The hip, like the jaw joint, is a ball-and-socket joint. The shaft of the femur (thigh bone) has a spherical top, like a knob, which fits neatly into a concave area of the pelvic bone (hip bone) known as the acetabulum. When we put our hands on our hips, that is not the hip joint; it’s the top curve of the pelvic bone. The hip joint is below that and further inside the body.

The two bones do not rub directly against each other. There is a lubricating fluid known as synovial fluid produced by a membrane in the joint, which smoothes the movements of the bones against each other. There are also several ligaments over the joint, tough connective tissue that runs between bone and bone and gives protection to the joint.

When is a hip replacement necessary?

As we age:

• Our bones become more brittle and a fall can break them. The femur can fracture in its neck, the thinner part just before the knob, and in other places, and the knob may have to be replaced.

• The synovial membrane and its fluid can become thinner and drier, causing pain when the bones move against each other.

• Hip replacement parts wear out in somewhere between 10 and 20 years. A revision surgery is needed to replace them.

Hip implants recalled

In a hip replacement, the pelvic bone may need an artificial lining for the femur to move against, and these can be implanted. Sulzer Orthopedics, Inc. is a company that designs, manufactures, and distributes such implants, as well as others for shoulder, elbow and knee replacements.

One of its products, the “Inter-Op™ acetabular shell” is an artificial lining for the pelvic bone, designed to receive an artificial knob attached to the top of the femur to replace the natural one. This product was recalled in 2001 because of some reports that it had come loose after the surgery was finished. An oily lubricant had prevented it from bonding with the hip bone. About 2,400 people who had this product in their hip replacement later had revision surgery to remove it and use another product. This recall situation was legally resolved recently.

Another recall happened last month, January, 2008 – two Trident hip implant components made by the Stryker Corporation. Again, they are “cups” designed to fit into the acetabulum in the pelvic bone. The Stryker Corp. is based in Michigan although these two components were made in their plant in Cork, Ireland. The FDA had previously (late 2007) sent a warning letter to Stryker about unsanitary conditions in its New Jersey plant.

Potential class action lawsuits

Many lawyers are planning and expecting class action suits to begin over the Trident recalls. If you have had a hip replacement, ask your doctor whether any Stryker components were used in your surgery.

Pakistan invited Bangladesh for a five match ODI series following Australia’s pullout of their scheduled tour in March and April due to security concerns. The series begins with the first ODI in Lahore on April 8.

Pakistan got a very long cricketing history. There were many great cricket players like Wasim Akram, Imran Kahn, Javed Minandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Waqar Younis, Moin Khan, Saleem Malik to name a few that made Pakistan a cricketing powerhouse. They even won the ICC World Cup back in 1992 beating England by 22 runs in the final. Even though they not as strong as they once were, they should not be underestimated.

Comparing to Pakistan, Bangladesh is relatively new to cricket world. Even though they got some good cricketers, they are still regarded as minors. Their last cricket series with South Africa was a complete disaster as they lost all the Test and ODI matches. But they won the series with Ireland 3-0.

A brief history

Pakistan’s first full cricket tour of Bangladesh was in 2002 where they played 2 test and 3 ODI matches. The tour ended in a whitewash of the hosts, both in the Tests and ODIs. The first test match ended within three days as Pakistan won the match by an innings and 78 runs. Waqar Younis and Danish Kaneria were the stars as they shared 13 wickets between them. Bangladesh didn’t fare much better in the second test. They crashed to an innings and 169 run defeat. For Pakistan, Yousuf Youhana had an unbeaten 204 to his name and Younis Khan 119. The three match ODI series was no exception. Pakistan dominated in all three ODIs and won the series 3-0.

Pakistan hosted Bangladesh for a return series in the second half of 2003 and the result was the same. They played 3 test and 5 ODI matches where Pakistan won all of them. The highlight was the third test at Multan. That was a thriller. Bangladesh bowled extremely well to gain a 106-run lead in the first innings but collapsed to 154 in the second. Pakistan struggled spectacularly in their second innings and reached the 262 target with one wicket in hand and owed everything to Inzamam’s unbeaten 138. Bangladesh stayed on for an ODI series and lost 5-0. The margins of victory were comprehensive, bar the fourth ODI when Bangladesh pushed Pakistan to the wire.

Series schedule

The current Bangladesh tour of Pakistan is a relatively short tour without any test matches. The tour consists of five ODI matches and a Twenty20 match. The matches will be played from 8th to 20th April 2008. Here is the schedule of the series.

1st ODI - 8th April 2008 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

2nd ODI - 11th April 2008 at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

3rd ODI - 13th April 2008 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

4th ODI - 16th April 2008 at Multan Cricket Stadium

5th ODI - 19th April 2008 at National Stadium, Karachi

Twenty20 - 20th April 2008 at National Stadium, Karachi

The Pakistan team

Umar Gul, who travelled to Australia for a medical check-up on a longstanding back problem that prevented him from taking any part in the Test series against India last year and Rao Iftikhar Anjum, who had a poor series against Zimbabwe have been recalled for the first two one-day internationals against Bangladesh. Shoaib Akhtar is out of the the series as he is banned for 5 years. Pakistan team - Shoaib Malik (capt), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wk), Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Fawad Alam, Bazid Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk).

The Bangladesh team

Bangladesh got a very young team. Their oldest player, Abdur Razzak is 25 years old and their youngest, Tamim Iqbal is just 19 years. Bangladesh team - Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Aftab Ahmed, Nazimuddin, Shariar Nafees, Shakib Al Hasan, Raqibul Hasan, Dhiman Ghosh (wk), Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Mahmudullah, Farhad Reza, Syed Rasel