Bucks County Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Thomas Vikoren is now offering state-of-the art hip replacements, that according to the manufacturer, will last a lifetime. Photo by Al Thompson

Advances from our medical community to improve the day-to-day quality of life for people are happening more than many people may realize.

Improved treatment for cancer, AIDS and gastroenterology illnesses grab most of the headlines, and rightfully so, but one advance in an an area that helps improve the quality of life in younger people, keeping them in work force is the development of hip replacements.

For years younger individuals with chronic hip pain that occurs, in many cases, from work that requires prolonged daily activity such as walking, climbing or working in the sports industry have been hesitant to get a hip replacement for fear he or she would be subjected to invasive surgery every 10 of 15 years, not to mention the fear of being restricted from being active.

Bucks County Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Thomas Vikoren is now offering state-of-the art hip replacements, that according to the manufacturer, will last a lifetime.

The Hip replacement product is called “Forever Hip.” The procedure and product are garnering very good reviews as more young active people in pain take advantage of the treatment.

“What ‘Forever Hip’ puts out is a combination of a low-wear vitamin E infused polyethylene hip with the use of a ceramic ball as opposed to a metal ball,” said Dr. Vikoren, who is certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery and specializes in hip and knee replacements with rapid recovery protocols. “The Ceramic ball has a lower wear rate too.”

Dr. Vikoren, who works out of the Bucks County Orthopedic Specialists offices in Doylestown, PA, says “Forever Hip.” developed by Zimmer, Inc, was designed to keep many of the methods used to do the procedure the same.

“The techniques of using that hip are not different from the techniques than any other kind of hip, the shape is the same,” said Dr. Vikoren, who is a member of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons. “Using ‘Forever Hip’ doesn’t require any kind of special technique. It is a hip that has an extremely low wear rate so it’s well suited for somebody who is younger and using it for the rest of their lives….a long life”

In the past, a hip replacement would need to be replaced which would require surgery again. With the new “Forever Hip” product, the medical community is optimistic this hip replacement is a one-and-done procedure.

“That would be the hope,” said Dr. Vikoren. “[Forever Hips] tests have shown on robot simulators of the number of steps a 30-year old would take show that it should withstand that.”

Since the hip is new there are no humans who have made it through four decades. Dr. Vikoren was asked if he had faith the tests were a good barometer for the durability of the hip.

“Yes I do,” Dr. Vikoren said. “The results in the laboratory look really good. This hip replacement is made for someone younger and more active. It also meshes with the concepts of a rapid recovery program. The same patients that need that long lasting hip technology, are the best candidates for and accelerated recovery program.”

A good example of how the “Forever Hip” product and procedure has helped a younger, active person is the case of Robert Franks, a postal worker out the Willow Grove Post office, who after walking 15 miles a day as a letter carrier for many years, began to have problems with walking.

“I started to have severe pain from my groin and down my left leg,” said Franks, who just turned 50 years old. “I was experiencing back pain as well. I thought it was my sciatic nerve..”
Franks found his way to Dr. Vikoren who he said took ex-rays and came up with what turned out to be the correct diagnosis.

“Dr. Vikoren said I was suffering from severe arthritis and my hip was ‘bone on bone,” Franks recalled. “He gave me a cortisone shot to ease the pain but when it wore off it went back to feeling like a lightning bolt of pain going through my leg.”

Franks said it was then Dr. Vikoren suggested the “Forever Hip” replacement. Franks recalled the procedure was performed on June 29, 2016 and because what Dr. Vikoren refers to as the “Dash Program” Franks stay at Doylestown Hospital was for only about 24-36 hours.
“I was out of the hospital the very next day,” Franks said. “What a relief. I was off a walker in one week and ready for work less than three weeks later.”
Franks, now back to work as a full time letter carrier, is a happy camper.

“I’ve been walking normal ever since,” he said. “I highly recommend Dr. Vikoren and this hip procedure.”

