Right THR has made my right leg longer than my left.

its only been two weeks. all the symptoms you have been feeling is very normal. don't listen to the physical therapist. they have no way to accurately measure leg length and they have no business doing it. . . they are a therapist. measuring is done by X-ray only to see the ball joint and measurements are taken way before the incision is closed by the surgeon. ask for your op report the measurements will be there and put your mind at ease. also when you go in for the 6 week check up ask for a measurement then. no ones legs are exactly the same length in the beginning before osteo. mine are not the same either. its normal.

I have had 3 hip surgeries and each one has always felt like the Op leg is longer after surgery . as suggested to jodi get new shoes , arches and the new hip will have a healthy new gate. walk heel to toe smooth out your gate and it will all slowly fall into place in time as you heal.

good luck on your journey to a better quality of life .

I saw the surgeon yesterday and he said I should not wear a shoe lift on the non-op leg. He said another six weeks and both legs will even out. Although I am 8 weeks post-op he wants to wait another 6 weeks before doing an x-ray. I haven't been on pain meds for about two weeks now but the spasms make me want to reconsider. I'm walking mostly without a walker or cane but it's hard work with the stiffness in the op area. I am definitely going to get new shoes. Thanks for the kind words.

I had a hip replacement nearly 5 years ago at 63 and never had a pain free day since. Part of the reason is that I feel when walking/standing that one leg is shorter than the other. I find myself trying to lean to the left and onto my unoperated leg. The result of that is that I now have painful arthritis in my left knee. I asked my consultant at 6 weeks about this and so with me lying on a bed he said I had a 5/8 inch difference and to get my left shoe built up by this amount. So this was a consultant who really didn't have the time of day for me telling me at 6 weeks to get quite a depth built into the sole of my shoes.

I decided to get my shoes built up by 1 cm, a bit less because I was born with one hip higher than the other. Not as much as 5/8" as only some of the difference is due to the new hip. I was told when much younger that I should not try to correct all my life long difference. Just slip a thin heel raise into my running shoes.

I saw a very rude and nasty consultant a year ago who accused me of lying about my pain because I forgot to tell him at the start that I still get pain in my groin. He said he didn't know anything about arthritis, a lie because it is one of his areas of speciality on his website, but he supposed I could have a back operation! All a great shock to me as I have never been to a doctor about arthritis or back. His junior doctors said I needed a cortisone injection for trochanteric bursitis, but he just told me I had to be a glass half full and that he didn't want to see me again.

I have since seen a orthopedics doctor/chiropractor who has reassured me that there is nothing wrong with my back and my problem is to do with my twisted pelvis and higher hip. I was never a good candidate for a hip replacement and all he can do is ease off my symptoms of pain and discomfort in my groin, thigh back and front, every so often.

Hi sylvie,

Your post is also very important to bring attention to , that there are different types of LLD and the protocols for a solution. Very good you are doing well now that the LLD is solved. I am very familiar with lifts I have tried them . Of course there are some cases that lifts and shoes are required after hip replacement. Usually due to congenital defects, Rheumatoid arthritis or low bone density .

Bone grafts are sometimes used to support the implants and many manufacturers design components for leg length differences. In some cases it's not always recommended for all patients. There other protocols available for LLD are lifts inside shoes or a small amount of sole is added on the bottom of one shoe .

Surgeons have many protocols designed before during and after surgery to present the patient with the best outcome possible for LLD.

Hip replacement surgery has been in practice since the 1960's and is perfected by well Qualified surgeons to give us a better quality of life and continued mobility.

Sorry but my problems are not solved. I am helped by getting the soles of my shoes split, I live in trainers and 1 cm added but I still lurch to one side. I cannot stand still for any length of time as all my weight goes on my unoperated leg and knee. As I said that knee is now showing a lot of arthritis on scans. There is nowhere to go on this or the pain in my groin and the pain down my thigh back and front. The consultant I saw totally humiliated me, a tactic he employs if he knows he can do nothing bar another replacement. All I can do is keep going, walk as much as I can, take the painkillers and see the chiropractor when it becomes to stiff and painful.

I would not say I have better quality of life, I am merely one of those for whom the operation was not a success and no doubt was never going to be, if only the man who did the operation had talked to me. My mother had 4 replacements and the 2nd failed at 5 years. She believes it was always too loose, but in the way doctors close ranks no one would tell her what had gone wrong. She nearly died having the hip taken out as it broke and she suffered a huge blood loss.

Hi sylvie123,

No need to be sorry.. your in a tough place . I totally get your frustration . However medical coverage there is different than here. So I am not sure how you can push for revision. Clearly you cannot continue with severe pain and risking more damage to the area from the primary surgery . Can you see a private practice surgeon?

I had a revision after one hip surgery went south. There were so many issues and nothing showed up on all the tests, except heavy metal blood tests.

My complications were found during surgery which included corrosion and fretting (wearing away of components), which allows shards of metallic components to leach into the tissues & bones in my bloodstream. The side effects of metals fretting from hip implants can cause a condition known as metalliosis, also a type of metal poisoning. All my metal tests were higher than mid range due to chromium and cobalt levels. It's the metal ions in surrounding tissues can result in inflammation leading to an immunological response causing swelling and pain.

Also had...Necrosis (tissue and bone death).The metal debris in the joint lead to osteolysis, also more bone loss.

Another issue was a fracture in my greater trochantor from the loosening of the implant component due to osteolysis.

During revision also had a osteotemy a controlled cutting thru the femor bone in 3 places to remove the primary implant and replace with a larger press fit component.

The removal of the primary metal ball and cup was replaced with a ceramic ball and new cup. This procedure lead to Neuropathic pain which is a broad category of complications after hip surgery. It has caused numbness, tingling and shock like pain in foot and toes.

There were many other complications and took 3 years to get back to walking .

However the wire cable system used during revision surgery to hold the new femur component and bone in place had tilted pulling the leg to a 45' position to the left. This has had a huge tripping effect and have had three serious falls since. The only way to fix the angle of the leg facing 45' left & toes pointing out would be another revision. Needless to say this has effected my knee and ankle. Both knees and ankles have arthritis.

My hope for you is to get this sorted out soon, so you can have a better quality of life.

There needs to be a protocol for hip patients who have suffered injury from hip surgery. You are not alone this is more common today than ever before, due to the increased number of patients.

Hi Barbara - You described my aches and pains perfectly. I had PT but cancelled after a few visits because I felt I didn't need someone to watch me do the same, repetitive exercises. I am doing exercises every day and slowly seeing progress. Went to the surgeon yesterday and he will do the first post-op x-ray in another 6 weeks. When you don't know what to expect or just how your body will react to surgical trauma, it's kind've scarey, especially when you're 76 and most doctors give the impression that you're just too old to spend a lot of time explaining things. Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.

hi Jodi,

after the 6 week check up x-rays are taken to verify that the bone growth has secured the new hip components.

you are very wise to say no to PT. our hips dont need a lot of pt to heal. just walking and dont overdo. to many hippies think that by doing more exercises that they will heal faster. not true soft tissue takes its time as well as bone. they over do and suffer set backs.

at about 3 months you will be thru short term healing. the next 6 months is long term healing. 8 months you will be walking very well and forgetting about hip surgery .

we are about the same age and i believe at any age hip surgery is scary. it takes a few weeks for mind and body to adjust to the new components replacing bone. and soft tissue has taken the longest to heal. once you begin to walk without aides confidence builds and each day becomes a testament to your bravery and skill to get thru this time. congrats on your new shiny hip and to a better quality of life and many more years of mobility.