OT - Need advice about hip replacement surgery!

[sledog]

I was diagnosed 3 years ago with arthritis in both hips. Been ok, but L hip deteriorated significantly since July 4th. Now tuff to arise from sitting without gritting teeth. Need replacement surgery.

Anyone have any experience / advice ( do 1 or both at once. anterior/lateral/or posterior cut)? Or horror stories?

 

[David 76]

No experience, but wishing you the best!

 

[c29328]

My mother did two of them. Years apart. First one left leg 1" too long. Second one they left long on purpose so she gained an inch of height. Not sure which technique is best but my experience is do it and don't live with the pain. Quality of life dramatically improved. Good luck and don't wait.

 

[Phorcys]

I call Bulssshhh…

...the OP is as flatulent as the bowl of beans I consumed last night.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

My mother did two of them. Years apart. First one left leg 1" too long. Second one they left long on purpose so she gained an inch of height. Not sure which technique is best but my experience is do it and don't live with the pain. Quality of life dramatically improved. Good luck and don't wait.

Agree. My mother has also had 2 done (not at the same time) and there definitely was a big reduction in pain. Work hard in rehab! No idea about the specifics. Good luck!

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I call Bulssshhh…

...the OP is as flatulent as the bowl of beans I consumed last night.

Huh?

 

[Phorcys]

Huh?

My God, I’m sorry.

I read a post about major hip problems entitled “hippy hippy shake”, and assumed the post was either a hoax or a joke.

Clearly, I was wrong. Absolutely no offense intended.

 

[ctchamps]

I was diagnosed 3 years ago with arthritis in both hips. Been ok, but L hip deteriorated significantly since July 4th. Now tuff to arise from sitting without gritting teeth. Need replacement surgery.

Anyone have any experience / advice ( do 1 or both at once. anterior/lateral/or posterior cut)? Or horror stories?

Sorry to hear about this problem. I'm changing the title in order that you get the information you need.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

I was diagnosed 3 years ago with arthritis in both hips. Been ok, but L hip deteriorated significantly since July 4th. Now tuff to arise from sitting without gritting teeth. Need replacement surgery.

Anyone have any experience / advice ( do 1 or both at once. anterior/lateral/or posterior cut)? Or horror stories?

Had my left hip replaced 3 1/2 years ago at age 51. Best thing I ever did. Feels great. Was out of work for 8 weeks. Rehab for about 12 weeks and was not bad at all. My older brother did both of his hips 6 weeks apart. He is doing great also. We had different doctors. Mine was done at St Raphael's. Dr Chris Lynch of The Orthopedic Group.

 

[mets1090]

My God, I’m sorry.

I read a post about major hip problems entitled “hippy hippy shake”, and assumed the post was either a hoax or a joke.

Clearly, I was wrong. Absolutely no offense intended.

I saw the 3:23 AM time stamp and just assumed you were wasted.

 

[NJHusky]

I was diagnosed 3 years ago with arthritis in both hips. Been ok, but L hip deteriorated significantly since July 4th. Now tuff to arise from sitting without gritting teeth. Need replacement surgery.

Anyone have any experience / advice ( do 1 or both at once. anterior/lateral/or posterior cut)? Or horror stories?

My father in law had 1 hip done recently...His Dr. said they only do 1 hip at a time. They do 2 knees, but not hips...my guess is because of the rehab. As with any surgery of this type...DO THE REHAB!!! Don't do the minimum....walk as much as you can..that is the main rehab you can do on your own.

One issue to be aware of is where they place your arm during surgery. My father in law ended up with radial neuropathy....probably because they had his arm under his body during the surgery...nothing you can do because you will be sedated, but FYI

This rehab is much easier than knee rehab....one of my buddies had it done at 50 and was playing basketball 5 weeks later

 

[MexicoHusky]

Bionic

 

[TasteofUConn]

My best friend put off hip surgery for a long time. Just kept getting shots. Last October, he was planning on getting the hip done in December, and he just wanted to get through his large Halloween party. Got a shot 7 days before the party, but it went all FUBAR, and he ended up not being able to move. He worked with it and was in a wheel cheer as part of his costume. Gets the surgery 7 days after Halloween. Told the Doc that his non-operative leg was 1/2" longer, so please don't make this leg shorter. 1st thing he noticed after the surgery was that his non-operative leg was 1" longer, or more. When he stands now, one leg is straight and one is always kicked out to form a triangle.

