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Failed Labral Tear Surgery

Posted , 30 users are following.

GGAZ
GGAZ

hello! I am new to this board. I injured my left hip last December. Took some time to diagnosis but an X-ray and MRI found a Labral tear, bone spurs and cam pincer impingement. Also to my surprise severe arthritis. Had arthoscopy surgery in June and haven't been able to recover. Still on crutches and am told I now need THR. I am very discouraged to say the least. I have been in constant pain since December and even more so since my surgery. I don't see my new surgeon until next week and probably am looking at the end of Oct for my hip replacement. End of my rope!  I am 59 and USED to be active. I can't do a thing and am gaining weight from inactivity. Any advice on how to cope?

6 likes, 79 replies

79 Replies

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  • Kate53CornUK
    Kate53CornUK GGAZ

    Posted

    And you thought you were on your own? I'll echo more or less everything and eventually had my first THR on 30th June.  I am 52, was super fit, labral tears, arthritis, misery, moaning, weight gain, end of tether........surgery!!!

    All fine now, can't believe the difference and realise that I was in more of a state than I thought before. The doc even offered me anti-depressants to get me through.

    Get through it I did and 7 weeks later life has changed dramatically. I am seeing my consultant for my check today and will be hounding him to do the other one asap.

    Go for it GGaz. It is life changing - there will be things you won't be able to do after and the first few weeks are tough but you'll cope, you really will

    • GGAZ
      GGAZ Kate53CornUK

      Posted

      Thanks!  Wow 52 and I thought being 59 was "too young". Well at least that's what my Doctors kept saying!  You sound like you are doing great. Good luck with the next one👍
    • Kate53CornUK
      Kate53CornUK GGAZ

      Posted

      Yay, we are on the 'younger' side. I just like to think that I was so fit that I wore them out quicker. Being 'young' you still want some quality of life and I would rather be mobile and active now. I will be happy to sink into a wheelchair when I am 80! 

      I sympathise with your need to get it over with now and would suggest emailing your consultants secretary once you have seen the surgeon, and ask for a cancellation.

      Good luck

  • mic71403
    mic71403 GGAZ

    Posted

    Hi Ggaz,

    Greetings from Exeter - sounds like you have really been in the wars - sorry you are thus in such pain. sounds like the injury and the arthritis together make for a horrible combination....

    All I can say is that the THR I had five months ago, like my earlier hip resurfacing on the other hip a decade ago  (which may be an alternative op?) have both reallly saved my life-  so I have a life>

    i'm now back at gym, swim, jog, and feeling pain free and happy. Yes, tis a big op; and exercise and rest, BOTH, after  in recovery, do make it all worth while. I fought against the recent op, in the end really had to have it. and NO REGRETS.

    paix

    Mic

     

    • GGAZ
      GGAZ mic71403

      Posted

      Thank you for your encouraging words. I am actually getting excited rather than depressed to get this over with. Wish it could be done tomorrow!  I think I may be able to sleep a bit better tonight. 

      Wishing you a great recovery😀

      I

  • juliet_81364
    juliet_81364 GGAZ

    Posted

    Sorry to hear about all your pain GGAZ, I understand like we all do here!  I'm 44 and had my LTHR in January ...  I was in a bad old way, but now, no more grinding OA pain thank you very much!  THR is the way to get an active (or any lifestyle back) if your hip is worn out... A miracle really! 

    Also I put on a lot of weight due to inactivity through pain and have lost a fair bit post surgery .... Through just being able to be more active now and the desire to eat more healthily to combat all the toxins etc from 'cocktail' of drugs that I've had to take over last couple of years.

    You too will be active again, don't despair!

    Juliet x

    • GGAZ
      GGAZ juliet_81364

      Posted

      Thank you Juliet!!  It is wonderful to hear all of these success stories.  After my failed labral teat surgery I was beginning to think things may never get better.  Thanks for your kind words!

      😄

  • renee01952
    renee01952 GGAZ

    Posted

    Hi GGAZ --

    well, aren't these the best friends you can have !!!!!    loving, supporting and funny too ...we will be here all the way and you will be one of us after your surgery ... I promise cheesygrin-

    take care, relax and know that all will be well....

    warm hug

    renee

    • GGAZ
      GGAZ renee01952

      Posted

      Thank you renee. So happy to have found all of you. 😄😄

      warm hug back

      GG

  • glynell
    glynell GGAZ

    Posted

    Hello, I'm not sure any of you who posted in this discussion still get notified of new posts, so I'm hoping I can get a reply to my questions.

    58 female, had hip arthroscopy 2013. 3 months good recovery, then sudden acute pain. Months of disability. Nothing shown on mri, xray. Steroid injection in hip joint didn't help. 2 hip surgeons said they don't know what's causing the pain.

    Surgeons say they aren't confident that hip replacement will be successful because I have only mild arthritis. They say replacement is indicated only for moderate to severe arthritis. They say when replacement surgery done on patients who had failed hip arthroscopy, and who have bad pain, but only mild arthritis (like myself ). outcome Is poor.

    So I am stuck in pain for years, and last 3 months even pain Meds aren't controlling the pain. I'm a model patient, not a wimp, don't want to go back to a disabled life. I was diagnosed with labral tear and fai in 2009. So many years dealing with this!

    Question 1: those of you who had replacement after hip arthroscopy, did you have moderate to severe arthritis? (And therefore it was a no-brainer for surgeon to recommend hip replacement? )

    Question 2: when you got hip replacement after arthroscopy, did your surgeon report "what went wrong " with the arthroscopy? Such as remaining impingement, or problems inside the joint? I'd love to learn what hip replacement surgeons are seeing when they look at "old joint" before inserting new implant.

    Thanks to any info you can share.

