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Revision Update

Posted , 9 users are following.

lynne56429
lynne56429

In follow up, I am 3 hours post spacer placement, emailing all of you. My initial recommendation- be persistent!! I had my initial Right THR 7/3/2017. My left hip THR was done 2012, so I had some perspective. Do NOT  allow anyone to do an anterior approach- results are coming in with no advantage and more concerns. I had a seroma upon awakening from 7/3 surgery (did you know seroma increase risk of infection?) and had an initial debridement under general anesthesia 8/5. 4 weeks of IV antibiotics, still having pain pain pain. Saw a Rheumatologist out of desperation- MRI/ 2 arthrocentesis- the first negative ( nondiagnostic!!!) and the second definite infection- staph aureus, a simple skin bacteria (ha!!) every Ortho place I called would refer me back to the original surgeon and would not even SEE me- Mayo and NY Surgical along with local Med center/school. University of Nebraska- a CONSULT in mid March, no promise on surgery date. FINALLY, University of Indiana- Dr. Brian Keyes did my antibiotic spacer today and then IV antibiotics x 8 weeks then hopefully a new hip- NOT  by anterior approach!!

3 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • hope4cure
    hope4cure lynne56429

    Posted

    Wishing you the best outcome. This is a lot to go thru as many of us hippies always fear infection or the many things that can go wrong.

    this is a tough time and you have made this a experience to share while learning what the treatment for your hip. You can ask for the OR report and find anything causing infection or by asking a specialist to go over the report .

    In my revision the hospital was on a poor rating for infections for THR. The OR area in some cases have huge fans to move airborne materials away from patient . Google OR safety for precise explination.  The prep for surgery you may or may not have experienced is night before surgery shower using kit provided by hospital and wip off skin with skin bacteria cloth . One cloth for each section of skin per instructions. Next am same proceedure. Once at hospital prep again with wipes. This is designed to prevent skin bacteria we all have on our skin to be eliminated to prevent infections. It was never a pre surgery requirement on my two previous hip implants and never a issue with infection. Thank goodness. 

    Keep posting 😊

  • brenda67955
    brenda67955 lynne56429

    Posted

    I had total hip replacement in August with no problems. However i got staph inf and had 2 debriedments

    Im between i got a cement spacer. 12 wks on iv and in rehab. I have been home for 5 weeks. CRP says inf is < 3. Just waiting for aspiration then. New hip. I am stil in pain 24/7. I cannot describe it but i have leg pain as well.

  • Rocketman_SG6UK
    Rocketman_SG6UK lynne56429

    Posted

    I know you have been going through hell, life just isn't fair, we deserve better treatment.

    It does seem to me that generally Anterior might have more problems than Posterior ... even though my botched THR was posterior.

    Let's hope you get a good outcome soon and can get back on the road to a full recovery.

    Best wishes for 2018

    Graham

  • michael11283
    michael11283 lynne56429

    Posted

    Hi Lynne

    I'm 5 months post my replacement. Although they said I'd only be 8-10 weeks with a spacer it ended up being 5 months.

    New hip working well, I am progressing much slower than when I had the original THR but I'm fairly confident that I will get back to normal eventually.

    Hope it all goes well for you.

    Mike

    • michael11283
      michael11283 lynne56429

      Posted

      Lynne

      That I'm afraid is the problem with the UK's NHS. It may be free but there is a waiting list! !

      Mike

    • lynne56429
      lynne56429 michael11283

      Posted

      That’s horrid. They put a spacer in me yesterday that has metal within the cement which provides it with more stability. I can’t tell you how much better I feel already. My 1.5 inch leg length difference is nearly resolved. This pain is far less than the pain I had from the infected hip. It sucks when things go badly- especially when it’s YOU!!
    • michael11283
      michael11283 lynne56429

      Posted

      Lynne

      Mine made a horrid grinding noise when I moved my leg. But I could put weight on it and it wasn't very painful. That said it was MUCH better when I got a new hip.

      The surgeon had to cut away some of my femur which had been damaged by the infection. So my stem goes quite a long way down towards my knee. I went through airport security recently and they were surprised that their scanner showed metal so far down. Still it works and I'm hoping I won't be seeing any doctors other than for checkups for a while.

      Mike

  • deb34069
    deb34069 lynne56429

    Posted

    Stupid question timesmile. How do you know if you have an infection?  I did a yoga class yesterday and rolled on my right side and it felt like a water balloon in my leg.   I had  my revision surgery back in August of 2017, origional surgery March 2018.  I have a little pain where my hip flexors are at.  It hurts mostly when I lift my leg to get into care.   Anyone have this problem too?  I’m thinking this is normally and I’m still healing.
    • lynne56429
      lynne56429 deb34069

      Posted

      Persistent pain needs to be persistently worked up. I’m a doctor, and it has been a near impossible situation even for me. Persistent pain in a replacement can be from many things but infection is one of the worst things it could be. As I said, just had my replacement hardware removed yesterday. Blood tests can reveal infection- sedimentation Rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) might both be elevated. X-ray will NOT show infection. A special metal suppressed MRI (Mavric) May show fluid in the joint suggesting infection. If there is fluid, you need an Interventional Radiologist to tap the joint and send it for culture. I had my initial replacement 7/3/17. I have been advocating for myself the entire time. It is not an easy pathway since after surgeons replace your joint, they really don’t want to hear about pain or problems in general. All I can tell you, from this ordeal- it’s depressing, but don’t give up. You know your body more than anyone- if you feel something is wrobg, seek a second, third opinion. Don’t stop until you have an answer. Good luck and I’m here if I can help
    • michael11283
      michael11283 deb34069

      Posted

      Deb

      As Lynne says, persistant pain is one symptom. I also had a lot of redness around my scar (which I didn't notice as it's not on the front of my leg and I don't shave my legs or put cream on biggrin)

      I'm sure you generally can't see the infection on an x-ray but in my case you could see the effect of the infection (It must have been there for two or more years) and you could see the bone damage.

      But I would have thought your revision should be pretty well healed by now.

      I do hope it isn't an infection but get it checked out.

      Mike

    • brenda67955
      brenda67955 michael11283

      Posted

      I am learning a lot bout fections. I had 103 fever horrendous pain, vomiting and hip was red hot. The staph had travelled to my bloodstream.
  • deb34069
    deb34069 lynne56429

    Posted

    Thanks everyone for replying.  I don’t think it’s infected.  But maybe something else is going on.  I thought it was still just healing up idk.  I guess I’ll make an appointment with doctor🙄.  

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