I'm 39 and having a PAO to tackle one side of my hip dysplasia in April (2012) and would really love to speak to someone whose been through it. I know all about the operation, but it's the recovery and what I will and won't be able to do that's worrying me. Anyone out there??
Hi. I didn't have hip dysplasia but osteo-arthritis but the procedure is generally the same. I had my right hip replaced in Sept 2011 under epidural. I would recommend epidural. As long as you don't mind hearing sawing, grinding etc. and feeling the odd vibration, it is much preferable to general. The recovery time is much quicker and the side effects are considerably reduced. I used my ipod during surgery which cut out most of the sounds. I was on my feet the following day, albeit with a frame, and the physios encouraged me to move about and try to walk as soon as possible. I was using 2 crutches after 2 days and 1 crutch after about a week. I was discharged from hospital after 4 days. The physios give you exercises to do when you are home. It is vital that you do these exercises as they build up the muscles that were damaged during the operation and help you to put weight on the operated joint. I was walking fairly well after about 2 weeks with the aid of the crutch and moved onto a stick after about 4 weeks. I am now 6 months down the line and have no problems walking without any aids. I still get the odd ache and pain when I have overdone it a bit, but I can walk for about 2 miles without any adverse reactions. I am back to gardening (with care) and all other normal daily activities. Do not be tempted to drive until the consultant gives you clearance as you will not be insured until they do. No one else can give you this clearance, only the consultant. Hope this helps a bit.
Hi PAO mum,
I am having a PAO in a few months time privately (not NHS), I am a few years older than you and it would be great to hear from you - have you had the PAO yet? I have only been diagnosed with hip dysplasia this year, despite my dad having it and me having had problems for a few years.... it took my 3rd hip surgeon to diagnose it from the first set of x rays he did.
I am very nervous about the PAO and it would be great to talk to someone who has had it or is also facing it.
Kind regards
Persian Cat Fan - I'm just home! Do you want to give me your email address and we can mail away from the forum? I can't work out a way to do this privately (perhaps you can?) so you may not want to.
As as immediate response, I would say that I understand your nerves as it is a big operation, but my pain was controlled very well indeed so I've actually only experienced discomfort (apart from a couple of moments when I've really stretched myself). My operation was at Guy's under Marcus Bankes; as he has private patients, I was wondering if you are one of his?
You sound like you've been through it..... I met someone through another forum just as she had had her operation and her insight was extremely useful. It would be great to pay this forward so I hope I can help.
Kind regards, Annabel
Hi Annabel - mine is under Bankes and it is just a few days away - gulp! I am on the yahoo support group which MArcus Banke's website linked to - are you on that? Can you email me on that - I am PersianCatFan on that too.
Fiona
x
Hi I'm a 36 year old male considering having the POA surgery on my right hip, could anyone give me some advice on a)finding the best doctor and b)what to expect from the surgery?
I have had two PAOs (one on each hip). I had mine done by Dr. Joel Matta in Santa Monica, California. Definitely recomend going to see him if you can. I got great results both times, and had a pretty smooth recovery. Dr. Matta is able to do the surgery in about two to three hours, preventing the need for a blood tranfusion during surgery. Other great surgeons are Dr. Sink in New York City and Dr. Millis in Boston; I visited both of them before finally deciding to have my surgery done by Dr. Matta. The healing process is very long and can get frustrating. You won't feel much pain the first day because everything is still numb, but it is important to make sure you figure out how to manage your pain early on because if you don't, the pain can get bad. You can get put on a pain pump that allows you to push a button every ten minutes and recieve medicine, but I reccomd asking your doctor to manage your pain medicine for you because if you fall alseep for a long period of time, you may wake up in pain because you won't be pushing the monitor during sleep. Also, make sure you ask your doctor ahead of time about ways to manage nausea because that is a common side affect of the pain medicine used for this surgery. Overall, if you manage your pain medicine, you shouldn't feel any severe pain, but you obviously will exerience some discomfort. You will be very dependent on others for a while, and you will be immobile which can get frustrating, so be prepared for that. Its a lot to go through and mentally and emotionally its not easy, but I really do recomend the surgery because it does have great results. Also, it is important to make sure you use a good doctor because a lot of docotors out there are not experienced and having a great doctor is key for a good recovery. Hope this was somewhat helpful!
Hello, I would love to have some advice. I was diagnosed with hip dysplasia a few years ago but have put off a PAO as my arthroscopy made day to day life pain free although I have stopped running competitively and playing sport (other than cycling which doesn't seem to hurt it). Put off the PAO as had two babies and now that is done (!) I saw a surgeon who said although am pain free, in 5 years I will be in pain if I don't have it done. Am finding it hard to get my head round feeling ok now but knowing it will not be good in the future, plus really worried about the recovery as everyone keeps saying they prefer to operate in younger people. Is it right to go for an operation, a major one when not in day to day pain? Would love to hear any thoughts... it is supposed to be with Prof Griffin's clinic in Warwick hosp.. Can anyone allay my fears at all? Just seems so major...
Hi Zoe, I have just gone through exactly what you are going through. I did a lot of triathlon but had to stop because of pain training for the running - but otherwise have a totally healthy and active life. I was diagnosed with hip displasia when I was a child (am now 36) and when I went for scans the surgeon told me things will only get worse. I had my PAO surgery 8 weeks ago so it is still early days, but my recovery is going well - I can walk around the house with no crutches and can go on an exercise bike for 30 minutes + albeit at fairly low resistance- nothing like some of the nightmare stories I read about on the internet. The thing that made me decide was that a significant factor in the long term success of the operation is how much existing damage is done to the joint. I want a hip that will let me play football with my son in 10 years time! My operation was done by Marcus Bankes who seems to have quite a good reputation for PAO surgeries - although I only researched London based surgeons.
