Is it Malpractice When Your Doctor Doesn't Advise on New Therapies and Treatments for Hip Surgery?
Patients who suffer from chronic illness, as well as those recovering from surgery, depend on their medical team to provide them with information about new therapies and treatments. According to a June 2008 report published by the Associated Press, for many reasons, including fears of malpractice litigation, physicians are sometimes hesitant to recommend new treatments for chronic hip arthritis.
For those who suffer from mild to moderate forms of the disease, the normal treatment includes the advice for patients to wait until they are in their late 50’s or early 60’s before they can be considered for a full or partial hip replacement. By that time, some patients will have been living with pain and range of motion problems for 10-20 years.A newer procedure, approved by the FDA in 2006, is hip resurfacing. There are two types of the procedure: a total resurfacing, where the ball of the hip is resurfaced only, and glides against a cup placed in the socket. In a hemi resurfacing, only the head is resurfaced, and the socket is left alone.
While the procedure is gaining in frequency, some orthopedic surgeons are reluctant to recommend the procedure to their patients. Physicians interviewed for the AP article cite claims that physician reluctance stems from the newness of the procedure and the lack of long term data on the effectiveness of the procedure.
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