Would you know if you dislocated your new hip?

You would know if had dislocated. Very very painful leg usually looks out of place

I was about 10 days home, standing along side the bed, decided I didn't way the pillow looked, turned to adjust the damned pillow without moving my feet, just the very thing they tell you not to do.

The next I remember I was on the bed face down, legs over the side, screaming in agony.

Husband and son came running, and between them picked me up, and laid me gently on the bed, me screaming to entire time.

They then turned me over very carefully, still more screaming in pain, lying flat on my back, the pain finally eased, very slowly, scared to move, but after a while, moved very cautiously, and I was fine.

At my twelve week check up I ran this experience past my surgeon, he said I probably ran the ball right up onto the edge of the cup, and then told me I was lucky it didn't dislocate, but to be in that much pain I must have come very close.

I have spoken to another person at physio exercises who did dis-locate, and he said it was worse than the surgery experience.

There was a thread about someone dislocating 10 years post op, which I imagine brought us all up short.  I truly hope this does not mean a lifetime of thinking about movements we can and cannot make.  On the other hand someone send me a utube video of a woman in her 90's doing extreme yoga exercises post op, Perhaps it is done to fitness levels before op, mine were very poor due to extreme pain just weight bearing. 

 

It wasn't until after I had my 2nd THR, that I mentioned to Dr when I saw my x-ray, and I asked the question why a differnt size ball in my hip.

The reply shocked me, the small ball ones have had a higher dislocation rate, so we have changed all our public patients over to a larger ball, your new hip is one of the newer hip prothesis we are using now.

In some ways I am lucky, even with all my problems, the hospital i go to has one of the foremost surgeons, in Australia, also I know that other surgeons come here, from overseas, on fellowships for training.

One Dr in particular is doing research on how to improve hip replacements, or maybe in the future even grow human bone successfully in the lab.

I beleive he has had some success, you are told about it in the hospital if you express an interest.

I forgot to mention in my earlier posting, you are asked if you want to donate your old hip joint to the the hip joint research unit.

Told them, no use to me any longer, you can have it with my blessing

Hi Michael

Also very glad you asked this question - had been wondering myself!  Having watched a very close friend having gone through several repeat THRs and dislocations, mainly because of his first replacement becoming infected, I  was terrified of the whole procedure.  So tried to be very careful but have often 'forgotten' the 90 degree rule.   

I had my THR in Spain as an emergency as a result of an accident there 3 months ago when managed to break both hip and wrist, so was totally unprepared, and knew nothing of all the pitfalls - have learnt a lot from this site.  Probably just as well I was totally ignorant  as, having broken wrist, had to learn to walk again with just one crutch.  

First I heard of compression stockings were on this site, so was spared wearing those!  

Good luck in you and all the other contributors.