Mary Lou Retton

The pain was just beyond me.

Mary Lou’s constant hip pain started off as a dull ache in her early 30s. The source of Mary Lou’s debilitating pain was hip dysplasia, a hereditary abnormal formation of the hip joint. Her suffering progressed to where routine movement was excruciating and Mary Lou was unable to perform daily tasks.

During her search for relief, Mary Lou met Dr. Brian Parsley, who offered what seemed like a radical plan: total hip replacement surgery.

I’m back to living again.

In June of 2005, Mary Lou’s left hip was replaced with Biomet’s M2a-Magnum™ metal-on-metal hip replacement system. “I am pain-free and can’t thank Biomet enough for changing my life,” states 38-year-old Mary Lou Retton.

“My new M2a-Magnum™ hip has truly exceeded my expectations.” There is one thing she regrets — living with the pain for so long. “I wasted part of my life waiting. Now I’m back to living again,” she says. “With Biomet, I found the perfect match for me.”

Biomet’s M2a-Magnum™ Hip: The choice for more active patients.

The M2a-Magnum™ Hip differs from traditional hip replacement systems in three fundamental ways:

1. Metal-On-Metal

The more active a person is, the more friction on the joint and the higher the risk of wear. However, in laboratory testing, all-metal components demonstrated a 99 percent reduction in wear compared to polyethylene1. So, for younger and more active patients, metal-on-metal may be an appealing choice.

2. Greater Motion, Stability and Flexibility

Another feature of the M2a-Magnum™ Hip that made it the right choice for Mary Lou Retton is its large femoral head. A larger head design provides greater range of motion and greater resistance to dislocation compared to smaller heads. In fact, the M2a-Magnum™ Hip offers the potential for over 160 degrees of range of motion.1

3. Larger Heads, Even in Petite Bodies

There was one more very important design feature of the M2a-Magnum™ Hip that would benefit Mary Lou — its large range of available sizes that allows for better replication of a patient’s anatomy.

Only metal-on-metal components make it possible for the largest heads to be used for all of the implant sizes. With the M2a-Magnum™ Hip, regardless of physical stature, patients can benefit from the extra mobility and range of motion possible with larger heads. Something that Mary Lou, measuring in at 4 feet, 9 inches tall, was happy to hear. And she’s living an active lifestyle now.