Facing surgery to repair gluteus minimus tear & possible revision

You bet, Kerry. I am highly motivated when I've got a problem!

Nelmie, I am 6 months out from gluteal tendon repair surgery now, and I am doing very well, thank you! The only kinds of aids I still use are trekking poles or a cane for walking, and I don't use them all the time, just for longer distances. I can walk almost two miles at a stretch, and am clocking in lots of footsteps per day. My walking is not perfect, as I still have a tendency to bend over a bit, and have to strain to hold my body totally upright when walking. It's getting better and better, the more I walk, though. And I have lots of osteoarthritis in various joints, and many muscle pains, so pain is always with me, but my THR hip and gluteal tendon surgery area feel good, so I am thankful for that.

My husband and I are planning our first vacation in three years for later on in the summer, and I am very excited about getting away. All-in-all, I feel better than I have since long before my THR in July, 2015. Finally things are falling into place for me. My lower back bothers me, but that would probably be the case with or without my hip problems, since I've had two vertebral compression fractures in the past few years, nothing to do with hips.

Hurray for healing, for me and for all of us!

Thank you, Annie. I'm so glad you finally got it diagnosed and fixed. Can't believe how much you had to go through but then I can relate. Have a wonderful vacation. Did you have a great deal of pain just following the repair? I desperately need to have a hamstring muscle and/or tendon put back where they belong so I can sit , stand and walk again. Doc poppped it out during hip replacement 7 months ago because for some reason they dislocated the hip too many times. Poppsed that puppy right out. Of course he said "we don't fix those kinds of tears" and then hung up on me. Never asked how are you doing, can you walk at all. Nothing. Will be seeing a new doctor in Colorado Springs a week from Wed. So am really hopeful. I was super active two years ago. Am ready to start walking again. I notice you had your tears, possilby, for a long time which, of cousre, can impact the recovery. They can't see my tear because its snuggled up against all the hardware. But I felt it snap one day four months ago when lifing the leg kind of high. Like a rubber band tearing then just shearing apart. They always tell you to give it time but in some cases time doesn't improve a tear...its not like its fine wine or anything. I had my lower back done in Boulder - big fusion and its donig great. Virtually no pain. 

Take care and thanks for your help on this site. I have hope for the first time in four months. 

Nelmie, what a horribly unprofessional and unempathetic response by your surgeon! He could have at least seen you, and referred you to someone who could help you. Tendon ears can sometimes repair themselves if they aren't too big. Obviously yours and mine need professional help!

Regarding my pain post-op, no, I didn't have much pain, amazingly. The first day or two after surgery I had an IV with some pain meds given that way. After that, I only had acetaminophen, which is all that I needed for this recovery, no opiates. It was much easier than for my total hip replacement.

How wonderful that your back problems have been successfully dealt with! They can be so iffy. I had a vertebral compression fracture last summer a couple of months before the glute repair, and it was the worst thing I have ever experienced, by far. My back has never been the same, not too painful, but very stiff and I am afraid that I will hurt it again.

You are very welcome, and feel free to contact me again. I am thrilled that you have hope!

Nelmie, my THR was in July, 2015. Like you, I could never balance on the surgical leg. If I tried to do the single leg stance, that leg would immediately give way. I had pain, but it was more the disability that got to me. I always used a walking aid after the THR (and tendon tears), usually a rollator walker in the house, for speed and for carrying things, and a crutch outside. 

I've had compression fractures in T-10 and T-11. Didn't even know the first one was a fracture, and it healed on its own. The second, the T-11, was last summer, and much worse. So much pain and so many painful spasms. Didn't lie down or recline or sit in anything but an upright chair for a month. Had to sleep sitting up leaned on pillows over a table. I did have the balloon kyphoplasty with cement for the repair - that was outpatient. Don't even know how I survived. Without my husband, I would have been lost.

The surgeon who did my tendon repairs really is a rockstar surgeon. He is brilliant, very skilled and has pioneered various techniques for minimally invasive gluteal repairs and published papers on the subject. He has an informative website. I'll PM you the link. I was amazed about the lack of pain post-op, so different from after my THR when I took opioids for 5 weeks!

It's great that you are seeing that sports surgeon. You are right, we CANNOT just sit around not moving. It isn't healthy at all!

Jane, after my THR, I used my rollator walker in the house, right up until the glute repair. It allowed me to move more quickly and more smoothly. Outside, I always used a crutch. So I could get around pretty well, but I was not able to do my beloved long walks out in nature, due to pain and lack of stamina and strength for hauling my body around.

After the glute repair surgery, I did wear a brace (picture below) for 24/7 (except when showering) and was restricted to 20-pound-flat-foot weight bearing for 6 weeks. So for 6 weeks I used a walker or crutches with limited weight-bearing. After that, I still used the walker inside, and one crutch outside. It has been 6 months, and I only walk very short distances without aids, such as inside my house, or to go get into my car. Otherwise, I use a cane or trekking poles. Don't know if I will ever ditch those! 

