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Husband fell and broke his hip. Dr. fixed it with screws. The head of the femur sorta died and flattened and the screw protruded into the joint making walking very very painful. So, hip replacement was next.
Physical therapy next and hip replacement was successful, all pain gone. But other hip now hurts and he is way down the road to having that hip replaced also. I asked the Dr. if he wore that hip out limping and taking it easy on the other sore one and he shook his head yes. So now he has another sore hip and 1 knee is pretty bad.
I wish your husband luck with his hip. We were really scared to get the replacement, but he's sure glad he did now.
Husband fell and broke his hip. Dr. fixed it with screws. The head of the femur sorta died and flattened and the screw protruded into the joint making walking very very painful. So, hip replacement was next.
Physical therapy next and hip replacement was successful, all pain gone. But other hip now hurts and he is way down the road to having that hip replaced also. I asked the Dr. if he wore that hip out limping and taking it easy on the other sore one and he shook his head yes. So now he has another sore hip and 1 knee is pretty bad.
I wish your husband luck with his hip. We were really scared to get the replacement, but he's sure glad he did now.
Everything is connected and I'm one who really is messed up with THR but I went in with positive outlook and we never know until it's done what we'll get. Now I know this, since it was the first time. My right knee is a mess and all from hip replacement, leg ended up shorter and that went on too long without lifts in shoes.
From the knee mess, ended up with foot mess and ankle. So as I said, it is all connected.
One MD I hear on the radio every week, says once we are "cut" arthritis sets in.
I'm one who ended up with at least 4 complications from an Anterior Hip Replacement in 2010 and I can't leave the house w/out my walker. I know there are good outcomes but mine was not. I was 72 at the time and now here I'm pretty damaged at 80.
Sorry to hear that. I heard that the anterior procedure is more difficult to get over. Mine was posterior. There are apparently three ways to approach hip replacement depending on the problem. Posterior seems to be the easiest to get over from what I was told. I still have a bit of weakness in the muscle running down the front of my thigh even with the posterior surgery but that weakness predated the surgery and is getting better.
My wife's fatal complication was related to the blood thinner (Coumadin) and the fact that she had an undiagnosed stomach ulcer. Instead of Coumadin, I used Xerelto, but Eliquis was another option. They seem to be less risky than Coumadin and easier to manage. Blood clots are a potential problem with hip surgery so I had to use blood thinners for about a month post-op. Be sure you have a good complete physical and your Doctor's approval before going into the surgery. (I discovered an irregular heartbeat during the physical exam that they watched closely.)
This. Sports medicine treats the young athlete who heals fast. A 20 year old hip is entirely different from a 70 year old hip.
Uh, not really. I have a bad shoulder and went to a sports med clinic. Half the people in the waiting room were close to my age at the time (almost 60). But they all looked to be athletic, just old athletes.
Nancy,
Im no orthopedic surgeon, but sounds like he might have 'avascular necrosis'. Necro means 'dead'.
As the top of the femur dies (due to lack of blood supply)
And it of course deteriorates and crumbles.
I was told i have that, but its early stage, so no hip replacement needed yet. Thats ultimately what it disolves into...hip replacement. Im only 55. Maybe by 70-75 ill need a hip replacement.
Change to a different orthopedic surgeon and have it studied carefully.
You ARE entitled to a second opinion. And a third if need be.
I strongly suggest you get a good second opinion, or third if you need.
It could just be aging, or it might have a name like i had as noted above.
On another note, my OH ( Other Half) fell out of bed and we found out my OH had Pagets disease in one hip ( adds bone to the joint), and osteoporosis in the other ( takes bone away). The fall seemed to "activate it".
Nancy,
Im no orthopedic surgeon, but sounds like he might have 'avascular necrosis'. Necro means 'dead'.
I'd say you are about 95% correct in this assumption. And there is nothing wrong with the Dr. saying the head of the femur is not completely dead and doesn't need to come out. However, the falling issues are a concern relative to instability in the hip or perhaps the falls have caused further damage.
If the OP lives in Moore, OK there are about a million options in the OKC area for a competent hip surgeon.
Just make sure that the particular surgeon does mostly hip replacements in his practice.
My husband had his hip joints die, from lack of circulation. (This was before I met him). It was extremely painful. He wound up having both hips done and recovered quickly from the surgery. He did lose some mobility. After I met him, he had a hip pop out of the socket, while sitting on the couch. He had a second hip replacement.They had problems and it was a long surgery. They said the pelvis bone had worn and they had problems getting the socket in place. It's been several years and is holding up, but he lost mobility and it took some time to recover. He's 68 now.
There's nothing wrong with getting a second opinion and it's always good practice when dealing with doctors. You want someone that is very experienced. And you want a doctor you can tolerate. We will never deal with the doctor that did the second replacement again. (He had us schedule a followup a year out. We got to deal with the physician's assistant. When we started out, we discovered our doctor at the counter, talking to the receptionist. He did say hi. A couple of months later, he wanted us to come back in. We haven't been back.)
A friend, in her 50s, has had both hips replaced. She was much more pleased with the outcome of the anterior replacement and recovered much faster. I know it varies, but it is something to talk to the doctors about.
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