Re: THR dislocation after 4 months!

[Guest guest]

Oh Margaret, I'm so sorry. What a horrendous experience. I'll pray

for your successful second surgery. Thanks for the warning about not

recovering quickly: sounds like that is a definite warning signal.

Lynn

>

> Imagine a worst nightmare scenario. You go to bed as normal one

evening -

> and wake in the middle of the night to agonising pain in your hip,

and

> completely unable to move your leg or get out of bed.

>

>

>

> This happened to me last Saturday night. My hip prosthesis

completely

> dislocated while I was sleeping. (this was a LTHR done on 4th

August at

> Poriya Hospital in north Israel, where I live.) I woke up at 3am

to sudden

> sharp pain in my hip, and with no control over my leg (which

nevertheless

> moved itself into an outward bent position). Luckily I have an

emergency

> alarm button by my bed (I am 65 and live alone) - I managed to

reach and

> press the button - the ambulance arrived quickly and took me on

stretcher to

> the local hospital ER - they did x-rays, found the hip dislocated,

and

> transferred me in another ambulance to the hospital where the

original

> surgery was done. In the afternoon I was taken into the operating

room,

> where a " closed reduction " was done under spinal anaesthesia (in

other

> words, they got the joint back into place without cutting me

open). They

> kept me in bed for 3 days with my leg in traction, then discharged

me home

> yesterday. They warned me that my hip is now very instable, and

could

> dislocate again at any time if I'm not careful. So I'm now back on

a

> walking frame, with all the old restrictions again (as for the 6

weeks

> following the original surgery). They told me to return on Sunday

28th Dec

> for further surgery - revision of the prosthesis cup. Meanwhile to

be very

> careful and do as little activity as possible.

>

>

>

> The surgeon explained to me what had happened. First, the socket

cup had

> been incorrectly positioned in the acetabulum during the original

surgery.

> (He admits this was due to his mistake!!!) Since then, the cup had

> shifted, so that instead of fitting snugly within the acetabulum,

it was

> partially projecting out. Then, last Saturday, the ball had

completely come

> out of the socket. [no wonder I was in agony!!] The closed

reduction

> got the ball back into the socket (and relieved my pain). Now,

revision

> surgery is required to reposition the cup correctly and fix it

firmly.

>

>

>

> I guess this explains my slow recovery progress - before the

dislocation, I

> was still limping and needed to use a cane for walking. (despite

all the

> PT, swimming, water exercises I had been doing - which did help a

lot in

> strengthening my muscles - but didn't entirely return my walking to

normal.)

> And I had been getting some muscle pain especially around the top

of my

> thigh, whenever I overdid things - walked too far or moved too

vigorously in

> the pool. My PT told me some time ago that she suspected the

surgery

> hadn't been done properly, and she had been urging me to get a

second

> opinion - but I decided to wait and give the swimming a chance - I

had been

> going to the pool 4 times a week, and did feel definite

improvement; and I

> had been due for another follow-up appointment with my surgeon next

Sunday.

>

>

>

> Tomorrow I am going for a second opinion to another orthopedic

surgeon in

> Haifa (recommended by my PT, and with the knowledge of my first

surgeon).

> I shall have to go by taxi, as I can't drive at present. The

hospital have

> given me the CD with my x-rays on it; so I'll see what he has to

say. Then

> I'll have to consider my options and decide whether to return and

have the

> revision surgery done at the same hospital and by the same surgeon;

or

> whether I have an option to have it done at another hospital (which

will

> involve travelling further and probably also a longer wait).

And of

> course, later, I intend to claim for compensation against the

hospital for

> medical negligence..... but my first priority is to get it put

right.

>

>

>

> Needless to say, i am extremely disappointed!!! Just when I

thought I was

> nearly recovered and getting back to normal life and activities -

now,

> suddenly, all that has to be put on hold, and I shall have to

undergo the

> whole process all over again - surgery, rehab, recovery,

healing.....

> The muscles that have so recently healed will have to be cut

again....

> (will they heal so well a second time??) Luckily, the lower part

of the

> prosthesis seems to be OK, it is only the cup that has to be

corrected - so

> my surgeon says that the surgery will be shorter [and I hope less

invasive]

> than the original surgery, and the rehab and recovery time hopefully

> quicker. [Thankfully my muscles are now strong due to all the

exercise

> I've been doing!]

>

>

>

> My own general doctor is very supportive and sympathetic - she

phoned me

> this morning. She says it's a very rare occurrence, and she was

surprised -

> this surgeon has a very good reputation, and she has had several

patients

> who had hip replacements done by him without any complications;

mine is the

> first she's heard of.

>

>

>

> My word of advice to anyone else who may be experiencing

> slower-than-expected recovery or pain after THR - get it checked!

If I had

> taken my PT's advice, and sought a second opinion earlier, maybe

this could

> have been spotted at an earlier stage, before it actually

dislocated.

> (though I guess revision surgery would still have been required to

correct

> the original mistake - nevertheless it could have been planned, and

I

> wouldn't have had to undergo the shock and trauma of a sudden

unexpected

> dislocation!)

>

>

>

> Has anyone else undergone a similar experience?

>

>

>

> Margaret

>

> Galilee, Israel

>

>

>

>