Does anyone have any problems with this.
I have one leg longer than the other which I believe causes me problems when walking and could be the answer to a lot of my ongoing pain. My surgeon says the MRI looks good and could not cause the pain. I also had screws fitted to my hip for stability. When I stand I am not straight and I do walk funny although I cannot walk or stand very much.
Yes, My wife had left leg done and it was 1/2 inch longer. doctor blew it off like no big deal, just put a lift in other shoe. Easy for a guy but not so for a woman with many style shoes including sandles. She has since had to have a "revisit" done and this one seems to be much better. After 7 years since the first one, no more limp. I think these guys are still flying by the seat of their pants with the parts they install.
Dont worry about it. It will go back to normal. I had the exact same scare. THR two years ago and the reason was that you have been compensating and the muscles have tightened up and tried to help you while you were limping around. I actually went to my doctor and said " hey, you made it too long". he got a chuckle. It took me a few months for everything to stretch back out to normal length.
Nick, in your case you may be right. However, in my wife's, we acctually knew the rep for the company who supplied the parts. He was present during surgery. They are supposed to have an inventory of different parts available at the time of surgery and insert a "stem" that is sized to what they remove. Well, we found out several years later while talking to him at a cocktail party (he was drunk and very apologetic) that they didn't have the correct size. They put one in that was "close enough". So one has to ask, how offen does this happen and the patient never hears about it?
Thanks Ted. I have had inserts done for my shoes and this made little or not difference. Do you know if using different size hip implants makes a difference and causes pain? Hope your wife is doing ok.
Thank you Nick. I had my THRs in Feb and Sept 2011 you would have thought they would have adjusted by now. I believe there is something else going on, I have too much pain for there not to be. Thanks for your comments anyway, always good to hear from people and their views.
can you see a podiatrist or a chiropractor - they can assess gait and could probably measure your leg length. My surgeon did warn me that there could be a leg length discrepancy after surgery but in my case it rectified a difference.
Possum gives good advice. If the lenght of the parts are correct, time will help things. If not, expect a limp and potential other problems as the body (knees and back) compensate. In my wife's case, it's been 9 weeks since the re-visit and I believe this last doctor got it right. After 7 year from the first replacement and a limp plus back pain and knee pain, she is now walking very straight with no pain other than an occasional flare up in her knee which may just be related to age. (66 years)
Thank you Possum and Ted. I have already seen a podiatrist and have an insert for my shoe. I don't mind having a limp its the total pain I get that is the problem. I cannot go out on my own and if someone takes me out I have to use a wheelchair as my standing/walking is extremely limited. Its nearly three years since my first operation so you would think this would have started correcting itself by now. I also get pain just on sitting for any long period! I'm no spring chicken at 57 but I did not expect this and this particular pain was not there prior to my two THRs. Obviously there is degenerative wear and tear as in most people, I can cope with that. Thanks anyway
Hi i had a total Hip Replacement on my left leg in May last year, i have the same problem i only found out 2 weeks ago my operated leg is 1 and 1/2 cm longer i have pain in my hip and it feels numb all down the side and back of my leg down to my calf and i have back pain i cannot stand for to long still and the physio who measured it for me said i walk with a wobble, i am so angry that it has taken nearly 10 months for someone to listen to what i was saying and watch me walk to find out my leg is longer than the other. I have now got gel pads for my shoes and i have to wait for an appointment for a built up shoe and i'm left wondering how long it will take for this to get better. I an back to doing short walks for 4 mins and then having a rest, i was doing quite a lot of exercise but had to keep stopping because of the discomfort.
Hi Shirley,
It sounds as if you have had a tough time too, but at least you are getting some things done now to sort out the problem. I don't know why it takes them so long to resolve these problems or even acknowledge them! I hope your walking continues to improve 
In my wife's case, her doctor was told by so many people how great he was that when he screwed up my wife's surgery, he refused to admit he put in too long of a stem in addition to not having the cup liner locked into the cup..
