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Hip replacement at 44

Posted , 5 users are following.

peter1179
peter1179

Had perthes at age 4 in both hips , over past 2 years pain has returned in left hip and have now been told I need a hip replacement , and I'm devastated to be honest , I had a bad car accident 30 years ago and now have to large plate in femur which will have to come out first , and there covered in bone now , I have a very manual job and don't know how I will return ,

Please has anyone had similair and got some positives on the outcome plus recovery time

Many thanks

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • HOTpicks99
    HOTpicks99 peter1179

    Posted

    Hi im writing this tobyou as my daughter was the first female child to have perthesdisease it was terrible for stuck in plaster both legs looked like a frog for nearly four years but she got on with it and she knows that theres a big chance of hip replacement when she reaches 40
    • effie123
      effie123 HOTpicks99

      Posted

      Hello, i had pertthes 45 years ago, I'm now 50. I first had weights in traction. Then a calliper my leg was getting thinner and thinner. My parents took me to a doctor in Harley street who worked at great Ormand street. I had a pin put in and then in the froggy plaster, then a few years later another op to remove the pin. I have a small difference in my leg length and wish I had been informed that I would be best to wear something in my shoe to balance out. My hip has given me no trouble or oain. But my lower back has been very painful for the last 18 years. My knee turns inwards and I have a flat arch. I am just in the process of seeing a specialist to hopefully sort it out so I'm not in a Zimmer frame in the next decade. Please check to see if your daughters legs are the same size. Regards effie.
  • SeamusC
    SeamusC peter1179

    Posted

    Hi, Peter,

    I have begun to suffer with pretty chronic pain too recently.

    I was diagnosed at around 9 years old, had surgery when I was 10 years old (various osteotomy), pins and plate out 6-12 months later (I can't remember how long it was, off hand!) and was told that, if I kept playing sport, I would have an artificial hip by the time I was 25.

    Well, I am now 43 years old. So that doctor was wrong. However, I am currently going through more pain than I have in a long time.  Just had Xray done and it looks pretty bad, but hey, it's perthes, what can I expect. Now waiting to see what doc says.

    Frankly, I am not convinced that osteotomies are the best solution.  I have no abduction, the musculature around the whole hip is mashed up. I still have atrophy in my right leg. And now I am experiencing chronic pain.

    32 years after my operation and the suggestion seems to be that no one has come up with anything better.

    I am also asking the question: has anyone been doing research into the long term effects of this condition and long-term prognoses, such as hip replacements, etc.?

    • derek76
      derek76 SeamusC

      Posted

      Seamus C.

      I had Perthes Disease when I was seven and was in hospital for over two years with my leg in traction. No surgery in the 1940's. It seemed to be a common problem at that time as there were five of us with it in the ward. Now I never hear of it and some doctors taking my medical history have not heard of it.

      My mother was told by a consultant that I would be crippled by arthritis by the time I was 35. I am now 80 and have had twinges and a stiff joint at times for over twenty years but fortunately it comes and goes. I've been told by different consultants that I will probably never need a replacement, will need a replacement but not yet. Another said not yet but that he would not want to do one on a patient with a prosthetic heart valve. One last year said that he would do a replacement but he thought if he did that I would go back to him complaining that it had not solved the problem.

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