It would have been very difficult for me to do crutches coupled with non-weight bearing on one leg, and I'm glad I didn't have to do that. And being able to lie down is such a blessing. I never realized that before last summer when I couldn't. 

I'm so sorry you cannot get outside yourself, or getting help to lift your leg to walk. Your doctors should have you on a fast track for diagnosis and treatment, since you are so debilitated and in such pain! I'm always happy to talk with you here, Jane. ??????

Annie, thank you so much. I wonder if you will be able to ditch the aids at say, the one year mark? You had the tears for a while and I've read it can take up to a year for things to become strong again. I understand you have other issues. Have you had your back area mri'd to see what's up there?  I was 64 when I had the fusion and there is no pain or weakness at all.

I just have swelling like crazy at the hip joint, which is not normal 7 months out. Cannot even touch the hip joint anywhere and there is a large ball or mass of some kind on the inner thigh. Sure hope its not the balled up remenants of some important body part such as the hamstring as its been there for 4 months.

A hip surgeon I saw here in NM said they 'only do these repairs on young athletes'. How insulting. I couldn't care less about playing pro volleyball, running the Boston Marathon or trying out for the Olympics. I just want to be able to walk to the bathroom. Two years ago I was hiking several miles several times a week at the Whitewater Park in our little town in CO. Steep ramps covered in sand. Right up until the back and hip went south.

I'm 65 but am otherwise healthy.  Don't feel or look my age so maybe I can snow them enough to do something about it. I know they do hip replacements on 80 or even 90 year olds and its a big surgery and most do just fine.

Did you run across this age thing with your doctor? If it was a knee they would be all over it and repair it no problem.  Keep walking girl and I know what you mean about walking in nature. Its my favorite thing in this life. 

Will get there no matter what. I too will use a walker as crutches with a brace, non weigh bearing etc. is scary. Its very reassuring that you were able to do 20 lbs as I was thinking it would be no weight bearing.  Thanks again so much and will keep in touch. One week to see a doctor in Colorado Springs and if I have to I'll get down on my hands and knees. Take care, Jane

Jane, I forgot to post the pic of the brace, so it is below, for sure this time! I wore mine under my clothes, and it was not that uncomfortable, even while sleeping. I did have to sleep at a recline, not lying flat on my back, since I just can't do that. I have a hospital bed with electricity and a remote, and it made things so much easier for me when getting in and out of bed. I also have an electric lift recliner, which made it so that I didn't have to sit in bed all the time or rely on others as much.

I am 69, was 67 at the time of the THR, and I have never had to deal with the "age thing", thank goodness. That hip doctor who said that to you was WRONG. If a person is debilitated and in pain, and an operation will fix it, then it should be done, no matter what their age. 

A few years back, my father-in-law was 96 and he had a fall, broke his hip, and they did a partial hip replacement (ball and stem only) on him! Even though previously he could only walk with a walker, they had to do surgery, since his leg was just hanging there, broken. After the surgery he recovered to where he could walk with the walker again, and this with him having severe dementia.

Your surgeon may have different restrictions, but the 20-pound weight-bearing is my surgeon's go-to limit for gluteal tendon repair. If my tendon had been totally torn off the bone, it would have been 8 weeks instead of 6. I loved that it was flat-foot, as opposed to toe-touch. Felt safer to me.

I don't look my age either, and was always very active, walking in nature! The year before my THR, my husband and I spent two weeks on a wilderness island, backpacking (my husband carried the packs) and walking on the beaches and in the dunes and forest. That was 3 years ago, and I haven't been anywhere since then, except for hospitals and a rehab facility. We are planning to go to the island again in late August, and I am so excited! It's a great motivation for me to get my walking distance farther, and am working towards that slowly.

We WILL get there one day, Jane!

Thank you for the picture. It helps alot to know what one may be up against. Also am glad you didn't have someone telling you that you were 'too old' to save - made me feel like an old dog. Well I'm not an old dog and won't be treated like one. Very interesting that your family member had such a big surgery with such a good result. It really is amazing what a good doctor can do these days and giving an older person a change at life is so important. I also think they are getting rather better at treating the elderly. 

Also for people in the West near Colorado or who can get there Dr. Michael Ellman at Panorama Orthpedic Hospital specilizes in this type of tendon repair. People rave about him. I made a back up appt. to see him in May if the Colorado Springs doctor doesn't work out.

I too have spent the past couple of years only leaving the house to see doctors and have various things done surgically. Only been in a grocery store twice in a year and 7 months. Have not driven since then either. Just went to walk out my front door one day, set my foot on the deck and was paralizyed in place. Disc. I didn't realize that the hip was bad until six months after back surgery and had the THR done then. Should have gone to Dr. Patel or someone else like Dr. Mark Mills, at Panorama. They have a wonderful website.

I'm so glad you got through all this and will be able to go back to the island. My husband grew up in Upper Michigan and canoed the Boundary Waters. Beautiful area. I'd love to go there in the Fall sometime.

