Superpath Hip Replacement 3 weeks post op
Posted , 21 users are following.
hello everyone
im nervous about posting on here as I never in my life thought I'd be on a forum for patients so in some ways it is good I've learnt some humility as always thought I was indestructible as I've always been very sporty playing a lot of tennis, football, rugby and cycling as well as regular gym sessions.
Im 42 and last year after persistent groin pain that wasn't overly painful but nonetheless noticeable and wasn't going away after about a year I had an MRI scan, the results of which showed a FAI and laberal tear. My consultant told me the space between the ball and socket at one point was about 0.5mm and therefore I was too far gone to even attempt keyhole surgery and that I needed a THR of right hip. Being the cautious sole I am I had a couple of other opinions by consultants all of whom said same thing.
I kind of didnt take it too seriously as i wasnt in great pain and was still very active, playing a lot of tennis running and cycling. The most noticeable thing was during sexual intercourse in missionary when I could feel a grinding sensation in the groin and clicking. Obviously that became somewhat of a passion killer.
As time went on the pain was pain was getting more noticeable during tennis and my consultant suggested cortisone injections and sinvisc plus. The cortisone injections did great but only lasted around 3 weeks per injection. I didn't notice any great difference with the sinvisc plus.
Still up to around april/may this year I was still playing a lot of sport and walking fine. But then in June during a very brutal game of tennis while hitting a running forehand I experienced an almighty crunch in the hip and a bit of pain, not too much as I'd only just had last cortisone shot. This was a Saturday when the crunch happened.
No problems on saturday evening or sunday Sunday but the Monday when at work after being seated when I went to get up I was in agony and couldn't move. Hip/groin locked.
Since then this sensation continually happened if I bent my leg then tried to straighten it. I had an injection into a tendon that my consultant said was getting trapped and that did work but only for two weeks. I was at the stage where getting off toilet was a massive challenge. Once unlocked it wasn't too bad. I could walk ok and pretty quick. I noticed if I did no sport (or sexual relations) the locking subsided but as soon as I was more active the issue came back. My consultant told me it was a very personal choice when to have a THR but my quality of life was being affected and the aim of a THR was to improve that quality. He then told me about the Superpath technique which I loved sound of and he was one of very few surgeons who did this. I elected to have the super path and it was done on September 15.
Im 19 days post op and can walk with one crutch pretty quick but when I try without a crutch I'm struggling as hip is stiff. I can bend leg upwards well and outwards and can squat. Obviously no locking now.
my concern is I've seen you tube videos of people able to cross their legs and walking with no aids at all and in no pain. I have no pain when lying down or sitting down save for a bit of soreness where the wound is but my main worry is I do get a lot of groin pain when exercising or trying to lift my leg keeping it straight. Also when I walk the groin hurts and while other pain seems to be getting better the groin doesn't at all.
I go for my first physio appointment in two days time and I'm worried that this groin pain means something isn't right. I've gone into so much detail as wanted to explain how I was before the operation. Has anyone had the superpath and if so what were your experiences at this stage. I've read somewhere that the illopsis tendon can be damaged and of course when I was locking up before the THR I wonder if that tendon took some damage.
sorry if this is really long winded but it's all very stressful as I've never so much had a filling in my teeth let alone major surgery so I'm not sure where I should be and what I should be doing.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
7 likes, 395 replies
Jodi-France gary45745
Posted
Please have a look at this thread
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tenotomy-of-the-iliopsoas-tendon-release--553648
What you have in your groin is tenonosis. Tendonosis mean that first you had tendonitis and that never healed so you now have a permanent condition or tendonitis.
Think of tendonitis as little tiny rips and tears of your tendon. When you get that pain you should stop doing anything that brings on that pain, you have to let the tendon heal. If you don't (like I didn't) you just make the rips and tears deeper and you develop scar tissue, the scar tissue is what is causing your pain.
If you are aware early when you first have the injury and you lay off it, it will heal. However based on what you described your life is like and the types of activities you did and it has now been over 7 months, you are past healoing and are dealing with the scar tissue. These muscles/tendons are not weak, exercising them more doesn't "loosen" them it makes it worse, which is why your most excellent physio said NOT to aggravate that tendon. You want to read up on Iliopsoas tendonitis and Tendonitis of the psoas muscle.
Best of luck to you, I wish you well.
