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My Second Opinion News

Posted , 11 users are following.

DawnDedee
DawnDedee

The 600 mile round trip was worth it!  The doctor is excellent in every way that matters to me.  After a series of x-rays, two laying down and one standing up in a contorted ballet dance pose with my right hip twisted towards the left, and a full front view of my pelvis and hips, he could see what was wrong.  By the way, this doctor invented that difficult ballet pose because he can tell a great deal with that view.  

The source of my excruciating nightmare is a device that was placed at a wrong angle and it has come loose.  Half of the part that the ball fits into, (sorry I have no tecnical words), is not even touching my pelvis bone, and besides that gap, the ball is out of place too.  He said that he sees more patients for revisions who have first had the anterior approach. Which of course I had  done in both THR's.

My original surgeon never once took a straight on hip and pelvis xray to compare the two sides.  He only took xrays of that one hip.  When this knew surgeon showed me the print outs of the xrays, I could immediately tell the differences between them with my untrained eye!

So, February 27th is my scheduled date for revision.  I am scared because this is going to be more difficult but am relieved to know the facts and that there is light at the end of this long pain train that has stripped my life as I knew it away.  He is going to go in on the side of my hip and thigh.  He feels certain that he can correct this but the surgery will take longer and he will have to scrape away a lot of scar tissue.

REVISION.  Gotta do it because living like this is just not an option for me.  I feel SO HAPPY THAT I GOT MY ANSWER

 

3 likes, 26 replies

26 Replies

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  • Sredni393
    Sredni393 DawnDedee

    Posted

    Appalling that this had gone on without being properly  diagnosed earlier. It can only get better now for you.  I do not know how you survived without adequate pain management. However can understand the addiction probs only too well. I would be frightened to move with all that misplacement of implant ball and socket. Unforgiveable. How is it possible for surgeon to commit such alife changing error. You have lost all those months of your life but you will be able to make up for it in a better quality of life painfree very soon.  You will now have to let us follow you on that journey to full recovery. It will be easy after all you've endured. .... bravissima...
    • DawnDedee
      DawnDedee Sredni393

      Posted

      You are so right!  I am now afraid to move around!  All kinds of what if's are consuming my thoughts.  It makes me feel a bit sick and ANGRY!

      Take care

      Dawn

  • zoemay
    zoemay DawnDedee

    Posted

    Ho there I'm 7 weeks post op on my thr an am walkin now unaided around the house but still using crutches outside an can re a sure u u will benefit from it does take a little slower healing process so jus time an patience but so worth it hang in there ! My hip had to come out cus wad also not in place an was a metal on metal an it was poisoning my blood stream my cobalt levels where 5 times higher than should be x
    • DawnDedee
      DawnDedee zoemay

      Posted

      Zoey, how horrid!  I have heard about the lawsuits over metal on metal.  How sick did the loosening make you?

      Dawn

    • zoemay
      zoemay DawnDedee

      Posted

      It's been a long suffering over the last yrs since me 1st op to now getting it fixed have been in more pain from the hip replacement than before it was done just hope this 3rd 1 now which I'm currently healing from will make a difference x
    • DawnDedee
      DawnDedee zoemay

      Posted

      I am sending you positive energy and you have gone through so much that there is little doubt that you will have all the strength you need to make it through!

      Hugs

      Dawn

  • DonDon71
    DonDon71 DawnDedee

    Posted

    DonDon don't worry everything will work out. A lot of times people or I should say surgeons misdiagnose a good people everyday. They get dead set on what they think the problem is that they are convinced and they even convince there assistants that is what's wrong. When the surgeon goes in and does the thr and that's not what was causing the pain. Well it's sad that all their experience in their field and still they end up disabling a patient for life because of their misdiagnoses. That's what happened to me and all those surgeons doctors and nurses trying to fix the wrong problem. They need to get it right and make it right.

    • DawnDedee
      DawnDedee DonDon71

      Posted

      Agree.  Hopefully what is obvious discrepancy on the xrays so much so that even to my untrained eye it appears true.  I pray for the best.  I am already crippled for life and in excruciating pain that causes me to feel as though I want my whole leg amputated.  

      Such risky business all the way around isn't it?

