Facing surgery to repair gluteus minimus tear & possible revision

Teresa, hi! Here is my recovery thread for my glute med and min repairs. https://patient.info/forums/discuss/having-gluteus-medius-repair-surgery-possible-hip-revision-tomorrow--543982 I had said I would post it before, and then didn't!

My surgeon allowed 20-pound weight-bearing immediately after surgery and for the next 6 weeks, then a gradual return to full weight-bearing as tolerated. This was for gluteus medius/minimus repair, though, not gluteus maximus like yours. You have been 50% weight-bearing for two weeks now, right? So you ARE working your muscles to some degree now, keeping them firing a bit.

It is my understanding from my surgeon that it takes a few months for all of the manipulation and cutting and stretching of the soft tissues to get a really good start on healing, to the point where trying to strengthen won't hurt them. It isn't that they are weak it is that they have been injured and need to heal. Strengthening can wait until they are ready. My surgeon didn't allow any strengthening until after 6 weeks. I have seen so many people in recovery from THR and other hip surgery go back to doing too much too soon and then having all kinds of muscle/tendon/connective tissue problems.

Wishing you all the best with your recovery! We still don't know how my glute tendons tore, and I keep wondering about it. Do you know how your tore your glute max? And on both sides within a year? Glad you got the FAI cleaned up and the bursectomy. I can't imagine every running again, I just want to be able to walk without aids and pain and stiffness. It's a long haul for me.

Hi Annie. I just read over your entire experience. Oh my goodness...you have been through so much. 

My surgeon has me completely non-weight-bearing for a total of 6 weeks postop. But my PT does have me doing a fair amount of isometrics right now (buttock squeezes, quad & hamstring contractions, etc). In two weeks I'll be able to start 50% weight bearing. Oh, and I misspoke...it was the glut medius, not the maximus that was torn! Ha...what was I thinking??!! 

We think I tore mine during one or both of 2 falls I had years ago. Both were flat on my back on concrete. Had a broken foot and wrist from one. The other one I never went to the ER for. So you've had no falls, maybe when you were out hiking or stepping off a curb on a walk?

You posted that "By the end of the day I am usually feeling exhausted and in pain (not in the gluteal area, though)." Where is your pain now? Is it still in the hip? The main thing is, you continue to improve, however slowly, right? I wish you well. Please...I can't stress this enough as a nurse, if you don't start really getting some real relief, find another highly respected hip surgeon for another opinion. 

Boy, those falls of yours sound like they were really nasty! My tears are a mystery. They definitely were NOT there before the THR. I had the antero-lateral approach, and so the glute med was teased apart (not cut) when they were gaining access to the hip joint. It is possible that they didn't heal well, and just tore from my efforts to walk. My second surgeon did say that sometimes tissue from older people sometimes doesn't heal well, and I am older, age 69. 

I do know that it was quite soon after surgery, since I was never able to balance at all on the surgical leg alone afterwards, but I could before. I have had no falls, or even serious missteps, since my THR. 

My current pains are in the tops of my thighs, and run from the trochanter down the sides of my thighs of both legs - probably due to lots of little tears, more common in women. I have severe start-up pain when I stand from a sitting position. There is some generalized pain in the inside of my surgical thigh. The worst is the tightness in my lower back that makes it hard for me to stand up straight for any length of time, or while walking. That's the fault of my back.

I DO continue to improve all the time. I think that part of the reason why I always hurt is that I am constantly doing more the stronger I get. Maybe when I get to the point where I am fully healed, I will "even out"! I'm walking much more than before, bending down, lifting things -- feeling pretty good!

Teresa Hi... I have been getting great information from AnnieK.  I too have torn gluteus medius/min ... from an injury lifting heavy furniture.  As I told Annie I have been doing PRP for my injury and improving some but afraid surgery will be the only way to get my life back.  Just wondering if you have been happy with your surgeon and if he/she had lots of experience with glut min/med repairs.  Very few doctors have any experience with this repair.  Hope you are on your way to a full recovery.

Hi Bunny. Yes, i am very happy with my surgeon, Dr. Mark Wagner in Tigard, Oregon. He specializes, i.e. only does, hip surgeries. My first muscle tear wasn't found until he did the arthroscopy for the torn labrum, which had shown up on the MRI. As all good surgeons do, he looked around with the scope, inside and outside the joint for any other damage, and that's when he found the muscle tear. From my research I found that he used the most current, high-tech anchor available. After about 6 months, I was actually "running," slowly, short distances. I was absolutely elated ...until my left hip started hurting, and finally returned to Dr. Wagner. 