Recovery went great, and he was back golfing and all and work within a few months. He is NOT a good rehab type guy. Type of guy who would always push it ahead of schedule. Couple times he "overdid it" and felt it. Otherwise great.

Until 3 months ago. Hip starts hurting and much pain. Doc blows it off. 2 months ago he insists something's up, they look more closely, and he's got an internal infection. Cut, drain, stitch. All set and working great until 1.5 weeks ago. Infection returns. Cut, drain, stitch. Now they are saying that, if it happens again, he needs to have a new hip put in.

Bottom line is that his result was better than what he had, which was pretty much him lying around in severe pain, unable to walk. So, of course he should have done it.

The point of me writing this was two fold - 1. Things can and do go wrong, even if everybody does their job, and 2. Closely monitor yourself and insist on attention if things aren't right. Too often doctors, intentionally or paternalistically, dismiss real issues that patients bring to their attention. Had a friend in law school who almost died of bacterial meningitis. Literally told his wife to start preparing for it. 3 days earlier he had gone to the doctor with severe neck and head pain and they sent him home with aspirin. Only the fact that his wife took him into the ER and insisted on a bac. meningitis check saved his life. Really unnerving.

Good luck, listen to your doctors, and listen to your body. Your wife, at least pretend you're listening.

 

[ctarnolds]

I would if possible look into a procedure called hip resurfacing. I had it done 7 years ago and I am still and active person. If you your bone density is OK, I would look into it. No sense having a surgeon remove a good part of your femur. There are a number of good doctors who do it no real good ones in CT. Best close by is Dr. Su in NYC.

 

[Storrsbred]

Had an anterior replacement. The ONLY way to go IMO. Came home in a day, only a cane for a couple of days, rehab at home doing stairs w/in 5 days or so. Can do everything except jog/run, which is not good for the prosthetic. I work out on an eliptical.

 

[Bonesbrigade]

Check out dr william Meyers in Philadelphia. He runs a hollistic pelvic clinic. Sounds crazy I know. But know this, he does almost all the nfl players with pelvic type of injuries...i.e. Fai, sports hernias...he did Donovan mcnabb, Miguel Cabrera and recently, Arian foster to name a few...some of these guys had different injuries than yours but like I said he runs a holistic pelvic clinic/institute...hope that helps. You don't want to get this type of surgery wrong....have it done once the right way!

 

[huskyharry]

95%of patients are happy with their outcome, particularly in pain relief.

The important point is to have a surgeon with a good track record (most do) who performs hip replacement on a regular basis. You don't want to have a general Orthopedic surgeon who performs only a few hips per year.

The anterior approach has a more rapid recovery period but is more technically challenging and a newer procedure, so you need to again have a surgeon who is familiar with that procedure.

I also have arthritis at a relatively early age in both hips and I had my right replaced in Oct 2013. My surgeon was not familiar with the anterior approach, so I had the traditional, posterior approach. Regrettably, I am one of the unlucky 1-2% who have chronic pain from post-op trochanter in bursitis (which they cut through in the posterior approach). My pain is improving and structurally, my new hip is perfect.
I can play soccer, tennis, basketball, bike, hike and swim but I'm not supposed to run anymore because it will cause the hip to wear out sooner.

When I need surgery on the left, I will definitely try to get the anterior approach. Good luck!
HH MD

 

[huskyharry]

I would if possible look into a procedure called hip resurfacing. I had it done 7 years ago and I am still and active person. If you your bone density is OK, I would look into it. No sense having a surgeon remove a good part of your femur. There are a number of good doctors who do it no real good ones in CT. Best close by is Dr. Su in NYC.