Jodi-France
Posted
Let me put it this way, the tendons and muscles are not weak, they have been injured. If you can think of it that way iy will help you, but I bet you are going to need another small surgery. I had tendonosis of my IT band which runs on the outside of your hip, from the top of the hip to the knee. Thank GOD dring my hip surgery my physician fixed that. My tendonosis was more debilitating than my hip, and I bet you can relate to that. I'm not sure what you have going on in the groin which tendon but you probably do have tendonosis of one of them.
gary45745 Jodi-France
Posted
yes ive read up on it and the symptoms do seem exactly what I've got due to the no pain at rest.
It seems relatively common sense as well. Pre op that tendon was catching the inflamed joint constantly so is bound to have had rips to it. I'm trying to not do flexion but it's hard to avoid any flexion at all.
The drawback with the SuperPath approach is as it's minimally invasive I suspect the surgeon may not have seen the damage to the tendon as he may have done with the Posterior approach.
gerriberri66 gary45745
Posted
Hi Everyone, I am scheduled to have SuperPath THR on 12/4. Been reading everything I can online about everything relevant to the Surgery. Am happy to have found this sight. I'm actually going out of State to Phoenix to have the surgery done by Dr Jimmy Chow. I flew out to meet with him last month and according to him, patients feel so good after surgery that they overdue things and then call him complaining of pain etc 3-4 weeks after surgery. When I asked him what I should do after surgery ( I will be recuperating in a hotel), he said I want you to just relax. I can do all normal activities but he wants me to just sit on the couch and relax. I'm 62, very active (except for limits due to hip issues). Have never had ANY kind of surgery in my life. Maybe my expectations are high as well from everything I have read, but when I come home, I have planned to take off the month of December from work if need be. (Thank goodness for Netflix and binge watching! lol). Any info you can share with me would be much appreciated. I wish you all a speedy recovery!!!!
RichardKen gerriberri66
Posted
I do hope your surgery and recovery are all that you are expecting. Looking forward to hearing how it all goes.
Cheers Richard
gerriberri66 RichardKen
Posted
gary45745 gerriberri66
Posted
Hi gerri
i had the superpath operation done in the U.K. By Mr Cronin who is one of the very few in Europe to do the procedure. He is a fabulous surgeon.
I am now 5 weeks post op today and not on crutches at all. I have groin pain still but groin pain was my issue for two years before the operation and my hip eventually locked after sitting down so those tendons were badly worn and my physio said she doesn't expect them to recover quickly as I was doing a lot of sport I.e tennis and cycling before the THR.
I am 42 and fit and sporty. After the operation I still had groin pain and a very painful bottom on side of operation. However that is normal and the next day I was walking on two crutches. It was hard getting out of bed and lifting operated leg but during my three Days in hospital the pain got less and it was easier slowly to lift leg out of bed. By the third day I could easily go up and down stairs on two crutches.
when I got home first two weeks I took it very easy. Mainly sat on a soft sofa with legs raised. Day by day the bruising in the buttock got better and my walking with two crutches got better and by about the 10th day I could walk with one crutch although physio told me to use two so I don't lean on my good side.
By end of week 3 I was able to walk without crutches albeit with significant pain on operated hip which was more tight muscles. I could put full weight on operated hip and in the house I walked with no crutches and outside with two but for longer distances. After week three recovery got a lot better day by day and after week 4 I dispensed with crutches.
now I'm walking very well, no limp and feel I could do a lot more but am being careful as I still have groin pain which is taking longer to subside but it is slowly getting better. This I believe is a tendon issue that needs time to heal after the battering it took before the operation.
I can do full squats now, press ups and no restrictions in bed. This is now week 5 today.
Im really pleased. Superpath is a brilliant technique and does speed the recovery but just take it easy first two weeks. Don't do loads of exercises. You will be stiff and sore but let the operation bruising subside then after week 3 start being more active.
BEFORE the operation do as much leg strengthening and buttock exercising as you can. I did loads of cycling and hard cycling. My surgeon said my muscles were extremely tight when he opened me up, but it's really helped me now as it means if you really push hard before the operation and keep your muscles strong then those 2-3 weeks post op when you take it easy won't lead to muscle wasting as you will have built them up.
Dont over do it though after 4 weeks. Loads of walking is the best thing. Brisk long walks every day. I'm still not playing tennis yet or cycling and cycling I won't start for another 2 weeks minimum and tennis until march. Even though I could give it a go now remember we have to let the new hip settle down and as amazing as superpath is ultimately it is still a new joint and the bone needs to grow around it which takes months.
