Procedure restores hip function using muscle from buttocks
If you’ve lived with chronic pain in your hip, and you’ve resorted
to replacement surgery, but you still feel there’s a problem, Boca
Raton Regional Hospital orthopedic surgeon Charles Toman, MD, may have
a solution: the Gluteus Maximus Transfer.
This innovative procedure divides and reroutes muscle from the gluteus
maximus — the buttocks — to replicate function of the medius
and minimus hip abductors that are torn beyond repair. Similar to a torn
rotator cuff, the actual tear may have occurred years ago. The patient
is unaware of the injury and continues to compensate and function until
there is significant, debilitating pain.
For those patients with chronic tears, says Dr. Toman, a hip replacement
is not the answer. “A lot of time people think, ‘I must need
a hip replacement.’ That’s a fallacy,” he explains.
“If you replace the hip and the tendons are still torn, then you
still have the same problem.”
The Gluteus Maximus Transfer is usually overlooked as an option, however,
because X-rays are more commonly ordered than MRIs. While an X-ray may
call for a new hip, it’s the MRI that can reveal evidence of atrophy
and chronic tearing — the probable causes of pain.
“Ideally when your hip abductors tear, you repair them quickly,
the muscles do not atrophy and the tendons heal,” says Dr. Toman.
“But since these injuries often go undiagnosed, the tendons stay
detached, the muscles atrophy and they do not come back, even if you repair
them. That’s where the Gluteus Maximus Transfer comes into play.”
Dr. Toman has been performing the procedure for about two years. He considers
it a natural progression from his specialized experience in sports medicine,
drawing upon his skill set in arthroscopy and years of treating injuries
to the hips and shoulders.
The Gluteus Maximus Transfer is usually a last resort and is recommended
for patients with chronic, degenerative issues or complications from other
surgeries. The procedure is performed at Boca Raton Regional Hospital.
“My patients are people who have lived with hip problems for a long
time, the condition has been overlooked and the patients have struggled,”
says Dr. Toman. “The goal of this procedure is to restore function,
decrease pain and improve quality of life.”
About Boca Raton Regional Hospital – Advancing the boundaries of medicine.
Boca Raton Regional Hospital is an advanced, tertiary medical center
(BRRH.com) with 400 beds and more than 800 primary and specialty physicians on staff.
The Hospital is a recognized leader in oncology, cardiovascular disease
and surgery, minimally invasive surgery, orthopedics, women’s health,
emergency medicine and the neurosciences, all of which offer state-of-the-art
diagnostic and imaging capabilities. The Hospital is a designated Comprehensive
Stroke Center by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).
Boca Raton Regional Hospital is the recipient of the 2014 Distinguished
Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ for the 10th year in a row
and was named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals in 2011, 2012,
2013 and 2014 both by Healthgrades®. Boca Raton Regional Hospital
was also recognized for the third consecutive year in
U.S. News & World Report’s 2013–2014 Best Hospitals listing as a top-ranked hospital in the
South Florida metropolitan area.
Media Contact:
Brandon Bielich, 561.955.4706
Communications Specialist
bbielich@brrh.com