Huge thanks Paul. Really appreciate your comments
Hi Zoe,
I recently had my PAO done on my right hip and when I went for my post-op check-up I asked my surgeon (Mr. J Witt, also from London and also operates in the same hospitals as Mr. Bankes - NHS and privately - Guys & The London Clinic) about my left hip dysplasia, if we should do anything about it once i recover from my right side PAO and he said that he would like for us to wait and see. So that, I think, answers your question about waiting since you are not in pain atm. But do keep in mind that the longer you wait, your joint may deteriorate and then a PAO wont be possible anymore, you'll probably have to have a hip replacement. So that's why surgeons prefer to do PAOs in younger patients, because "generally" our joints arent far gone.
As for the surgery, it was quite quick (less than 2 hours) and as it was mentioned before, you'll be dependent on people and you'll also need to pay attention to your pain medication, because if you don't, the pain may catch you unaware and that sucks... But be "op proof" prior to going to hospital by getting a stool to shower and a raised seat to use the loo, a little plastic backpack to carry things and a plastic arm thingy to pick things from the floor as well. I'm a lot better now (2 months post-op) and pain free - but still using both crutches (should go down to 1 crutch next week). I still do my physio and hydro exercises and think that that's the most important thing for your recovery! My only problem, per se, is the post-op blues, but then again it varies from person to person as it has been mentioned on this forum before. Back to work next week, so I'm guessing that'll help with the blues! Mind you, it's office work, so sitting down at home or sitting down in the office is all the same...
Wishing you the best of luck with your decision! 
PS: I almost forgot, but my surgeon used a special glue to close my wound, so I didn't have to worry about changing the dressing or worry about infection. Its also great for the hydro, as you wont need to cover/protect it. All the nurses were very happy about it, as aparently my surgeon is the only one who uses it and it makes everyone's jobs easier and cleaner. My scar is very small and it looks great!
Hello. I would love to hear how you are doing. I had my PAO finally about 5 weeks ago and altho in myself I feel ok o have a subsidiary fracture at the bottom of my pelvis probably happened post op ... I fell when trying to answer the tesco delivery man...but would really love to hear how you are doing to give me some hope of post op activity levels.. Thanks so much xx
Hi I am wondering if you gys got any got advice for me.. I just had a pao last Monday, I think I am managing with everything, I'm managing to get up and walk about I have walked to my corner shop for the first time to day but felt a little dizzy when I got home and sat down.. I'm don't no what to expect over the next few weeks and I'm not sure if you can over do it and end up damaging muscles.. I'm always scared I'm doin to much or if I'm not doin enough.. I managing to pick things up and put my soaks on, again I'm not sure if I should be doin this or not..
PAO surgery is NOTHING like a THR (total hip replacement). PAO is much more intense. The recovery time is double, the hospital time is double. I know people like to think they know what youre going through, but truth is, you dont. While THR is a big surgery its MUCH LESS invasive than PAO.
Hi there,
You're the first person I've found online anywhere that was operated on by Johan Witt. My surgery (left first) is on 8th June and I'm doing as much research as possible. He's already said I will need both done. Now you're a year on, how was the recovery? And did you have the other ones done?
I've heard all good things about Johan from people in the medical profession and I'm also going to be in the London Clinic so I'm sure I'll be well looked after, but would be great to hear your feedback.
Hope all is well for you now...
Karen
Hi!
I too am about to undergo a PAO on my left hip with Johan Witt on the 29th of June, after being told I would need both done eventually!
I'm a little bit nervous about it, despite already having had 5 hip surgeries and was wondering if it was at all possible for you to let me know how yours goes, and what it's like after you've had yours done?
Good luck, and hope it all goes well!
Lauren
Yes of course, in fact that's exactly what I was going to suggest. This will be my first hip surgery though so sounds like you've had a worse ordeal over the years. I'm very nervous and I'm less than 2 weeks away.
I have set up an email address for personal use so please do email me a week or so after (15th ish) and I'll get back to you:
Best
Karen
Emis Moderator comment: I have removed the email address as we do not publish these in the forums. If users wish to exchange contact details please use the Private Message service.
http://patient.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/398331-private-messages
HI Lauren,
My daughter Lucy had a PAO nine weeks ago at Guy's Hospital under Mr Marcus Bankes. He also works with Mr Witt at another clinic. The whole experience so far has been a positive one. Lucy was operated on the Monday and discharged on the Thursday, so hospitalization was only four days. She was up out of bed the next day with physio help and completed a small staircase. The day after that she went up and down a full staircase. Pain management was excellent, and continued for three weeks at home with a combination of Morphine , Ibuprofen and Paracetamol plus anti sickness drugs. Lucy has been doing daily exercises as suggested by Guy's and hydrotherapy, which we booked locally and really made a difference. Lucy was back at school after four weeks and off crutches after six. She does get tired and achey if she overdoes it, but really it's still early days. Swimming and exercise bike now and at six months she can start running. Improved surgical techniques nowadays, combined with smaller incisions, good pain management and rehab/exercises mean that if all goes well you can progress fairly quickly.
Thank you so much, this has been really helpful! It's helped make my mum feel better about the surgery too as I'm only 16 myself!
I'm glad it went really well for her
I was told by Mr Witt that I would have to have an epidural etc for 3 days, so I take it that it's possible to have it removed sooner? Also how did she find the travel home? From what I understand it's meant to be really painful! Sorry for asking so many questions!!
Thank you
Lauren
3 days for the epidural? Mine is due out later that day/evening. Although I am sure every case is different though so your acetabular may be shallower or the femoral head a different angle (mine is normal). I've got to the age of 39 (although I've had issues since I was about 11) but failed NHS diagnosis has led to a very late correction.
I'm sure it will all be well for us all! :-)