Saturday, August 17, 2013

How Does Resurfacing Benefit Us

By Helga Stokes


There are many Phoenix resurfacing procedures nowadays such as hip and skin resurfacing. Hip resurface is an alternative made for total hip replacement, or THR. For people that have hip pains or needs a new hip, resurfacing might be better than sawing off half of the femur bone. It is a good choice for younger patients or those with a more active lifestyle.

Compared to THR, this offers more benefits particularly to the more active patients such as having less pain after surgery, quicker recovery, wider motion range, less wear for the implants, and lesser bone loss. This surgery is bone conserving than THR since it only reshapes the femoral head and leaves the other parts intact. There is lesser discrepancy on the length of the leg since the geometry of the implant matches of that of the hips.

If you will need another surgery in the near future, the procedure is easier to do. You will never be able to do a surface replacement after a THR, but it is possible vice versa. It also allows a wider range of motion and lesser risks of any hip dislocation since its head and cup are larger then traditional ones. Any pain in the thighs after the surgery will also be reduced which promotes quicker rehabilitation.

The implant used is made chromium cobalt which decreases joint wear and reduces the particulate debris made by the implant. Because of this, it may be easier for the patient to resume to their lifestyle and continue all normal activities in little time. Yet, there are also some disadvantages in this operation like metal ion dispersal since metallic particles will be shed because of the friction and load used when walking.

The femur can also break if the bone is not given time to adapt to new prosthesis. To prevent this from happening, a crutch is used to lighten the load on that leg and give it a lot of time to rehabilitate, which decreases the chance of fracture. The procedure may cause nerve injury since a larger incision has to be made to work around the bone. It may cause transient weakness in the foot and leg muscles.

Stiffness may also be felt in the area if there are some debris lodge at the muscle fibers and this condition is called heterotrophic ossification. Another form of surface resurfacing is for the skin where you use lasers to replace the top layer. It helps remove or correct imperfection due to exposure to the sun, aging and acne.

The epidermis is removed gradually by a precise laser layer by layer which allows new skin cells to grow. The new cells will give a younger and tighter surface. This can be packaged with other procedures or be done alone. However, this procedure is not recommended for those who have very dark pigmentation, for stretch marks and acne. Before doing anything, consult your doctor first.

This cannot give you a perfect or flawless skin rather it only improves its appearance. As any other procedure, this also has risks such as burns, scarring and other injuries that results from the heat of the laser. It can change the pigment of the skin and you might have bacterial infections if not taken care of.

The average cost of laser Phoenix resurfacing is about 2, 300 dollars and will vary according to the techniques and the area done. Medical insurance companies will not cover it since it is considered a cosmetic procedure. Though if it is part of an operation to remove scars or remove precancerous growths it may be an exception.




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