Thank you Sue and Ted for your reply, it would be nice if the surgeons listened to us and took notice of what we are telling them about the problems we are having and admitted to their mistakes and corrected them ASAP instead of dragging it out, as its us who have to suffer and go through the pain, i have been to my GPs today and now have to have blood tests for to see if i have a Nerve problem as my legs have started to get a stinging burning and itchy sensation in them and just wearing my cloths and sitting hurts and my physio has now again reduced how much exercises i can do, So i am really cheesed off at the moment and i have to wait until the 18th for my blood test to be done and i have another week to wait to find out what the problem is, i'm hoping its not the Nerve problem and just something simple like B12 and been put on Amitriptyline, i seem to have more problems now than i had before i had the operation.Sue i hope you do get better and things get easier for you and Ted i hope your wife gets better and things improve for her, good luck to you both please keep intouch take care,
Shirley, is the blood work for testing to see if you have metal particles in your system? I believe they call that metallosis. If so, hopefully that will come back negative. It did in my wife's case but the old one still had to come out but most of her issues have subsided with the removal and replacement of the first one. If the word metallosis was mentioned by your doctor, you need to google it and educate yourself about it so that you can ask some good question when you see your doctor again. In your case you may be fortunate that this is being addressed early rather than 4 or 5 years down the road. Good luck and health to you Shirley.
I just had a hip replacement 2 months ago. My new hip is appx. 1.65cm too long. I am so distressed. I am a long distance hiker and did this to improve the quality of my life. Because of the discrepensie of the leg it casuses discomfort, even with a 2cm lift. I live in a cool New England town, and I've had to P.T.' s who heard about my case (did I mention my 90 minute operation took 4 hours?) and said, "Anytime you leave the operation room and your legs are not equal you have a lawsuit." I'd take my old life back any minute...just be called 'Gimpy' on the trail vs. not knowing when I am going to ever hit the trails again.
Hi Norman,
Sorry to hear you are having problems with your leg length discrepancies. Prior to surgery I was told that this was a possibility and that is normal procedure here in the UK.
Its still very early days for you so I would give it some time and hopefully it will settle down and you can return to your hiking after this period. Good luck.
After complaining that my operated leg was longer than my good leg and being ignored by nurses, the doctor, the physical therapist, occupational therapist and probably the cook, I researched the reason and only got acknowledgment of the phenomena last week at my 11 week THR post-op visit. The doc finally told me that he made a small cut across the gluteus medias to get to my hip joint. (That's ALL he said. The following words are mine.) Until that muscle heals and becomes strong, I will limp as a result of the pelvis tilting when I walk. This is called a Trendelenburg Gait. Google it and learn what it is, why it occurs, what to do about it etc.
My "bad" leg still feels longer than the good one but now I know why and I can work with that! I am still pissed that my legitimate concerns were ignored for so long or was it that these medical people don't know squat about hip surgery rehab. It was a very frustrating experience. I am an R.N. and would never have gotten away with (nor wanted to) such lack of teaching and lack of knowledge as some of today's crews apparently do. It's uncalled for. Patient education was foremost in my profession (cardiac nursing). Thank god.
No sense in me blabbering on here when you can research exercises (clamshell, etc.) to do after your body has healed enough to withstand them. Don't rush it.
Hi Shirley, Like you I have had a THR on my right leg May 2013. I have said constantly that my leg was longer than the other one but told by 3 separate hip surgeons (all in the same hospital group) that there was nothing wrong. I have had various tests to check the replacement and all have been negative, I have also always stated that the leg was too long but no-one listened.
Last month I finally found out that my right leg is 2.5cms longer than my left leg and am now awating an appointment to see a hip reviosion surgeon in a different hospital group.
I've gone beyond being angry, like you I am in constant pain around the hip and numbness around parts of the scar tissue and I cannot stand or walk more than a few steps without being in agony and I have to use a wheelchair for all trips out from the house. I've had built-up pads for my other shoe but find that then it increases the hip pain on the operated hip.
I can't imagine a time when I will be pain free but keep hoping for a miracle to happen!
Hi Sue. I had THR last year, and i find it really difficult to walk and it's not long before I get a pain on top part of hip at the back? I had screws fitted too. I feel I've gone through all of that for nothing cos Im still am in pain, but not permanent pain as before. Had my first check this year, doc said they can help with this so he is transferring me to the Orthopedic department where they will measure the leg difference and provide me with shoes or inner soles to help balance odifference.
Me again, hadn't finished message then it disappeared! Anyway, I'm hoping the pain is because I'm putting pressure on the longer leg as I walk, so if I'm balanced out pain will lessen even hopefully disappear for good! Fingers crossed. Just want to say I walk funny too, so you not your own with that. I'm only 52 and I work full time but I'm begining to think if these shoes don't help what next? I was out of action most of last yr and i really don't want to go through that again. I'm trying to be positive cos that helps. Hope all works out for you.