione, which is helps remove some excess metal ions from the body. It works on chromium, but not cobalt. The study cited above reported reduced chromium in people whose level was 2-3 times normal (normal is less than 1 part per billion.)

I went through revision for failed metal-on-metal implants 12 years ago, and my levels of both chromium and cobalt were in the toxic range - recovery to normal levels took about a year and left me with a few long-term health issues. I urge you to get the problem removed as soon as you can. Your body will thank you.

PS When you request testing, ask for both chromium and SERUM cobalt to be screened.
Here are the normal and elevated levels;
Cobalt Normal .8 micrograms/liter
Elevated 2 micrograms/liter
Toxic 5 micrograms/liter
Chromiun Normal < 1 parts per billion (ppb)
Elevated > 7 ppb
Concern > 50 ppb

This is my Chromium test results from the lab, CHROMIUM, PLASMA
HI
17.5 nmol/L
This is what is considered normal 2.5-6.0 nmol/L This is all very confusing to me as you are measuring in (ppb)