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noise in ceramic hip replacement.

Posted , 7 users are following.

juliette39133
juliette39133

I have a ceramic hip replacement done five years ago. From the start it has made alarming noises. It clunks and squeaks. The climbing is noticeable for example when going up the stairs. The squeaking happens when bending forward and sounds like air being forced out of a rubber glove. I have no pain at all.. The surgeon was quite defensive when asked about it. He seemed to think I was making a fuss about nothing and said it sometimes happens but it's ok..He is now retired. The surgeon who did my second hip replacement was quite alarmed when I explained about the noises. He insisted on doing an examination under anaesthetic..However he could find no evidence of abnormalities in the joint. But he advises a yearly x Ray to rule out cracks in the ceramic as there is the chance of ceramic hips shattering. That would be disastrous as removal of the debris is difficult for a revision. So I feel as though I'm sitting on a time bomb . The worst is that there seems to be little known about this. Anyone know about or have experience of this?

2 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • debbie04463
    debbie04463 juliette39133

    Posted

    Sorry to hear about this it does add another concern to the success of a replacement. I have not heard anything in my replacement but my daughter was standing next to me about 12 weeks post op and heard a squeak as I felt a pain shoot in my groin. I am not fully recovered yet and don't have stairs at home. Although I can't go up stairs normally so not tested this out. I shall now start listening to my body when I move! I hope your replacement last the expected term.
  • ros007
    ros007 juliette39133

    Posted

    I take it that you have a ceramic on ceramic hip rather than a ceramic head and plastic socket. I haven't followed the clinical results for a few years but the potential for catastrophic failure of any ceramic has always been a concern.  The manufacturers are much better at getting rid of defects which increase the likelihood and surgeons are getting better at handling the implants and avoiding any surface damage which again increases the risk. I think the medics should have a long talk to the aerospace industry - jet engines suffer from the same sort of failure in the turbines and they have some very sophisticated checking techniques to avoid catastrophic failures in flight. Some of their techniques cannot be used in humans but a bit of cross-talk might give a bright spark in Medical Physics some good ideas.

    If you really want to follow this up then if you hunt back in the 70s and 80s you will find reports BUT they have made improvements since then and the results are now more reliable.

    You have two choices, really delve into the medical literature and the mainstream literature isn't easy to access because the medical libraries tend to restrict outside users and getting reprints can be expensive. Or you can trust your current surgeon and get on with life.  Opting for revision with a functioning hip is a very big decision but I would tend to go for earlier rather than later revision for this one.

    Hope it works out for you.

    • juliette39133
      juliette39133 ros007

      Posted

      Thanks for the info. I'm more worried about the yearly pelvic xrays than anything at the moment. It annoys me that my present surgeon seems to know very little about it.. Surely he should be doing the medical research as he will have the resources to do it.The very experienced surgeon that fitted the ceramic hip lectured all over the world and he said he knows of patients who have ceramics with no problems for 30 years..I got the impression he puts them in younger patients. The nurses told me they are expensive and made me feel quite honoured..I have been pretty busy gardening the last couple of days and it's making a lot of noise. I don't think I would be up for a revision unless it is obviously dodgy.I just live life one day at a time. Who knows what the future is? I could still be crippled or dead even. It would be good to know others who have same experience.
    • ros007
      ros007 juliette39133

      Posted

      Ceramic on ceramic has the longest potential life BUT failures, although rare, can be catastrophic.  So they tend to be used in younger patients where the statistics are favourable.  Unfortunately if the failure is 1% and you are the one it feels like a 100% for you.

      I too would be worried about pelvic Xrays that frequently for many years but I can see your surgeon's point of view; from the prosthesis end. It is a balance of undesirable choices - revision while the prosthesis function is OK carries some risk, revision after catastrophic failure carries more risk and there are other factors which compromise the revision, X-rays carry a different set of risks.  So when do the risks cross-over in favour of revision. I don't know enough to advise you and in some ways it depends on your attitude to the risks involved as well.

      Good luck, I'm out of the field now and couldn't easily find some surgeons who could give you another opinion.

  • suep67
    suep67 juliette39133

    Posted

    Hi there, I'm 48yo and have a full hip replacement done 2 years ago ceramic, i have had nothing but pain since I've had it done besides the high pitch squeaking noise when i bend over and my family have said was that your hip that's making that noise and I'm like yes. Ive told my surgeon numerous times but it never seems to make the noise when i see him. It also makes a clunking noise, I've had xrays and they said it all seems fine but I'm not fine with it, i feel like the doctors are thinking I'm making it up or it's all in my head. I feel it's the biggest mistake of my life having the hip replacement as my life is worse and in so much more pain that they can't explane....
    • mrs_anne80583
      mrs_anne80583 suep67

      Posted

      Hi, I am 63 yrs old and like you, had the hip replacement August 2014 (ceramic, plastic and metal) in the UK.

      The last year I have been complaining to my surgeon as my condition just worsened each month. I just got fobbed off from one doctor to another and neurosurgeons - who all said that it was a 'Mechanical hip problem' and to see the orthopaedic. Now I too squeak like a door/wooden window or creaky floor board. My hip aches like mad. I have to use two walking poles for walking. I am told that because I walk with pelvic forwards and that my back is too straight (no curve), that the position of my prothesis, though perfectly located for a normal person, is not in the right position for me. He did mention that if he had to do the operation again, that he would put the next size up (so do I have the correct size?!). Now, he does not want to do another op and suggests that I see a physio therapist - back to where I was a year ago, having done all the exercises. Like you, I am squeaking and clunking and I have had enough! I'm going for a second opinion in another country. SO I am here in France and seeing the surgeon tomorrow. If need be, I will go to another. However, I have done research, and it looks like they change the ceramic liner for a plastic one - a PAINFUL revision surgery! not much fun!

    • mrs_anne80583
      mrs_anne80583 suep67

      Posted

      Hello, did you see my previous reply to you?

      I found out in France that I have a broken acetabular! I am now going for a Revision emergency operation next Tuesday 12th April. Not looking forward to it at all!

    • debbie04463
      debbie04463 mrs_anne80583

      Posted

      So sorry to hear that you had to go to France . Sometimes surgeons don't like to admit when they are wrong. Not fair when you are telling them something isn't right. All the best for your corrective surgery.
    • suep67
      suep67 mrs_anne80583

      Posted

      Hi Anne, I'm sorry i missed your replies as i haven't been on much as i had a fall down the stairs at home. As soon as i weight bare on that operated leg my knee gives away to the pain and i tumbled backwards down the stairs. I'm glad you found a Surgeon that finally listened to you and found the problem. I'm guessing you've had the surgery now how gig it go?.

      I'm seeing my surgeon this week with recordings of the hoise

    • suep67
      suep67

      Posted

      Ops sorry i was trying to edited and instead it posted. I was trying to say that i see my surgeon this week and i have recordings of the noise my hip makes so i really hop he listens to me this time and does something about this. Its not just the noise its the pain to go with it...

      I hope your surgery went well please keep me posted on how things went... cheers Sue

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