Dr. Vikoren graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College where he completed his undergraduate studies. While at medical school at the University of Pittsburgh, he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and received the University of Pittsburgh Medical School Alumni Association Research Scholarship upon graduation in 2012.

Dr. Vikoren completed his internship in 2002 and residency in 2007 at Duke University Medical Center and acted as the Chief Resident from 2006 to 2007. He finished his fellowship in Adult Joint Reconstruction at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital in 2008.

Dr. Vikoren has participated in a variety of research projects and presented on his findings. He has also authored several articles for professional publications.

He became interested in orthopedics because he enjoys the distinct and definitive improvements that orthopedics makes in a person’s quality of life. Dr. Vikoren joined Bucks County Orthopedic Specialists in 2008 and currently supports both the Doylestown and Warrington offices. He is also affiliated with Doylestown Hospital.

Dr. Vikoren said he was inspired to get into medicine by his mother Farah H. Vikoren, M.D., a highly respected obstetrician and gynecologist of Buckingham Township. She passed away in 2013.
“She was and is my role model,” Thomas Vikoren said. “At the time she was the only obstetrician at Doylestown Hospital. I remember women would approach her in public to tell her how much they admired her.”

Dr. Vikoren is one of many orthopedic surgeons investing in getting patients in and out of the hospital as quickly and safely as possible and using techniques aimed at reducing the need for highly addictive opioids for pain medicine.

“The ‘Dash Program’ is designed for people who are younger and more active,” Dr. Vikoren said. “They are able to participate in a more accelerated approach toward recovery after surgery which fit is perfectly with the product that wears at a lower rate. So that you can feel more comfortable doing a replacement on somebody whose younger so they don’t have to sit there in agony while they wait until they are older to have the surgery done.

“It’s less invasive surgical technique,” Dr. Vikoren continued. “It’s more comprehensive approach towards pain control …in days gone by all the people focused on was morphine for pain control…people would be sick, throwing up…out of it. Now what we do is focus on fighting the pain after surgery from a lot broader perspective. We focus on fighting the inflammation aspects of pain, not just with opioids, using medication to fight inflammation.”

Dr. Vikoren said when he performs hip surgery. he injects non-opioid based numbing medicine around the hip. “If you put numbing medicine around the hip replacement, when you finish the surgery and wake up from the surgery you don’t feel that tremendous pain people used to feel. I feel more comfortable doing the ‘Forever Hip’ on the younger patient because it’s been tested to withstand the number of steps someone would practically in their entire lifetime.”

While patients will not be able to become weekend warriors they may have once been. The “Dash Program” and “Forever Hip” hip replacement can help all people previously in a painful, low quality of life go back to enjoying parts of life they once may have taken for granted.

“People can go back recreational sports, totally,” Dr. Vikoren. “Unlimited walking, people playing Thanksgiving Day football with the family, that kind of thing is good. I wouldn’t be taking hits or anything like that, but having fun.”

Dr. Vikoren who is a family man and enjoys spending time with his 18 month old son. His hobbies include; woodworking, metalworking, home improvements, sailing and running. He has a strong connection to Doylestown, as he was born in Doylestown Hospital, where his mother practiced for over 30 years.

Dr. Vikoren said he is set for life. He wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I am right in the zone,” he said with a smile. “This is exactly what I want. I am totally happy.”
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Bucks County Orthopedic Specialists

Doylestown Office
800 W State St, Doylestown, PA 18901
215.348.7000

Fitness Physical Therapy
Doylestown Office
99 Lantern Dr, Ste 1, Doylestown, PA 18901
215.918.5610

Bucks County Orthopedic Specialists
Health & Wellness Center
847 Easton Rd, Ste 2750, Warrington, PA 18976
215.348.7000

Fitness Physical Therapy
Health & Wellness Center
847 Easton Rd, Ste L700, Warrington, PA 18976
215.918.5610