OPERATIONS

hi steph my son had an operation for perthes some 20 yrs ago, he was 7 then and to be honest it was the best thing he could have done, after the op he was in pain but not for long (kids are so resilient) he was in hosp about a week and discharged with cruches and not allowed to put weight on his leg, he was brilliant about 3-4 mths after he went back in to have the plate taken out as it was causeing him some discomfort and after that there was no looking back he played footie, there was nothing he couldnt do. hes a grown man now he still has aching from time to time but he runs 3 miles a day to keep himself fit. so in my sons case everything turned out ok . have a chat to your doc im sure things have improved vastly in 20 yrs, all the best to you both. gail

my son jack could possibly be getting the same op as youre son we stay in aberdeen an we understand it is done different in. different parts of the uk is this so shona

Hi.

My Daughter was diagnosed with perthes in her one hip January 2007. She had just turned 8 years. In March 2007 she was operated on - the op being a \"femoral osteotomy\" (I think),

Anyway, the op involved cutting through the bone just below the hip and placing a metal strip to hold the broken bones together. The hip was angled into the socket so that there was no more pressure and wear on the hip.

My daughter went to theatre and was returned to us approx 3 hrs later. She had both legs in plaster with the bar between them.

Tho she was in pain, the painkillers offered by the hospital were strong enough to relieve her pain.

She was discharged from hospital 4 days later....when she was able to climb up and down the stairs on her bottom.

The plaster was removed about 4 weeks later and she spent a further 6 weeks on crutches - no weight bearing.

Since then she has been in very little discomfort whereas before the op she suffered with severe pain in her knee leading up to her hip.

She is due to return for another op to have the metal plate removed in March this year...although I cannot comment further at the moment, maybe I could add a further posting at a later date.

I dont know if this is likely to be the same procedure which your son is due to have but if so I hope that this information will help you.

I hope all goes well with your son. Elaine

I had perthes a few years ago (i'm 13 years old)

and I had to have a sort of dye put in my leg, not really sure what it done though.

It gradually healed, and then I had to have another operation, just having a metal plate put into my femur, completely painless but also having to have to break the leg, it worked quite well.

But because of my surgery my leg had moved slightly inwards but I had that sorted out last year.

One leg grew longer than the other at one point, so now I walk with a limp.

I'm hopefully having another operation soon where they're going to cut a bit of bone out of my other leg to make the legs equal. if you don't want your son to have the operation then they can give him a shoe raise; simply putting something in the shoe to make him walk normally.

My doctors have told me that because of my perthes that it may lead to arthritis when i'm older.

They also said when I'm older that I will have to have a hip replacement, because of this I can't take part in sport, I have to keep it in perfect condition. If you still want him to participate in sport then swimming is the best one for the leg.

Best of wishes though, it's nothing to worry about =)

<3

hi am stuart i have had perthes since i was 6 yrs old and now am 23, when i was younger i was told that i couldn't have an operation till i was in my late 30's early 40's. weird i know but the type of perthes changes in different ppl that i have found out! the perthes that i have means that my hip bone completly dissolved and died. i had no hip bone. spent 3 yrs in a wheel chair, 5 yrs doing physical therapy. i have been in and out of the hospital like a yoyo! anyway i just had to visit the hospital today as ma hip collapsed on my and i can't put pressure on it, i was informed that i have arthiritus in my hip. i hope thats the correct spelling. anyway i seems that if i was to go for a i would have to go for a full hip replacement. which means i would be in and out of the hospital every 15 yrs or so! i dnt mean to sould like i need sympathy. i just wanted to let u know that i think u's are lucky. i can't even run or do any sports and i will have to give up the type of job that i love doing and go in for a quite enviroment.

take care

stuart

Hi i am 15 years old and I've had Perthes Disease in my left hip since I was 5 years old. I had an operation on my hip when I was 9 yrs old at Aberdeen , I don't know exactly what they did but I do know that they got the blood flowing better in my left leg. I am going to have another operation soon. I try to keep as active as possible but sometimes I over do it so my leg is so sore and feels week, that I have to rest it up for up to a week until its better. Sometimes my leg just gives in so I fall over. I like to do football, rugby, badminton, tennis, cricket, running, jogging, long walks, cycling and skateboarding. I get pain in my left hip but somtimes (not very often) in my right hip, my left knee, my left ankle, my spine and my neck. I also can't sleep at night due to pain and discomfort so I am sleepy in the morning and have missed the school bus, I have to take alot of time of school due to my hip pain. I have pain killers but they dont seem to work so im still in pain and if I take to many I get all loopey. I have this memory foam cushion that I have at school, but I still need to stand up and walk about the class room, all my friends in my class know about my hip and some teachers but the other kids dont know about it and they wonder why I don't join them doing sports sometimes. also my left leg is shorter than my right and so I limp.

I was just telling you about my experience with perthes.

and If there is any body with perthes in shetland could you please say!

Have Just returned from hospital today where my son who is 9 was suppose to have the re-allignment surgery after having a dye injected to see the femur density better - turns out he could not have the surgery as his head had collapse to much - he will now have to go through the whole stages of pertes untill there is a bone there for the surgeons to work with and operate on!

So if you son has this surgery good luck and it will take upto 4 hours I was told today.

sorry to hear that!

I was diagnosed with perthes when I was 3 in the 1970s. I had 6 weeks in plaster and then 9 months in a caliper, but have had no problems since & have played sport to a high level.

My son was diagnosed with Perthes 2 years ago at aged 6.

We initially managed it by no sports / running / jumping which was difficult for an active child.

Through regular X Rays we monitored the condition and could see that the bone was starting to slip out of postion so we took the decision to have the femoral osteotomy procedure.

The operation was a success but the recovery was long & stressful as he was unable to move for 4 weeks, it was like having a 5 stone new born baby.

The great news was that at the X ray 3 months later, we could see that the femeral head was starting to harden and so he was able to resume doing all the things that 9 year old boys should be doing.

We are now waiting for the final operation, the removal of the plate and screws, scheduled for Dec 09.

It has been a very stressful time for the family but with the support of a good surgeon, medical team, school team & family we have got through it.

The lessons are - keep on pushing, the quicker you get seen and diagnosed the better the outcome.

regards

GW