Hip Infection THR from hell

Fractured

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Dec 13, 2017
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West AZ
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Here is my story...

I was bone on bone on my left hip. I went in for THR on 07 Aug 2017. One week post THR I begain having horrible pain when walking to the point of screaming. Several calls to my Ortho and I was told to give it time. 22 Aug 2017 I go in to have the staples removed. I could not walk and had to be in a wheel chair.

X rays were taken and the reason for my pain was revealed. This is how I left the hospital after the first surgery 07 Aug.

23 Aug I was back in the OR for a revision. Its been 4 months and Im still in pain ranging from 6 to a 9. Thigh muscles are very sore from being operated on twice in 15 days.

So in a nut shell. My femur was fractured while inserting the implant during the 1st surgery and I left the hospital that way. Ive been in therapy for 4 months now. I still have at least 3 more months

Fractured.jpg
 
Hi @Fractured
Welcome to Bonesmart!
I am sorry for the pain and suffering you've experienced. That image is frightening.
Our Nurse Director, Josephine may be able to offer you some helpful advice. I'll tag her for you @Josephine
She will have a few questions for you so please check back.
Wishing you comfort as you heal.
 
Welcome to BoneSmart, glad you joined us!
Sorry you have had such an awful time since your surgeries.

While you are waiting for Josephine's reply, here are the recovery guidelines.

Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it

Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery. While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
Oh my goodness @Fractured that is just incredible. My OS took X-rays before I left OR. I cannot imagine the pain. Did the same surgeon do the repair? Have they taken recent X-rays to check everything? I can offer no real advice but there are members here who have a wide variety of experiences. Please ask questions or just vent.
 
So in a nut shell. My femur was fractured while inserting the implant
Oh my goodness! You poor thing! I haven't seen one like that in years! I know in 'my young day' it did happen from time to time but then it became a very well known complication that one had to be extremely careful when driving the reamer down the femoral shaft as it was all too easy to, completely unintentionally, put it in at an angle which drove it out of the back of the femur. Nowadays, young surgeons have this drilled into them intensively. Put simply, it JUST SHOULDN'T HAPPEN! It's akin to leaving an instrument or swab inside the wound. What we tend to refer to as 'never, ever' incidents. I think it's outrageous that in this, the 21st Century, it should still be happening. Have you considered seeing a medical defence lawyer? I would.
I've been in therapy for 4 months now. I still have at least 3 more months
Let me give you the most important and most impacting piece of advice I ever give on this forum. DON'T do PT/exercises. Not even after - no, especially after this.

Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.
 
Oh Josephine-while I am not a litigious person, I had the same thought about the attorney in this case. Just didn’t know if it was approprate on the forum.
 
Wow I'm so sorry. I have to echo the suggestion to obtain a lawyer. No way should you have left the hospital with a fracture. I just don't understand how he could not have known!!!! It's unacceptable! Big hugs!!
 
:oyvey:That image hurt just looking at it, can't imagine living with it that way for several weeks. No post op x-ray taken the first time? Do you have the post op x-ray from the revision? How did they stabilize the femur during revision? Same surgeon? How much experience did he/she have with THR?

You have been through a lot! I would listen to Josephine and not do any PT "exercise". Your hips need rest.
 
You poor thing. That must have been hell :beg:
 
Oh my stars...I add my sincerest sympathies for this happening to you. Had to know and could've done the work while in there I should think...instead of letting you walk out of there like that.
 
Thank you everyone. It's been a very challenging 4 months so far. The hip structure itself feels much better. It's the thigh muscles and the fracture that really give me a hard time. We just moved from Chicago to AZ. So I've had a 2 week break in PT. All I've been doing is stretching a bit and walking. Can't walk to far yet. I was kind of devastated. This same surgeon has performed a TKR and left shoulder excavation in addition to carpel tunnel on each hand. I can't figure out for the life of me how this happened? I was told from my new Doctor here in AZ that the implant was cemented as well as the fracture. It really has hindered my life. Moving was horrible. My poor wife really picked up the slack! I am retired from the city of Chicago and also a Real Estate photographer. Can't get the business up and rolling just yet. Here is a pic post op from the revision. Best wishes and thank you for all the well wishes!
 

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Hi @Fractured
Welcome to Bonesmart!
I am sorry for the pain and suffering you've experienced. That image is frightening.
Our Nurse Director, Josephine may be able to offer you some helpful advice. I'll tag her for you @Josephine
She will have a few questions for you so please check back.
Wishing you comfort as you heal.

Thank you very much!
 
Thank you!! I am most definitely taking it easy. Not an easy thing for me to do. Body is 56... Mind is 8. The my PT in Chicago said the fracture and the muscles are whats giving me so much pain. I still get stabbing pains out of know where. I was told it's my nerves firing?? It's just hard for me to sit still!! LOL
 
Fractured,
No need to quote a post, just scoot down and start typing in the box to the right of your avatar.
To tag someone just put an @ in front of their name.

With two surgeries and a fracture, you are still very early in recovery and will be having some strange pains and tingles as your heal.
 
Wow, wow, wow that is horrendous! I am so sorry that you have had to go through this horrendous time... thankfully you are now on the mend. Sending lots of healing energy and Keep positive :0)
 
I am so sorry for everything you have been through. My situation is very different than yours, but I did have several surgeries, over a 9-month period, before finally having successful THR.

During those 9 months, I was housebound and my mobility was extremely limited. Once I was finally able to start moving around more, my fitness rebounded FAST. I started out barely able to walk ¼ mile. Within a couple of months, I was easing back into hiking the hills near where I live. If you approach your recovery with patience, I guarantee that you will get back to where you want to physically.

Sent from my Z799VL using Tapatalk
 
Oh heaven help us, @Fractured, I am so very sorry! It looks dreadfully painful. I can't imagine how
this slipped past the surgeon. Please rest! Let your body heal. I also had a fracture during primary replacement and a dislocation. I had emergency revision surgery within 48 hours. In four months my femur fractured and it was just a hairline. This is such a serious mistake on the surgeons part. I would be looking for an attorney as already suggested. I thought about it myself, but mine, though botched as was the revision; probably still met standard care gone wrong. Yours is not standard care., I wouldn't think. Of course, that doesn't help you now. What a horrendous disappointment this is. Is your pain controlled? I can't imagine keeping up with the pain this has left you with. I think you are amazingly calm given what you have been though. Continue with gentle healing; slow and steady will see you through.
 
@Fractured Hope today Will be peaceful. Just thinking of you
:)
New X-ray looks super...to me...
Onward and upward, slowly.
Wishing you all the best.
 

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