Stem of new hip replacement failed at six weeks

Bones, joints and muscles
1

My hip replacement stem failed after six weeks. Surgeon stated the stem slipped down into femur. Surgeon says he does not know why? Any suggestions?

2

Nancy, Can you provide more detailed information?  What sort of procedure

was perfomed?  Did the x-ray show this and were you having a lot of pain? 

I'm very sorry to hear that you're having this terrible problem.  What does your

doctor say needs to be done and do you trust your doctor to do another surgery

on you after what happened?  Can you go to get a second opinion as to why 

this happened and what should be done?

3

Wasn't having any pain.in hip, but in knee. My PT was concerned, so I went back to surgeon. He is upset and uncertain of cause of failure. Needless to sat, my confidence is a little shakey. Sorta in shock, I suppose.

4

Forgot this....X-ray showed that stem had slipped down into femur. Went for bone scan (forgot the type!) to see if the femur is broken.

5

My knee killed me for at least a month past my THR.  

It gradually got better.  Maybe all you need is to give it time.

I also took neurontin to help my nerves heal which may 

have helped too.  Just take it slow and wait before you rush

into anything.  As I said, I don't know what exactly causes 

the knee pain, but my knee was extemely painful too.

All the best and please keep me informed.  

6

Well, that does put another light on the situation.

All I can say is that my knee killed me for the first

couple of weeks and gradually it got better.  

I'm really sorry.  Keep us informed and sending

you healing wishes.  

7

Yup the surgeon didnt do a good job!

8

How devastating for you. Was it cemented! I would be very upset if my surgeon could not offer a decent explanation for such a failure!

Hope he finds a good solution soon

Cheers Richard

9

Cemented or not, it is a tight fit and rests on top of the bone that was cut. Can't see how it fell in any deeper. Best of luck and get a new surgeom

10

Dear Steve

Something a bit odd there as even if there was no flange to stop it from going further on do....mine does not appear to gave such a flange the shape of it should prevent any downwards movement if it was correctly fitted. I agree time to find another surgeon!

Cheers Richard

11

No wonder your surgeon is upset, he is probably afraid of being sued.

12

I had to have my stem checked 2 weeks into my recovery as slipped on stairs and fell hard straight down vertically on operated leg. My IS had to check leg length as he said you can push stem down further into femur on really rare occasions if you land hard. I have uncemented. Luckily I had not done that but the pain at the time was excruciating. Saw stars!!

Hope you can get a second opinion.

Sam

13

Hi Nancy,

So sorry to hear about the stem failure.  I attempted to do some quick research prior to responding.  From what I can tell this is very rare and usually happens because of infection and/or the stem not being properly placed.

I'd advise you to get a second opinion.

Wishing you the best!