91 yo male with a 20 yo painful RPHR(Hemiplasia)and unpredictable unbearable hip locking is booked for a Revision THR in a fortnight.
Any one out there have any experience, suggestions or thoughts?
It’ll be done in an Australian Hospital by a recommended hip revision surgeon and
team.Ignore the Financial.
hi. my thoughts as a retired NHS nurse is:- most would depend on how well he is besides this ? any other illnesses. if he can be mobile after to help the hip heal but also to prevent any chest infection then if his surgeon thinks there would be an improvement in his quality of life then if he wants it then I suppose it’s ok. however if it was me or someone of mine I’d worry that this would create more problems than it can solve. but good luck either way and I wish him well
Am I nuts or is it surely that he must be fairly mobile and fit or they wouldn’t be considering it,
I think age is not such an issue now adays compared to 20 years ago, look at Prince Phillip
Well the Queen’s husband Prince Philip had it done in his 90’s, and there must be a number of you out there. I guess it all works the same, but I would expect recovery to be a little longer. Restrictions will be the same.
See my website for hints and tips, the address is in my personal info here …
Patient Communities - Our community of patients, carers, and health-conscious individuals is here to help.
and at the bottom of the moderator’s “useful resources” page at
THR - Useful Resources - Bones, joints and muscles - Patient Communities
Best wishes
Graham - ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Yes, he is fairly fit and mobile. His medical team has him undergoing numerous tests to assure (to the best of their ability), his body can handle the risky surgery.They have been very thorough thus far.
Unfortunately I have not been able to find information about exactly what type of procedure Prince Phillip underwent other than “hip operation”??? He certainly does appear to be walking very well, unaided now!
Thank you for your advice. Yes, this is the exact dilemma … will the procedure improve or worsen things. The risk is great but, I guess doing nothing will mean remaining years will be immobile and painful. Trying to assess risk vs benefit is not easy, Experience of others is all I can go by.
hi. doubt anyone will ever find out what he had done or not for yrs later. it’s great tho that your relation is well and they’re doing plenty of tests. sounds very positive
my Step dad had it at 93.broke his hip falling went thru rehab and no problems. Guess you are never too old
Seems his surgeon SarahMuirhead-Allwood is an advocate of the minimally invasive route and she did Andy Murray as well, wish she would do mine as she does a lot of difficult ones.
I heard that Sarah Muirhead-Allwood had reverted to ‘posterior’ as she had seen no recovery advantage in her patients with anterior approach.
Thank you for that comment. It’s encouraging!
This Melbourne surgeon, who is a leading revision specialist, does not do anterior hip surgery. He feels the anterior approach does not provide any advantage and posterior is the better approach to use. I do not know the detail/rationale behind his view on this,
I think posterior is just more “tried and trusted”, risks are just lower as the surgeon can get at the joint to see what he/she is doing better.
My surgeon reverted back to the posterior approach. It says on his website “He favours a posterior approach to the hip to preserve the muscles and maximise recovery.”
I know this was posted a couple of months ago but I would love to know how you got on with the revision. How did it go?
I’m like u, I think it would be good if peeps came back and at least let us know how it all turned out, hope you’re well
Hello,
Yes… I too think it is important that people let others know the outcome of their procedures… hence why I did just that. Did you not see the below information I posted 6 days out from surgery? …
At age 91, it seemed I’d outlived the partial hip replacement I underwent 20 years ago. I was in constant but bearable pain until 2-3 months ago when I began to experience excruciating pain upon intermittent, debilitating hip locking! Diagnosis suggested the metal head of the Thompson’s prosthesis was eroding the bone in my pelvic socket. This led to my having to make a frightening decision as to whether to undergo total hip revision surgery; major surgery accompanied by huge risks and possible complications given my 91 years of age. Of most concern was the risk of femur bone fracture upon removal of the well cemented old prosthesis and complications of major, 3 hour surgery such as haemorrhage, kidney failure, heart failure, pneumonia.
After reviewing comments and experiences from this group, reviewing recent publications of anthroplasty statistics & outcomes, and researching the qualifications and experience of hip revision surgeons, I decided to take the plunge and book-in to undergo total hip revision surgery last week.
I am very happy and extremely relieved to report that the 3 hour surgery went smoothly and none of the possible complications eventuated. The surgery was performed under spinal block epidural and light sedation. I came out of anaesthesia well and spent and expected 3 days in ICU to stabilise blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels and kidney function before being transferred to a standard orthopaedic ward where I currently remain.
It has been 6 days since surgery. I am on panadol osteo and daily oxycodene , have no pain when resting and no longer experience hip-locking. I am walking very short distances now with a support frame - this is painful and difficult but of course will improve over time, (hopefully). In two or so days time, I will be transferred to the rehabilitation arm of the hospital. This is where the “fun” will truly begin! Let’s hope it will not be too painful!
Overall a very successful “Step 1”. Now onto rehabilitation and full recovery! I know it’s an individual thing but, does anyone have any insight as to how long re-hab may take, or how long for pain to subside after total hip revision surgery?
Thank you for your comments on this site and all the best Easter wishes to you all!
1 like, 6 replies
23/06/19 My latest update is I am doing well but am now experiencing terrible sciatica pain from (I believe) a bulging disc in my back. I had this way prior to my hip surgery but now that the hip pain is no longer, the sciatica pain has unfortunately come to the fore with a vengeance!!! Perhaps I should have continued with post-op Physiotherapy… (I gave up on this 3 weeks post hip surgery)