All the best, Jane

No problem, I love your hugs whatever the reason, Rose! It's been 6 months since the gluteal repair surgery, and I an walking around unaided part of the time, and much longer distances outside with aids. I clocked 1.8 miles on a walk last week! By the end of the day I am usually feeling exhausted and in pain (not in the gluteal area, though), but this is a vast improvement over before the operation. Thanks for your good wishes. I have read that your other hip is giving you big-time trouble now, and assume you are probably headed towards a second THR, right? Best of luck to you!

You are making HUGE progress Annie, when you consider how it was, 1.8 miles is truly fabulous, even young and fit people will feel tired after that. I am really so happy for you - that you finally got there. It has been one hell of a journey for you....it must have been upsetting to see people come and go on here and recover, but now you are officially one of them!!! And not a moment too soon!

Yes the other hip is making itself known, it felt like bits were literally breaking off last week - it was quite unpleasant and didn't happen like this with my other hip! It is slightly better this week but hurts alot now most days. I am trying to string it out at least to the end of the summer, but we all know that our hips have their timetable! So I am not counting my chickens

Sending you the biggest hugs Annie, I am so glad things are really improving for you. The way you have managed this situation has impressed me so much, and you have given hope to others (not to mention information) that you can quietly strive for answers and solutions, and eventually solutions in the most informed way...and that will have helped so many who can not do this for themselves. 

Enjoy your walks, and please keep in touch x 

Wondering how wondering how your walking is going, Annie. Are you still able to do the 1.8 mile trek? Any improvement in the pain? I'm cheering you on from Oregon!

Thanks so much, Teresa! I've had my adult daughter with me for ten days, and a dog she is dogsitting for. I've been walking everywhere and doing so much more physical activity than usual. I have averaged a total of 2.7 miles per day for the last month, which includes all of my steps in a day.

I walk awkwardly except for the first hour or two of the day. I have a hard time holding myself up straight, and I think most of my trouble is because of my back, although I know there is still weakness in my glutes. The glutes on my surgical side are still getting stronger, and going up and down stairs is getting easier, although I still have to hold on to the railing.

Pain remains the same. I've been taking 1000mg of acetaminophen everynight before I go to bed, and it helps me sleep a bit better.

I'm cheering YOU on from here in Illinois! 

Annie, 2.7 miles? That is awesome, lady!!! I'm trying to remember...did you get a firm diagnosis for your back problem? 

And thanks for the cheers! That made me smile.

Teresa, last August (2016) I suffered a compression fracture in my 11th thoracic vertebra, and I had a balloon kyphoplasty (cement squirted into the vertebra) to stabilize it. I had an MRI of my spine in December of 2015, and nothing unusual was noted, except that I had had a compression fracture in my 10th thoracic vertebra previously. Looking back, I realize that that had happened in 2011. Also, I do have osteoporosis and osteopenia in my spine. Things were so horrible ast summer with my back that what is going on now seems wonderful in comparison. Even with the stiffness and difficulty holding myself up straight and discomfort from my slightly bent spine, I can sleep on my side in a bed, I can bend over and pick things up, I don't need pain meds (except for occasional acetaminophen) and I can go on pretty much with life as usual. So I have no plans to have any more checking of my back done for awhile.

Wow, Annie, you certainly have been through the wringer!! I'm so glad you made it through that extremely difficult period and are so much better now! I'm sending every positive vibe your way to continue to improve. You obviously have great motivation!

BTW, I've been doing some nutrition research after watching Food Matters on Netflix, and I'm hoping some dietary changes will help with inflammation and bone loss. The last three matriarchal generations on my mother's side all basically died from osteoporosis, so I'm always on the lookout for more preventative measures.

I am eating yogurt as I read this! I have upped the amount of calcium-rich foods that I eat daily. And I have been taking medication for osteoporosis. It is a deadly disease, one that I take seriously. Turns out that this article, which was published on May 9, "Treatment of Low Bone Density or Osteoporosis to Prevent Fractures in Men and Women: A Clinical Practice Guideline Update from the American College of Physicians" says that my current med is no longer recommended for treatment. So I have to figure out something else. It's never easy, is it? I can send you the link, if you want it!

If you're taking something like Fosamax, I took that for 5 years when I was in my 50s. I was taken off of it then because the literature said it could cause more harm than good if taken longer.

Sure, yes, please send me the link. I'd be very interested to read that article. How do we do that without the website deleting your response? I'd be glad to give you my email address, but I don't like the idea of publishing it here for the public to see. Thank you, Annie.

I sent you a personal message with the link, which we are able to do here on Patient if the user has it enabled. It should show up in your email, but I won't know your email address. 

I'm taking raloxifene, not a bisphosphonate. But now it is no longer recommended, so I have to make a change. I believe that medications for osteoporosis are almost always time limited to 5 years or so. I'm weighing possible side effects versus my bone fracture risks. Used some calculators that are available online. It's a hard decision to make!