But day to day activity you should be ok 4-5 weeks post op. I was driving after 3 weeks.
Its the way way to go in my opinion.
gerriberri66 gary45745
Posted
Thank you for all the details you have shared about your surgery. It’s really helpful to hear about everything you are experiencing. I gave up tennis a while ago (can’t wait to get back on the court). Technically I’m really healthy; which is why I’m choosing to do the surgery now, before I do damage to tendons etc. I’ve been taking spin class 3 x’s week since April and working with a personal trainer 2x’s concentrating on strengthening muscles around my hip ( and I guess she’s working on all major muscle groups from the waist down ). I have noticed my right leg has definitely gained strength as you can tell when on the spin bike. Did you do any physical therapy? My surgeon said I could/should when I come back home 2-3 x week for a couple of weeks. I’m sure I’ll have more specific instructions after surgery. He said I will be able to drive to PT. I was surprised at that. As long as I was off any painkillers it would be ok. How long did you take pain meds for, if any? I’m so happy to hear you are doing so well in only 5 weeks. I agree with you. I think best to take it easy for a while to let hip settle in. I’m thinking tennis too in March or April. Let’s stay in touch!
gary45745 gerriberri66
Posted
Hi gerri
would love to stay in touch. I'm not doing much PT other than walking and squats and now planks and press ups. I'm avoiding flexion too much as that hurts tendon in the groin. I was on pain meds for about 7 days post op but only ibruphen and occasional parecetamol.
Im sure you will be driving around 3 week mark which is when my PT with physio once a week started although now I'm starting hydrotherapy next week. Xx
gerriberri66 gary45745
Posted
gary45745 gerriberri66
Posted
how did the appointment go? Any news? X
gerriberri66 gary45745
Posted
Hi Gary,
My appt was a work appointment,not health related. But thank you for asking. Lol. Next step is flying to Phoenix mid November to have a 3D Ct scan so my surgeon can make sure my legs end up same length; which is a great thing as I can’t wait to get back on the tennis court and legs being even would help. Lol 😂 Did you have anything like that?
How did your PT go?
How is everyone else feeling and coming along?
gary45745 gerriberri66
Posted
Hey
had my first hydrotherapy today and it's my last under supervision. The physiology said I'm doing so well they don't need to see me anymore and I can start gym work again and cycling briefly and cross trainer and domthe pool work.
Still got this groin niggle somive bene told to be careful as that isn't really hip related, but more likely a damaged tendon from before the op that I need to be watchful with. So I'll see how cycling goes tomorrow but she said if I feel even a twinge ingroin leave cycling for two weeks.
As for leg leg length I was never really measured and for a couple of weeks after the op I thought my operated leg was miles longer. But now I'm walking without crutches it's clear it's same length and that before the op I was imbalanced which explains all the horrible weird blisters I was getting on my feet that I couldn't understand.
Im really happy, only downside is my non operated hip starting to exhibit same signs as my operated leg a few years back but this time I won't leave it so long so at least I could try and save that hip with keyhole surgery if needed.
Basically the sooner you have it the better. The more mobile you are before the op I think is crucial as it means your muscles are still active. Why try and save a joint that will eventually fail and have limits when you can get it replaced and be back to normal within 2 months. Yes we may need a revision in a decade, but we could be hit by a bus in that time so live for today I say xxx
gerriberri66 gary45745
Posted
Sounds like more great progress for you! 👏🏻🎉. Hope cycling goes well for you since it seems to be a sport you love to do. Interesting about the leg length. I’ve read a lot about the leg length stuff so wanted to address that with my surgeon. I guess different surgeons deal,with it differently. I think if I had felt my leg was miles longer after surgery I would be majorly concerned; so I’m glad it was all even for you. Sorry to hear about the other hip. I’m lucky that my other hip is totally fine. Whew!
Keep us posted on your exercise progress. Have a great night. 😴
gary45745 gerriberri66
Posted
hi gerri
so far so good doing long walks and no reaction tonhydrotherapy. I've had a slight setback though but not to do with hip...come down with a heavy cold which is annoying.
As for leg leg length don't worry if it feels longer after the op. That is normal as your Bain will have adjusted to the leg being shorter due to the worn cartilage so it takes time to readjust. Xx