    • jeffharo
      jeffharo glynell

      Posted

      Hello glynell. Like many others, I'm having hip issues and I stumbled onto this site and read your post, and I have to tall ya, I could have wrotten that for you as we have the exact situation and concerns. I am hopeful others see this and reply, and GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!! Please come back and let us know what happens and I am rooting for a successul outcome for you.

    • glynell
      glynell jeffharo

      Posted

      Hi Jeffharo,

      Thanks for your good wishes. So far I have nothing new to report. I'm sorry you're in the same boat with me, stuck in pain with no solution in sight.

      Next week I have appts with 2 hip surgeons who are outside of my HMO (Kaiser Northern Calif). The only hope I have at this point is that they will have a different perspective on my case than I've heard from surgeons at my HMO.

      The bitter truth may be that I am doomed to severe chronic pain indefinitely. Or an alternative bitter truth may be that I find a surgeon that thinks it's worth a chance to do hip replacement in hopes that will help... but that might fail too.

      Bottom line:  Crapshoot

      I hate to be a pessimist. It's not my nature. But I have to look at raw data: my pain started in 2007, 3 years to get correct diagnosis of labral tear and FAI, failed hip scope in 2013. All in all, I've had about 50 good days (not great days, just good enough days) in the last 9 years.

      As many orthopedists quote:  "Humans lived on average to only 40-45 years until about 100 years ago. So we're now dealing with parts that are much older than were designed for"  Which makes sense that I can't argue with. It sucks, but it's true.

      I'll write again after my 2 consults next week. If I learn something new & encouraging, I'll be very happy to share it here!

    • jenny03900
      jenny03900 glynell

      Posted

      Hi, sorry to hear you didn't have a successful outcome from your hip athroscopy. I have had the same experience and after 18 months am now having a hip replacement, hopefully in the next few weeks.

      Before the arthroscopy I had been diagnosed with moderate arthritis (actually the diagnosis varied from 'normal wear and tear' to moderate) in both hips but with a cam and pincer present in the left one which it was decided was the reason for the pain I was in on the left. The operation was done on 18th March 2015 and initially I was hopeful that it had worked, and the remaining stiffness and lack of range of motion was to do with healing. However I was still in pain and continued to be, despite best efforts to exercise and do my rehab physiotherapy programme. Finally, a few weeks ago, I had a follow up x-ray via a different consultant orthopaedic surgeon and it now appears I have a severely degraded hip with no space whatsoever, so the crunching and grinding I've been experiencing is because the bones are rubbing together! No wonder it hurts! My surgeon said there was no other treatment feasible other than a hip replacement. Frankly I'm so tired of being in pain - after only two years of it, I can only imagine how awful it must be for you after so many years - that I'm actually looking forward to getting the operation. 

      I'm 65 and have always been active, in particular I was a runner and loved to do marathons, half marathons and lots of road and off-road races. Don't know if I'll be able to run again but just being able to walk without limping would be a start!

      Really hope you get some answers soon. Do let us know how you've got on.

    • glynell
      glynell jenny03900

      Posted

      Hi Jenny,

      I know this sounds weird for most people - but Congratulations  that you have severely degraded hip joint!  So you're on your way to total hip replacement surgery, which is very likely to get you back to the life you want.

      Of course, the surgery is "major" surgery, and not easy to get through. I don't mean to make light of it. I watched my sister and 2 friends have that surgery and it was rough for them. But my sister was wearing high-heeled sandals 2 months after her hip replacement surgery, and goes to spin classes and hikes steep trails now.

      I'm glad you got an answer. Being stuck in limbo for years, with increasing pain, is a nightmare.  And I have to wonder: How many other people are in the same boat with no answers?

      I hope you will post again as you go through the process of hip replacement surgery. Can you tell me where you are located? I'm curious if you have been referred to a hip replacement surgeon yet.

      Very best wishes!

    • jenny03900
      jenny03900 glynell

      Posted

      Hi glynell,

      Thank you! I know, I am actually thrilled that it's now bad enough to need surgery - a fact that someone who isn't in constant pain would find very surprising. Luckily most of my friends are runners and/or nice, sympathetic people, so I haven't had any shocked comments smile

      I think you're in the US aren't you? I'm in Manchester in the UK and fortunately I'm able to have this procedure done under the NHS so it won't cost me anything. The surgeon who is doing my operation is someone I know through my running club and is the person who ordered the x-rays when I saw him last week. He is just waiting for the hospital to fix the date, but (unusually and very fortunately) he doesn't have a long waiting list and I should able to have the op done in October or early November at the latest. I'm very lucky!

      I know the operation and its aftermath won't be pleasant, but I went through the arthroscopy so I know more or less what to expect and this time I have more certainty that the procedure will be successful and that if I do everything I'm asked to do, there's a good chance I'll be painfree in a few months. I can barely imagine what that is like! 

      I feel that I have been very very fortunate to run into my surgeon (quite literally, he was running and I was attempting a slow jog!) a few weeks ago and he suggested I ask my GP for a referral to see him. The NHS has its critics but we are very lucky to have it and I for one am extremely grateful.

      Best wishes to you too. I really do hope that you can find someone to answer your questions and provide you with a solution.

      Jenny

    • renee01952
      renee01952 glynell

      Posted

      hi glynell,

      I am so sorry to read this and can't help but get angry about these people around you who are telling you this bull about the average life span - 

      don't believe them - medicine has advanced so much and still is -

      I hope that soon the right people will come in to your life and will be able to help you - 

      don't give up hope -

      big warm hug

      renee

    • mic71403
      mic71403 jenny03900

      Posted

      Hi Jenny

      One day you'll really be pain free...

      And well do a 5K Parkrun together

      Mic

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