I also have an excellent physical therapist who specializes in hips. She has alll the educational background, years of experience dealing with issues like these, and all the proper equipment available at her facility.

I wish you well, and here's to finding the best surgeon and  physical therapist   available. I'd really like to hear your progress, and if you have any other questions, there's a good chance someone here has been through it and may have answers.

Haha...I just read over my post. When I said he "specializes, i.e. only does, hips,"....i didn't mean to sounds like you wouldn't know what a specialty doc is!  I meant that while some say they specialize in something, they actually do more than one type of surgery. Not Dr. Wagner...he does only hips, day in and day out. 

Teresa so glad you found a good surgeon like AnnieK has found.  Looks like if I decide on surgery I will be having to travel a very long way near AnnieK.  Just can't find anyone in the Southeast area where I am located.  Everyone here is so helpful and AnnieK has been a blessing to me.  I like everyone else want my life back and I'm sick of being disabled from a glut min/med partial tear.  I am hoping you, AnnieK and all the others here are having a speedy recovery and it will be myself eventually too!

Good for you, Shay, having the surgery over with! Did they have to do the gluteal tendon repair? Sorry you have pain in the SI joint. That brace should help keep you from doing too much, as it takes awhile for the labrum to heal. Keep us posted on your recovery journey.

The doctor said my glut min didn't appear torn which is weird since my MRI in October said it was partially torn. I was up half the night since they gave me so much fluids. I am on blood thinners today for the next 20 days.

That's good, that the min isn't torn. 5 hours is a long surgery! I wonder why it took so long. And I think it's incredible that you went home the same day as your surgery. Not surprised that you didn't sleep well. It's very common to have to go to the bathroom very often in the beginning. Hang in there, Shay!

Congrats on getting your hip surgery done! I'm baffled, too, that your arthroscopy took 5 hours. As a retired operating room nurse with 34 years in the field, I can share with you that that is an unusually long time for most any arthroscopic surgery. Could it be that some of that time was in post op recovery? My own labrum and glut med repair took 1 hr 40 minutes, but the labrum was so badly shredded, it could not be anchored, and had to be removed. 

Recovery is slower than any of us would like, that's for darned sure  . But maybe it will help to know that 6 or 7 months after my first hip was done, I was running...well, jogging, slowly, completely free of pain (until my other hip started in, the surgery for which I'm recovering from now). Hang in there, Shay. We're rooting for you!

I went in to surgery around 8:30 and woke up around 2:30. My daughter said the doctor didn't come in to talk to her until around 2. So, ya I guess it was close to 5 hours. The nurse even said he is slow but good. My Dr is Dr. El Bitar. He with SIU and practices in central IL. I am not doing to great right now. I cannot stay awake for long periods or concentrate for long. I think it could be the blood thinnner I'm on. Idk. The whole side of my leg is numb. The brace is driving me crazy because it hurts with the numbness. I am still in a lot of pain. And using the crutches is hard. Glad to know that maybe in 6 months it will be better. Thanks for all the well wishes. I hope your doing better too.

I also wonder why I didn't get a cpm machine. I was just told to do some exercises. One is to move my foot over my other foot and the other is to move my foot and leg slightly up and down I think. Its hard to remember. He came in to talk to me about this after I had been awake a while but I still had a lot going on. I was shaking uncontrollably for a very long time . after the nurse got me up to go to the restroom and sat me in a chair it finally stopped, but I was scared. My 18 yr old daughter was with me but she can't remember either. She said when he came in to talk to her after the surgery she didn't understand it all. I even have pictures and she still didn't understand. I go to my follow up on the 7th. I am going to take the pictures with me and ask more questions.

Hi Shay. I'm sorry this has been tough, but it truly will get better. 

To address some of your concerns: It's not unusual for the surgeon to have to wait until after his/her following surgery to talk to the family. These days, there's a very limited amount of time between surgeries during which the surgeon may have many issues to take care of. Ask him how long the actual surgery took, not including the "going to sleep" & prep time, and also not including the wake-up (in the OR) time. Also, they should have sent you home with detailed written instructions on post-op home care, exercises, application of ice packs or ice machine, etc. Did they have you start physical therapy yet? I did not have a CPM machine for either of my hip repairs, but I was in PT within 5 days of surgery, once a week for the first 6 weeks. 

