I am wondering who all have had one leg shorter than the other. I had TLHR in January of this year and had to put insole in right shoe. In September I had TRHR and the surgeon added an extension to even my legs. At this time 6 weeks post-op I am walking with walker most of time and has a limp. I am told to give it 3 months and it will be better. I am trying to stand straight but find it difficult with legs not being even I can tell it is getting better. I am being patient but is there any thing else I can be doing. Should I put insole in left shoe to help with the balance. I appreciate any insight to help.
My leg certainly is shorter after my last revision … but I have no pain or other problems from it.
hi Nuggie, I too have a slight discrepancy in the length of my legs after THR of my right leg in July. My doctor said my legs were the same length but my unoperated hip was in bad shape making that leg set in the hip differently than the leg in the new hip. He told me to give it a few months but Im still uneven. this makes me walk in away that now causes back pain. i just got a dr scholls heel insole which helps a bit but not totally. I walk barefoot in the house and do exercises from physical therapy. Im still hopeful. Ive heard others say give it six months. unlike you, I have not had any additional surgery to lengthen my leg so your recovery will be unique to you. Of course speak with your doctor. He should have more insight into your future progress. i wish you a good recovery.
Cecelia
I can’t really help you. My doctor added about 2 cm to my leg length, because my hip cartilage had eroded so that I had lost length on my right leg prior to surgery. Since the surgery, I feel like both legs are the same length more or less. I also have scoliosis, so that probably contributes to some unevenness, but the doctor said he couldn’t fix that. I feel like I walk evenly.
It makes my back hurt a little. I thank you for responding and I am at 6 weeks and trying to give it time.
May I ask when you had your surgery because mine had eroded as well and he said he had to make it larger to fut. He also added length but how much I will have to ask. We were hit by Hurricane Michael and his office is still closed so I can not go until the 7th of November. Thank you very much and I pray for a full recovery.
Nuggie, my surgery was on July 18th (14 weeks ago). I started limping about 6 weeks prior to the surgery, and think the eroded cartilage was part of the reason. At times my hip has seemed a bit “stiff”, making my gait feel strange. But I don’t think it was because of leg length. I just read through my operative report again, and it says, "I lengthened the patient 5 mm. That is pretty minimal- less than 1/4 inch. I thought he told me verbally that he lengthened it by 1 inch.
The surgeon did say it was difficult for him to get the cup to fit because of the uneven erosion and some pitting of the bone in the cup. He placed a Gription cup and one screw, and said it was very solidly placed.