Serious Pain 3 Months After Anterior THR

I was hoping the steroid treatment would end this pain in my hip but now it’s worse than ever.

Sharp stabbing pains so severe and sudden I can’t help but shout out in pain on occasion.

To compound things we’re in sw Florida and won’t return hone to Lexington Kentucky until 2nd week of March.

Even getting from the condo to the beach 100 feet away is a dreaded chore.

It’s not an infection—it’s not hot to the touch, no fever, no redness but there is a lump of swelling at the side of the hip.

My surgeon’s PA examined me and said it’s bursidis.  I think he’s correct, so what caused the bursitis specifically and what can be done specifically to remedy this?

Is the top of what’s left of my femur too sharp and cutting nto te bursa or iliopsoas muscle?

I think an mri might help answer that when I get home?

I wonder if I could get in to see an ortho doc here in Florida before we leave in 2 more werks?

Sorry for all the questions, this constant severe pain has ruined our month in Florida. I don’t want it ruining the rest of my life.

Sorry to hear of your debilitating pain.  I know exactly what is going on for you, mirrors exactly what happened for me & a growing Nos of people undergoing anterior hip replacement.

The bursitis is a direct cause of your surgery; the acetabular cup is rubbing on your bursa & causing the inflammation. From my experience & research the cup is protruding & it’s sharp edges are at the root cause. This is either too large a cup or the anterior approach just doesn’t allow the cup to be properly placed. 

I had to have revision surgery 12 months post anterior approach surgery.

Not to be taken lightly.

It’s a huge op

In my case bone graft, screws, cup replacement & cut of psoas to “lengthen the psoas” to prevent further irritation.

I’m 6 months post revision & just coming through this huge surgery. 

I would be asking if you could get just a psoas release. You will need a highly recommended surgeon.

Hip revision would be your last option as it’s such a huge & invasive surgery. 

But at the end of the day you will need a solution to this as it’s debilitating to continue. 

In my case I have reported the original surgeon to our Australian medical board as it’s clearly a case of incompetence.

I literally lost 18 months of my life to this.

Hope this helps.

I’m sure others on here will also be able to add to this.

Wishing you all the very best. 

The hardest part is finding the right surgeon.  They do a good job of keeping their success/failure rates secret from potential patients.

I hope your pain has finally been resolved, in light of all you’ve been through.

Thank you for all the info.

My other hip is getting worse and worse and will need to be replaced as well in the next year because both my femural heads are dead from avascular necrosis bilaterally, and the thought of possibly having all this pain added to my right hip is depressing.

Thanks and best of luck!

My surgeon used a screwless and cement free method where he literal hammered that into my hip to secure it. He said my bone woukd eventually grow over it to hold it permanently in place.

4 hours after my surgery as i was getting settled into my hospital room I leaned over to get something and i heard and felt an audible “pop” coming from the general area of my replaced hip.

I told staff and the surgeon’s PA had an xray taken and everything looks to be in place, but if it popped out of its place it would be hard to see in an xray if it’s in there securly or slightly loose.

I took pics of the xray and looking at it there is a small section of bone protruding out from the hip that was covered by my tendons before surgery, that prevented it from rubbing the bursa directly..

Now with the femural head gone as well as those tendons it is making direct contact with the area of the bursa and I’d be willing to bet it might be the cause of injury to the bursa.

I have had a semi hard lump the size of a tennis ball that’s been cut in half protruding from my side at the location of the hip socket. Ice and anti inflammatory meds have no effect on that odd lump.

Im lucky in that I’ve convinced a surgeon in Louisville ky to see me in early March. He was a pioneer in the anterior approach and surgeons come to him from world wide to learn how it’s done. Not sure if this is good or indifferent but he has done more thrs than any surgeon in the united states.

He only does  hips while most hip surgeons do both hips snd knees.

I wish I’d chosen him to do my thr. 

I sure hope I wont need another invasive surgery but if that’s what it takes to relieve me of this horrendous pain, I’m all in.

Like you, I’m most bothered that I’m losing at least a year of my life to this that was supposed to have me up and about in 3 to 5 months max.

At  64, time is the most valuable thing i possess, no amount of money can give  us an extra day on this earth.

My pain before surgery was constant and bad but nothing like as severe as this pain that is a constant 5 on the 1 to 10 scale with brief spikes to 8 and 9 that are so sudden and severe I often cry out in pain.  It’s like I have a mean kittle gremlin in my hip with an ice pick in one hand and a blow torch in the other and ge stays busy torturing me with both.

Thank you again for sharing your story.

