I am not a patient but my husband had hip replacement surgery in May and is in such severe pain that I am desperate to try to find out what is the problem and help him. He has not been pain free since he got home end of May. He fell about 5 weeks post op and they say he pulled a groin muscle - the pain continued and they gave him more pain meds and PT. Then they said he had nerve damage (which is common) and needed cortisone injections, the last one several days ago. So they gave him additional PT twice and he has had 3 cortisone injections so far with little to no relief from any of them. He has sharp shooting pains from his hip and his quality of life is awful He is constantly going between ice and a heating pad, with little to no sleep. He cannot sleep in bed most nights and sleeps in the recliner. I know they had to cut the muscle horizontally during surgery and they said he bled a lot. We did get a second opinion and both the initial physician and second one say the same thing - pulled muscle/tendon and need to rest and get the shots. Is this normal or is this something we are missing? SO desperate for some relief!
I would contact the surgeon, have they done a x Ray if not ask if he can have one
Hi Gina
I have had 3 second opinions. The first was 15 months ago and just said "Tough - it might get a bit better, cant reoperate as you may end up worse such as in a wheel chair. He also said he "bowed to the greater knowledge of my original consultant". IE They can stick together.
A year later I sobbed at my original consultant and he got 2 second opinions - both class leading and one did not know him. Both said wrong size head put in, needs a redo and problem and pain will be fixed.
So think again about a second opinion from someone else.
If you are near Birmingham UK I would recommend my osteopath for a once over - His name is Peter Dutton and he has really helped identify and sort out many of my problems which arose from the wrong part being put in. I was unable to sit, sleep, walk and in a great deal of pain - so I can understand what this must be doing for your husband, and the toll on you. It cost me around £60 to see him and he did not do the "bone cracking" I remembered from previous osteopaths - but a very gentle and thorough examination of my range of movements and pain points. He gave me a tens machine, massage, gentle stretching and slowly I got to a much better place -fit enough for another operation and mentally much encouraged.
By taking some action you will also be takng some control back which is really important too
Take care of yourself too
Chris x
Hi gina
If he had a fall he should have gone straight back to see his surgeon.
Did he not have a check up after 6 weeks ? He should normally have had a check up at 6 weeks. Get in touch with your surgeons secretary. ASAP. To get an appointment and an X Ray done.
They have done x-rays (current and 2nd opinion physican too) and say everything is fine. My husband says something just does not feel right. It feels like it is not in there right or something is just "not right" but he just does not know what it is. He has had all the necessary check-ups too - six week, etc. He has even scheduled additional visits to the doc to discuss too. Thank you for your replies - i so appreciate it. I have encouraged my husband to join this group for some support.
Have a CT scan or MRI, xray only shows bone.......
Hi Gina get your GP to book your husband a CT or MRI scan. X Ray's do not show detail. Having a scan will show detail and may show the problem.
Gina
It took me 18 months to get a correct post operative diganosis -- a range of MRI, CT, mutliple Xrays and ultrasound scans. Keep plugging away as you may not be long into the journey - trust his instinct.
Chris
Dear Gina - Have they added length to his leg during surgery. That's what happened to me in Feb this year, and I am still in pain, although I have not had a fall, that he has had a fall worries me. Can I get you to check something, Get him down to his undies put a belt around his waist, in bare feet, flex his knees back to full extension or at least evenly, you stand back and look at him from behind, is one hip higher than the other, if so you would be able to see the belt sloping one way or the other. If he is higher on the side of the hip replacement he needs a shoe lift on the opposite side, that does give you some relief. Doctors and hospital say a 3/8inch difference is acceptable post surgery, and you are supposed to be able to adjust to it. This is a 30-40 year old talking about adjusting, not somebody who is much older, and is struggling to adjust. The pain like mine doesn't come from the hip, but from your spine, where you may have a squished disc in your back, but you feel the pain in your leg, and even though the hospital will deny it I believe there is a direct relationship between leg length discrepancy and sciatica, you can find lots of articles on the internet about it. Get back to me if that hip is higher than the other, and I will take you through what I did, to prove my case. I now have mine with the ombudsman and mine is complicated.
Dear Gina,
That is awful ... I agree with all responses and especially Christine2107 -
Would it be possible at all to see her consultant?
I am so sorry -
please let us know how you both are getting on -
Good luck and lots of strenght
big warm hug
renee
Hi there,
Just been told I have a leg difference of 1.5 to 2 cm which they "knew about" after my revision due to the spike being in the wrong place and scoring inside the femur.