Hip resurfacing has recently fallen out of favor because of the development of painful nodules in some patients thought to be related to the body's response to small quantities of metal released as the material wears.

 

[Storrsbred]

95%of patients are happy with their outcome, particularly in pain relief.

The important point is to have a surgeon with a good track record (most do) who performs hip replacement on a regular basis. You don't want to have a general Orthopedic surgeon who performs only a few hips per year.

The anterior approach has a more rapid recovery period but is more technically challenging and a newer procedure, so you need to again have a surgeon who is familiar with that procedure.

I also have arthritis at a relatively early age in both hips and I had my right replaced in Oct 2013. My surgeon was not familiar with the anterior approach, so I had the traditional, posterior approach. Regrettably, I am one of the unlucky 1-2% who have chronic pain from post-op trochanter in bursitis (which they cut through in the posterior approach). My pain is improving and structurally, my new hip is perfect.
I can play soccer, tennis, basketball, bike, hike and swim but I'm not supposed to run anymore because it will cause the hip to wear out sooner.

When I need surgery on the left, I will definitely try to get the anterior approach. Good luck!
HH MD

Not to pick on you, however, the anterior approach was first proposed in the late 1800's and has been used almost exclusively in Europe since the late 1940's. If the surgeon has access to the proper operating table, this approach is usually a piece of cake. The reason it is "new" in the U.S. Is because the table is expensive for the docs and some of the established docs didn't want to take the time to learn a new procedure or wanted the expense of the table.

 

[ctarnolds]

I don't know that hip resurfacing has fallen out of favor. Some(very few) do have a reaction to the metal implants. Fewer orthopedic surgeons do the procedure because it is more involved and requires a fair amount of training. If you live an active lifestyle and you would like to continue it, it is a procedure worth looking into. There is no harm in sending an x-ray to a Dr. Su for example to have him review it. Check out the following link:



It will give you a more informed perspective.

 

[Giddyup5]

Not to pick on you, however, the anterior approach was first proposed in the late 1800's and has been used almost exclusively in Europe since the late 1940's. If the surgeon has access to the proper operating table, this approach is usually a piece of cake. The reason it is "new" in the U.S. Is because the table is expensive for the docs and some of the established docs didn't want to take the time to learn a new procedure or wanted the expense of the table.

Anterior approach is not a piece of cake. There is a huge learning curve and proper femoral exposure is the key to the case.

Regardless if the op would like to talk about the specifics in private please pm me and we can chat through email

 

[sledog]

Thanks for the input. Su's video was interesting. Watched a lot of YouTube on hips lately.

Going to see an orthopod at NYU Hospt for Joint Disease, as well as Heartzband Group in NJ this week. Hosptl for Special Surgery in NYC not on my insurance plan.

How do you do aPM??

 

[CL82]

Thanks for the input. Su's video was interesting. Watched a lot of YouTube on hips lately.

Going to see an orthopod at NYU Hospt for Joint Disease, as well as Heartzband Group in NJ this week. Hosptl for Special Surgery in NYC not on my insurance plan.

How do you do aPM??

Click on the posters name and a dialog box will pop up. Click on "Start a Conversation."

Keep us informed as to your decision and outcome.

 

[ctarnolds]

I've attached a link to a hip resurfacing web site. The page in particular list doctors currently performing the procedure. It does highlight the experienced ones. When I was agonizing over what I should do the procedure had not been approved in the US so I decided to go to Belgium and had the operation performed by Dr. Koen DeSmet. It turned out that it cost me about what my copay would have been had I chosen the hip replacement option in the US. The cost was less than 20K and was funded by borrowing off my retirement plan. Best of luck to you regardless.

http://www.surfacehippy.info/listofdoctors.php

 

[Waquoit]

I know two guys who, by the time they hit 45, had zero original hips between them. What they both had in common besides being fit were that they both were avid jump ropers. Best exercise you can do they said (btw, they don't know each other). It's the active young people that jack health insurance rates up for the rest of us.