I’m so sorry you are going through such a painful experience. I dont know if you are in a position to see a surgeon out of State, but I had THR Dec 4th, via Superpath by Dr Jimmy Chow in AZ, ( I live in Nevada and opted to have him do my surgery). I’m grateful to have had a very easy recovery.. I think he’s a brilliant, progressive Surgeon, that could possibly help you. Although he does both hips and knees, after my experience I wouldn’t hesitate to see what he could do for you. I truly hope your surgeon in Ky can do something..as you said at 64 we have no time to waste. Sending you love and prayers... Gerri

Hello, I just read your post. My mom is in so Florida as well, she had pain running down her leg and it hurt to walk, she seen an orthopedic surgeon here, they did Mri and she had undergone lumbar back surgery sai d she had two pinched nerves. 5 months later still has pain, now they say she news a thr, via anterior approach. She doesn't know if she wants to have this done. She has avn in one hip but she is 91 years old, and doesn't like taking any Meds stronger than an extra strength Tylenol.Can you give us any more information what she may expect after ...she has good days walking and some days pain so she doesn't know if she should go through this hip surgery.

​There is a surgeon in Boyton Beach, Elvis Grandic, who has been doing Superpath THR. You may want to get his opinion. Superpath is the least invasive way of having hip replacement. 

​God bless your mom at 91!  If it were my mom, and  she can manage with having some good days I would not have her go through the surgery.  From all the comments I have read  on this forum on anterior THR, if there should there be a problem, this could be worst for your mom than living with the current pain she is experiencing. If you want more info on Superpath, just put it in the search bar, as there are quite a few of us who have gone through Superpath both in the States and overseas. 

​Good luck and keep us posted. Gerri

THR is such a massive surgery & at your mums age incredibly invasive & demanding. 

If she’s healthy & as strong as she can be for her age then it’s worth considering a THR.

In my humble opinion I would avoid anterior or Superpath unless the surgeon is incredibly experienced. So much can go wrong.  

Preparation Pre surgery if she decides to have the surgery she s critical. Switching on glutes, marching, adductor stretches are all helpful.

Your mum will need to prepare as rehabilitation rests on the ability to carry out these fundamental moves. 

Takes a lot of physical & mental resilience to recover from hip surgery.

I wish your mum all the best.

SBnKy-

I'd be very interested in learning which places are using stem cell implantation successfully.  Can you provide clinic information so I can research their studies.  I would appreciate it very much.  Hope your pain dissipates quickly.  Thanks.

Jim

I noticed issues a couple of times today, but just waited and later was ok. Sometimes it works better when I'm using the PC instead of the phone.

Hope you can find a solution to the pain that doesn't involve something that causes other issues.

Must be a cause to your bursitis. I myself had this and it turned out the acetabular cup was protruding & rubbing on my psoas which was giving me the bursitis.

The whole steroid route is a complete waste of time in my opinion. You may need a second opinion from another surgeon to look at your X-rays as I believe you have similar symptoms to me.

My outcome was a revision of my hip replacement with a smaller size cup ( not to be underestimated in how severe an option this is) a bone graft & screws & a full tendon release (again don’t underestimate how severe this is- it’s a total cut of your psoas to give it space from your cup, this takes a while to recover.)

I had my original (stuff up operation June 2016 & revision August 2017 with a new surgeon) I am nearly 6 months post revision surgery & recovering well. I would say I am at 75-80% recovered. My surgeon said by 12 months post op I will be fully recovered.

I have diligently worked at my rehab.

I can see light at the end of the tunnel. 

I completely empathise with you & strongly recommend you get a second opinion. 

There is a root cause to your bursitis and that’s what you need to get to the bottom of.

All the very best.

PS I’m in Australia 

I agree that something unknown is causing my bursitis.  The PA I saw today said maybe i “over did it” in regard to activity.  All i do is lay in bed most of the time with pillows between my legs to ease pain a little. I walked about a block 4 days ago but if that caused it st 3 months post op something in there is really wrong.

I guess i should seek out another hip surgeon for a second opinion?

If something was not done correctly during my thr surgery the offending surgeon sure isnt going to admit to it.

Thank you all for responding.

I’m at a loss at what to do.

My lady friend brought  me natural curcumin to take in high dose, it acts as an anti inflammatory.

I think I’m basically screwed. 

Hello SBnKY

Just wanted to share my experience mabe ties in with your specific diagnosis,bursitis. My revision 2017 was due to the primary prosthetic had irritated the area around the hip causing bursitis. The prosthetic had caused the tendons that attach to the muscles to the trochanter to become inflamed and irritated, the femoral component was slightly loose. It was very painful and the bursa was removed at the time of revision .

With such a complex surgery it's a miracle there are not more complications with THR. My surgeon was wonderful.

So sorry you have to endure another surgery. Keep in touch and I hope it's successful and your back on track soon!

Removing the bursa sac is like having an infected tooth removed so glad to have it out! 

Good luck.🤞