      Dawn

  • kathee58019
    kathee58019 DawnDedee

    Posted

    Dawn, your story almost leaves me speechless. I am so glad you found the answers but find it appalling what your first surgeon did. I see so many botched hip jobs come out of my local hospital, I would have never considered having my THR here. It took me six months to find someone I could trust and it was worth it. Especially after hearing the stories on this site. Your first doc surely had to know the socket didn't fit when he put it in. You should show him your new xrays, tell him you want your money back, then slap the *&%# out of him! Oh yeah, and file a complaint against him.

    Good luck with your new doctor.

    Kathee

     

    • DawnDedee
      DawnDedee kathee58019

      Posted

      Kathleen I feel that same way!  My new surgeon said he does a great many revisions on the anterior approach out of East Tennessee, MY area!  I wish I had found this site before I chose a surgeon!  

      Right now I am a bit in shock and still processing this.

      Dawn

  • stella97565UK
    stella97565UK DawnDedee

    Posted

    So glad you had a successful consultation and will soon be painfree after so long.  Just think every day is a day nearer to 27th February.  The surgery will take longer and it may take a good while to recover but hopefully any pain you have will be the healing pain and not that nagging awful pain you have been in for such a long time.  I wish you all the very best and I know you will keep us all up to date on your progress.

    Much love,

    Stella

    • DawnDedee
      DawnDedee stella97565UK

      Posted

      Much love to you too Stella.  Now I can go about the business of offering encourage and support to others on here, instead of moaning about my own situation.  I did not ask for pain meds because I managed this long without them.  I plan to continue with physical therapy to gently help gain strength in that leg.  But plan to be double extra careful in everything I do.

      Hugs!

      Dawn

  • DawnDedee
    DawnDedee

    Posted

    A friend drove me to Vanderbilt and she is a nurse, and the benefit of that was that we were both asking questions.  The surgeon said that the position of the cup part of the device is at such an angle that it grates up against the illiopsoas, thus causing my unbearable constant pain.

    He also said that he sees a great many struggling THR patients from East Tennessee who have had the anterior approach and that is MY area.

    I am in a bit of shock and still processing this, yet also feeling relief.  I wish I could have found this site before I chose a surgeon.

    Thank you to all of you on here for your wonderful sharing and caring!

    Hugs!

    Dawn

    • markbeekmans
      markbeekmans DawnDedee

      Posted

      Hello Dawn,

      Sorry for bombarding you with more questions, my English is limited. "the position of the cup part" of the device, you mean your prothesis? What is "cup part"? Illiopsoas I looked up, long live Wikipedia! So it was rubbing against the illiopsoas. Was this all the time or only when you were moving? Or for example when you liehortizontal without moving it was not touching it? I would like to know also if this grating or rubbing occurs more when doing something in particular or not. In my mothers case for example, she is almost fine when waking up but the moment she starts walking or moving the pain begins again thus implicating that some part of the hip in movement may be rubbing, or iritating some part also.

      Please explain what you mean with "anterior approach". I am not sure what you mean by this.

      Thanks so much and again, I am very happy for you.

    • DawnDedee
      DawnDedee markbeekmans

      Posted

      No problem asking questions.  Yes I was referring to the prosthesis and the" cup" part, I mean the socket the ball fits into.  It is not completely attached to my pelvic bone and the one screw holding it in place has also been dislodged to a degree.  Because of this, the ball does not fit well and the whole apparatus is tilted forward against the illiopsoas.  

      I have had pain awaken me in the night, but not often, and laying out flat on my back hurts that hip and thigh at first, and putting a pillow between my knees while I sleep on my side hurts too.  Basically every movement I make hurts.  At some point the heated therapy pool helped me be able to move my leg around, but then that stopped helping.

      The Anterior approach is when they go into the front of the thigh/hip instead of through the outer thigh/hip.  Anterior has less restrictions post op and can recoup faster back to normal.  Like my first THR, it was so easy that no one, including myself, could believe I had had a THR.  The second one was never right from the beginning.

      The surgeon who did the work, took several x-rays of the bad hip afterwards when I would complain of the pain, and said the prosthesis looked perfectly in place.  But he never took a frontal shot of both hips together.  And he did not take the twisted ballerina side view which allowed my new surgeon to see quite a different angle.

      But overall, ALL movement causes me pain from mild to severe and mostly severe.  My desire to  move around ceased.  My body is now weak and out of shape, but the pain is too excruciating.  There is no working through this pain.  Sitting and raising up to stand made me involuntarily scream.  Once I began walking it might ease up  and it might not.  I cannot predict the course or the intensity of the pain.

      Perhaps it would not hurt to have a second opinion for your mother?  

      Dawn

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