Shivering after surgery is common due to the anesthetic drugs in your system, but hopefully they applied warming blankets to help you.

The leg numbness is normal, as well. I'm now close to 11 weeks postop, and im starting to get the feeling back in my leg. Seems like it took about 4 to 5 months on the other side. 

Hopefully you'll have a list of questions for your surgeon when you see him next week. Leave some space for the answers he gives you; accurately recording them really helps later in jogging the memory. 

Using ice helps tremendously with the pain. I was told to only wear the brace at night and so was able to apply the ice more easily to my hip and thigh during the day, but I think that's surgeon preference. 

Take care. You're in my prayers.

Teresafahey,

My leg is numb where the brace goes (on the front and side close to my knee). I don't have it too tight or anything. The area where the incisions are are not numb (incisions are close to my groin area). I cannot lift my leg up to bend knee position while sitting (without a brace on). The brace I have is a Donjoy x-act rom. I don't know if that is normal or not. I am not supposed to start pt for 2 weeks which I think is weird since I have read so many start sooner. I don't know if I said this before but I don't see my Dr again for 2 weeks either. Getting worried that maybe it didn't go right or something. I am supposed to return to work in 2 weeks also. Feeling scared. Thanks so much for your reply.

Shay, my surgeon didn't allow any PT for the surgical leg until the brace came off at 6 weeks. I didn't start until 12 weeks. Right now, your traumatized soft tissues and bones need to heal. The strengthening will come later after the initial healing, otherwise you risk damaging the tissues more. 

I can't believe you are going back to work that soon. You may jeopardize your recovery by doing that.

If you have any questions, you should always be able to call your surgeon's office and ask, and his staff can answer you. You should not have to wait until your next appointment. They expect questions from people who have had surgery!

Hi Annie,

Wow, that is a long time for recovery. I am glad things are getting better for you. Yes, I have to return to work because I have not been at my job for a year, so FML would not apply to me. I had my surgery 2 days before my 40th birthday and took the vacation time I had coming. What a way to spend it huh. I talked to my surgeon today and asked about getting a walker. These crutches are a nightmare. The brace I'm wearing is also a nightmare. My leg is numb just above my knee. Right were the end of the brace goes.My incisions are close to my groin and not numb at all. I have resorted to taking the strap off while I'm sitting. I asked the surgeon about that numbness today and he said it could be the brace or it could be all the water they used in surgery. I think he said 30 ml. Not sure. I also asked about the time he said the surgery was about 3 to 3 1/2 hours, 5 if u count the prep for traction and all that.

I am going to be getting a walker. I think that may help when I go back to work. I will be sitting at work as well.

Thanks so much for your kind words and I hope you continue to get better as well.

Ugh about the crutches. I couldn't use them at all! I used a walker with two wheels for a couple of weeks post-op, and then I used a rollator walker (4 wheels with a seat and basket) for many months afterwards. I found that using the rollator allowed me to walk much more easily, with flow, and the seat and basket allowed me to move things from room to room with no problem, so I was much less dependent on others for help. 

Later on, both when I was post-THR and again when I was back to full weight-bearing after the 6 weeks following my gluteal tendon surgery, I used one crutch when out-of-doors on the non-operated side while still using the rollator inside.

It's awful having to use vacation time for surgery. My poor husband used his vacation last summer taking care of me after I had a vertebral compression fracture and a surgical procedure to fix it. This year we are planning a proper vacation, my first in 3 years! After 3 surgeries in 2 years, I am hoping I won't need another one in 2017.

I'm still sorry you have to go back to work so soon, and I hope your body can handle it, Shay!

Glad you are going to get to have a good vacation this year!

Hi Annie,

I am now 5 weeks post op. I got the brace off at the 2 week mark. I also could drive and go back to work at the 2 week mark. My Dr ordered pt at that time as well, but I couldn't get in until the 3 week mark. I go for 30 mins 2 days a week. I have home exercises such as butt squeezes and lying on my stomach and bending my leg up. I am feeling much better the last few weeks. I still cannot put weight on until well I hope this coming Friday. My leg is still numb above my knee though. I cannot tell how hot the shower water is or barely feel my razor. My range of mption is improving though. Hope you are doing ok too.

Have a good week.