Apart from inserts (which do help) what can be done (another revision is to be avoided as they had to break the femur and it is still healing)
Pain is currently when i step on the leg and goes as i get moving except for some groin pain on longer walks or wet days
Dear Byteme - You sound just like me. I recognized the first time I stood up after my Left THR, I had a problem, I just didn't feel right, I had to either lift my right heel off the floor, and or bend my left knee, neither acceptable, I found myself telling them I was gong to tear out my tendon under my foot, and or damage my knee. Staff at hospital told me my replacement was perfect, and the best I could get at 6 weeks was that it was swelling and it would settle down. I did research on the internet, and went begging to my normal GP for a LONG-LEG-X-RAY, he was not very happy with idea, but we when ahead with it, I was proven right, now this is where it gets complicated. after x-ray it is found I have 10mm below my knee naturally, the doctor gave me 10mm, by not tapping in spike of protheses far enough, and the two THR I have, the first has a small ball joint the the other has a huge ball joint. The report from long leg x-ray tells me I have 20mm or 3/4 of an inch overall, and the hospital handout before surgery says you should not have more than 10mm or 3/8inch discrepancy. Now when I go back to the hospital it seems its my fault for not telling them about the 10mm below my knee, and they are very quick to point out the difference, to the point of putting a ruler across my knees and saying "look at that". Your problem, we only gave you 10mm, and thats acceptable. My arguement is if its so easy to see the natural differnce now, what happened in all of my before surgery visits, afterall they are the ortheopedic specialists, and I believe they have a duty of care to eliminate and take into consideration a natural diffrernce like I have. The reason I am telling you about the long-leg x-ray, is with the measurements it gives me, I have been able to take my shoes to a shoe maker and get them built up to exactly the right height. Having the right height has finally given my back, and the squished discs and chance to come right and I am getting there slowly, no longer having to take buckets of painkillers. I am a little scared that if I don't or can't improve with physio, swimming, walking, still yet to reach a 100 yards after 9 months, they are going to start talking about a revision. GRRRRR, not happy.
Hi Lyn
That sounds a bit like me = leg length difference - and the head is too long so I am jacked up and out. My legs were (dare I boast) perfect before the op and shoe lift only helps a bit - the pain is still very limiting.
Second opinion Mr Roger Gundle at Oxford hospitals spotted my wonkiness - his words - and said revision needed and he has done these with good outcomes. So i am moving from Brum hospitals to Oxford to get fixed. Obviously I wont be walking there
hope it works out for you
Chris
Just to add - CT scans gave me different leg length discrepancy measures.
I was 3D modelled through my movements and they spotted I tilt a lot more than most - which probably exacerbates the problem and would, had they known, have been factored in to the solution...When it goes wrong it causes so many side effects its hard to get back to the root cause of the problem.
Have gone to obudsman office, and apparently my case has merit, They are fowarding for independant specialist's opinion. Hoping for a positive outcome. If not I am temped to go to the media, they always love a good Doctors have done me wrong story. What really sticks in my craw, is the right THR is so perfect, done by senior registrar, and bad one done by Teaching Professor.
Hi Lyn
Can you please share a bit more of your story - is the big head in the leg that is wrong?
thanks
Chris
Yes afraid so, if i remember the big head is a 38mm and the small one in the other leg is 31mm. my husband says 32mm and 25mm, but the overall size is about 8mm different. When I saw the x-ray I was shocked, you can really see the difference, as they knew how good my right side was right THR from the beginning, why change something that is working for a patient for something different.
Mine was due to a big offset +4 = which he proposed reducing to 0 or even -3.
If you are getting a revision then think about finding someone who has fixed your problem and got good results. Thats why I changed consultant as my previous one, who is a revision specialist, had never done this revision to fix my problem - he'd done it for other reasons but never to fix my problem. This took me a long time to find out as I assumed as a revision specialist he would have seen cases like me before. I was a bit gobsmacked when I asked the question recently and he admitted he had never fixed my problem before. Had I know I would not have been as patient with his advice to give it time - losing 18 months in the process!
Christine - I thought you might like to know, as well I have an unusual presentation of how my hip joint fits into my pelvis. Hard to describe, they are a long way foward and toward the centre, Dr told me only about 5% of women have this presentation, and only one prothesis of the five available fit correctly. To give you an example I have never been able to sit cross legged on the floor, my hips just don't rotate enough, my knees stay high in the air, I can remember as a child and teenager sitting on clasroom floor and teacher saying knees down, and coming and pushing mine down, all she did was tip me on my side, they didn't do it again. Other which I have always considered a bonus, I don't and have never had saddlebags, buying trousers, always too big around the tops of my legs, have resorted to buying mens trousers, which actually fit quite well at about two sizes bigger.
puzzled as to why I am being moderated
hmm I noticed it immediately the revision was done, but thought I was imagining it as I was no weight bearing.
Cross to know they knew already and I stated it at my last visit 6m after revision. They agreed they knew and immediately offerred an appt to see about shoe inserts or build ups to shoes. (on nhs)
So I am awaiting an appt for this - in the meantime I have inserted a 1.5cm insert into my shoes which is more comfortable, but cannot tell completely as the left leg still needs crutch support to get about as the bone is still broken (takes up to 18m to repair and it was broken in 3 pieces length ways - now wrapped with wire). The pain I originally had has gone and the residual pain means I hate the first 2 - 3 steps then its fine. The insert makes it more even and less limping. I can do 100 yds with crutch and round the supermarket, but without hmm 50-60 yds atm but the left operated leg complains as the limp is still too pronounced and i lean over to the right side to compensate.
What Is the ombudsman doing for you? and why hasnt NHS helped with shoe build up?