I had my hip replaced in Feb. and the post oup x-rays were fine.After 9 weeks of rehap my leg is 1 inch shorter.I have a 3/4 inch spacer in my shoe now which is not helping much ! I have went back to the Dr. and all he says is more cutting or the spacers.I 'm ownly 61 and I'm not going to put up with this incompetence and hired a lawyer. What I read in your section on one mention getting some like of compensation for everything we are going through ! ! Is it just to bad or what? My lawyer jumped on it if that means anything.
It was one of the risks explained to me at the pre op....If it was explained to you and you accept the risks not sure if you can get compo...it seems to be fairly common if you read the other THR threads. Luckily mines OK...14 weeks this week and almost back to normal...
I'm sorry to hear about what you're going through. However, I've read the fine print in the consent forms I had to sign before surgery and a difference in leg lengths is one of the risks they disclosed and I agreed to. That will make it hard for an attorney to hold the doctor responsible unless there were other things that happened that weren't disclosed in the consent forms.
In my case, what happened was not in the fine print (no one should expect a second degree burn from the reamer) so I could pursue it legally but need to focus on getting better first.
If I were you, I would find a good physical therapist who will aggressively work on your muscles to see if the length discrepancy will improve even a little. My leg lengths are still different at 6 weeks post op because the burn on my leg prevented me from doing the exercises to strengthen the muscles that were cut (posterior). Once the burn heals, I can strengthen those muscles to stabilize my hip and that will help even out my legs.
Good luck with with your recovery.
Dennis, read the leg length discrepancy thread. It's a common issue and it's time consuming to repeat what's on there.
Make sure it is the hip that made the leg longer. I'm 40 now but got a right total hip replacement last August and my right leg was an inch longer. I went to nhs physio which was crap so went private and he sorted my leg difference straight away in one session. It was my pelvis was out of line so he pushes and pulled a bit for an hour and no they r same length. Don't think u can sue coz there is that risk. Just be happy u got it done.
It's a real shame this has happened to you but as the others have already said it is a risk you take when you have this operation and it is one of the things which is explained at your pre op and in all the literature. Your surgeon, unless totally incompetent and has ridden up on a horse, has no intention of giving you a leg length discrepancy unless it's absolutely unavoidable for reasons already on these threads. Good luck with your recovery.
Hi,
Is your operated leg an inch longer or shorter
than your non operated leg?
It was hard to determine by what you wrote.
After my first hip op (left hip), I was left with a significant leg length discrepancy.
I had to have my shoe sole built up from the outside, as I would not have been able to get my foot in my shoe otherwise.
My surgeon explained to me, that he had needed to build up the hip joint in order to stabilize it...and that was his main priority. He did my right hip 6weeks ago (7 months from my left hip); my leg lengths are now equal.
It is also true, as previously mentioned by others on the site, that the hips can be out of alignement. It would be prudent to see an osteopath or chiropractor, to get checked out for alignement etc...
Is your other hip needing to have surgery too?
It is very disconcerting to be out of balance, but worse case scenario, you will have to have a lift. It is, in my opinion, a better option than being in constant pain and not being able to walk.
You should get a professionl to help you sort out shoe lifts for you, to get the right height in order to equalize you. Once you feel balanced, you'll feel a lot better.
Sounds very familiar and yes, it should be mentioned before surgery but they do not always do. With me, no one said a word about possible leg discrepancy, maybe i should have visited forums before i got cut. Anyways, in my case, my (also) one inch difference only temporary because i knew on the onset that my other hip had to be replaced too, which of course would solve the length problem. i too used spacers/lifts in my left shoes for 10 months while waiting for the other surgery, and honestly, they did not work too well, i live in California and wear flipflops most of the time. Good luck to you in resolving your issue.
The leg length discrepancy can be very disconcerting and annoying. I wasn't able to go barefoot around the house anymore, and, like you, wasn't able to wear my flip flops.
I was limited to two pairs of shoes, as it's expensive to get the sole built up.
I told my surgeon I was all for having longer legs, as long as he could make my other one leggy too - which he did. He said he spent a long time getting my leg lengths right. It must be very tricky.
Again chris good to read your comment 14 wks and back to normal is fantastic well nearly back to normal will do for me lol
Cheryl...normality is overrated!!!
lol!!
Hi Dennis
I'm interested to hear you are seeking compensation. I am in a similar position a had an inch difference before hip replacement and the consultant said they could give me the leg length back but he hasn't. Is your lawyer a specialist at this because when I have enquired all I get is that leg length difference is a well known issue after hip replacement. I am very aggrieved and angry at what has happened and I want to take this further but the literature is very vague. I have already seen the consultant and told him what I thought and I have put this in writing to him. Not sure where to go with this and I'm sure in the end they will put it down to an error of judgement. Maybe it's just better to put it behind you and get on with life having said that I am seriously considering have re-vision surgery.
My one inch length discrepancy post right hip surgery got resolved after the left hip was replaced too, but having lived for 10 months with the difference, i can tell you that i would seriously considering compensation. The physical limitations, not being able to go barefoot or wear the shoes that you want, were maddening, but what was worse for me was the feeling of being an invalid and the feeling of being damaged. I had to keep reminding myself that it was only temporary. So just you know, i totally agree with you.
Went to lawyer today to get things started. Its going to be a long process but the lawyer was very intertisted.They are what I call ambulamce chasers but what the heck.She the lawyer said she never heard of somebody losing 1 inch all of a sudden.I guess you just need to get a hungry lawyer to see what happens. I know they say there is no control of the out come of the length but thats BS.Never get back to the way I was being active outside but somebody someway is going to pay for my pain and suffering that I can't be the man I was !
Well I wish you luck Dennis . Please keep us posted on how it develops with the lawyer. No doubt that when she looks in to it she will find out that a leg length discrepancy is one of the risks of the op. However,if I employ a tree surgeon to fell a tree near my house and he asks me to sign a disclaimer because there's a risk of the tree falling on the house; he has a duty of care surely to do his best to make sure it doesn't. It may be that some surgeons have a cavalier attitude to the outcome of their work. After all, they do a lot of them and it would be easy to fall in to the, " just another hip" syndrome. How to prove negligence will be difficult. I wonder how many of this surgeons patients need a revision. He may be a bad surgeon but it gets covered up by colleagues and the hospital. It's not comfortable thinking this, but it happens.