Femoral nerve damage after THR

Debbie, please see if your Dr will try (GRALISE ) it's the only thing that helped with the nerve pain.

Debbie I was at the doctor this week and was diagnosed with the same thing that you have my hip doctor tells me when he did his surgery he was nowhere near that area that I wouldn't have this problem and it may regenerate itself due to the fact I had a nerve study done have you heard from anyone how long it takes I am out of surgery now 4 months and it's only got worse the nerve doctor told me if it goes longer than a year there's probably not much chance do you know much about this

You need a second opinion. Insist on being referred to someone else. You might request a referral to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.

Hi Debbie, I'm in the same boat! Had my left hip replaced December & worse then ever! My symptoms are low back pain, buttock pain, thigh pain , both knees hurt ,calf pain & both feet hurt!! Going to a neurologist( if they ever call me back for a appointment) called 3 weeks agoI had a MRI of my lower back 3 days before my hip replacement & it said moderate to severe stenosis in L4-L5 & nerve impingement at L3!! I just want to rule out my spine issues & pray to God it's not Femoral Nerve Damage after my hip replacement( I don't know if femoral nerve damage ever goes away??It better I'm at the end of my rope as they say!! Want My Life Back after 15 months of horrible pain& pain meds???? Keep in Touch& let me know how your doing! Take Care& God Bless You& sending prayers your way !!???????? Carol

Debbie, I had THR 3 years ago. I was diagnosed with a femoral nerve palsy

at my 8 week post surgical visit. I have had very little improvement. My gait is horrible. It took me a year to get off a walker for a cane. In the three years of partial paralysis, I have fallen 12 times, my quality of life has been seriously compromised, my husband's health has suffered a downward spiral. PT was not successful. After a year and a half I could no longer afford the huge co pays for it and it seemed to aggravate the numbness even more.approximately 50% of my surgical leg is numb from groin to ankle in the front of the leg . I had a normal EMG before my surgery. Five months after my surgery my surgeon finally ordered an EMG and it was abnormal- confirming a femoral nerve palsy. My surgeon kept saying it would resolve. It never has after three years. Also I had to have four transfusions after the surgery, one was 10 hours before discharge to a rehab facility. My hematocrit kept plunging. I constantly complained of weakness and numbness in hospital. Femoral nerve palsy is considered a "never" " event legally. It's rare, avoidable and discussed very little.

hi Debbie - i know you posted this a while ago but I had the same thing happen to me and did recover substantially. If you want more info or to get details, perhaps I can help or at least cheer you up a bit.  Once thing I can suggest is to get any excercise that works for you.  email if you'd like to talk. Barb

Hi Debbie, no xray, ct scans, mri scans will show any nerve damage, the only way to see if there is any damge is by having QST, done, i waited 2 years to have the QST done and that was done at hammer smith hospital some 300 miles away from me each way, i had the test done and i have alot of damge in my left leg and now i will be having lidocain infusion to help with the pain.

if i was you i would ask for the QST .

good luck and take care

Hi. Im not sure if this post is still active in Dec 2016 but i am 25 years old and had alot of leg pain i wont go into, its a long story. But eventually they found out what was wrong and operated. I could have lost my life or v.high chance of loosing my leg. My femeral artery had started like melting away so they had to tie it off at the top and the bottom. I have an open wound there now a huge hole and i had stitches above and bellow. But i did have a numb toe inside of the to 1/2. 3/4 of my calf side/back of my knee like slicing an orange in half sort off all the left inner side and some way up my thigh is numb. I still have feeling but ever so wierd it feel horrible to wash and touch. It was numb before my OP though my leg was so swollen and hard (could have ruptured) that we all think something was pressing on the fem nerve causing the problem since my op i have pretty much all my feeling back in my big toe but leg still strange. Thing is since yeasterday its started to feel kind of like a bad bruised feeling. Im not sure if this means jts reparing or something is wrong. I cant walk and couldnt before my op. PT got me on a zimmer now on crutches but i put off going to the toilet right out side my bay as its painful. Any advice appriciated. Hope everyone else is feeling okay now xxx

Same problem here...i had a spine fusion L5 / S1...woke up with numbness in inner thigh, knee pain...its been 6 months, surgeon says its normal...ITS NOT NORMAL! Seek an attorney

Hi

Thanks for writing about this as I too am going through something similar. My hip surgery was in June and I am still having the inability to climb stairs, no muscle strength in my thigh and numbness around my knee that gets worst depending upon the way I sit or lay down.

After two nerve tests it has been determined that I have nerve damage and the femoral nerve is definitely not working. I just had my third back surgery two weeks ago due to the screws becoming loose from the March 2014 surgery. I had hoped it might cure this leg issue too but no such luck!

I am so frustrated because the surgeon that did this hip surgery was and has been of no help to me

All he does is shakes his head and says he doesn't know why because he didn't touch my nerve. He keeps saying he went in through the side so it's impossible. Meanwhile I read the operative report that states there was a cysts that had to be removed and a bone Graff-well hmmmm seems to me there was much more going on in the operating room. Also the spinal that they never should have given me InThe first place took four times as long to wear off and I was unable to get up and walk the first night in the hospital which is unusual

The surgeon just appeared to want to protect himself rather than work with me to find answers so I could get well. Thanks a lot-right there is guilt! And definitely a jerk. Thanks to a fabulous PT I made progress but unfortunately not enough and then the back.

The darn surgeon didn't care when I went back to work, didn't care if I drove even though my leg was so numb I couldn't lift it to press on the gas or break. I have not reflect but that didn't matter. He gave me a work note with no restrictions and able to drive after three weeks when it was clear I couldn't

Thankfully I am not dumb and was able to find rides. I went back to work I August ) School Principal) but did not drive on my own until November which time I drove short distance with two feet.

So anyway-I am so sorry to hear your story but want you to know that you are not alone.

My question is-did anyone tell you of this risk before this hip replacement surgery? They did not tell me. I know of risks and have been in one that almost cost me my life. But they did not tell me about this. Second I am not sure it will ever come back given what I have learned via my PT and the nerve test doctors and now after having the 3rd back surgery.

Oh I know hard work and determination will help you survive but that was not what I was counting on when I went into this hip surgery.

Finally I am curious what type of support I am legally entitled to given the many facts I am learning that were not shared not before and afterwards nor has there been an once of concern on the doctor's part to help me recover or at least deal with.

Sincerely Appreciate you listening to me as I know your goal was more answers. Please know if I find any you will be the one I share them with.

Pam5826

I had  THR in October.  My left leg is still numb at top and the lower part is now numb sensation after a weakness in it last month.  I does not hurt but scares me because of balance.  If I walk  much I am in  pain and discomfort.  My surgeion did another MRI four weeks ago and says implant looks great.  He said  it will take time to heal and/or it could be my back and which I do have some arthritis.  He recommended me to a back surgeon. I am numb in my left leg  I am not keen on anymore surgery!   I wonder if perhaps I should give it more time to settle down..it has been 3 months. Do nerves return to normal after time?