Revision THR 8wks post op - more pain than before<<

[AMR1879]

I noted some of your pain symptoms were similar to mine. I am currently awaiting revision surgery on a THR carried out in August 2012. My new surgeon has concluded that the stem is loose. He too showed me the gaps on the x-ray. I hope you get some answers soon and a way forward. It wasn't until i sought a second opinion that i began to see a way forward after a series of tests to rule out various complications.

Good luck with your revision! I actually had a revision, back in June 2017 (6 months after my original THR was done - 12/16). You saw the beginning of my posts about 8 weeks after my original THR when it was still painful. Since then, a lot has happened! I can understand that you didn’t get to the last ones, there are a lot a posts, I had a crazy time with my THR. Now the revision isn’t right [emoji53]. Hoping it is soft tissue, NOT the new hip! My first hip slipped right out, “like it was sprayed with nonstick spray.” And it’s a mystery why. Hoping it’s not happening again!


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[Josephine]

So you mean like this?

That would imply a stem issue again.

 

[AMR1879]

Ugh....
Yes, that’s where it is and it will run into my knee sometimes... but the muscle feel sore there, I’m hoping it’s soft tissue but if I message my other leg it is sore too...so I don’t know...

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[Josephine]

Are you trying to get a copy of the xrays for me?

 

[AMR1879]

Yes, but they will probably give them to me on a disc, I'm not sure if I will be able to open using my computer.

 

[Marvy]

Yes, but they will probably give them to me on a disc, I'm not sure if I will be able to open using my computer.

As long as you have a cd/dvd on your computer you will be able to open them. Most discs that the doctors give you will have a program on them to open the images. If it doesn't, then you can download a DICOM or other image reader program for free.

 

[ajr1949]

Good luck with your revision! I actually had a revision, back in June 2017 (6 months after my original THR was done - 12/16). You saw the beginning of my posts about 8 weeks after my original THR when it was still painful. Since then, a lot has happened! I can understand that you didn’t get to the last ones, there are a lot a posts, I had a crazy time with my THR. Now the revision isn’t right [emoji53]. Hoping it is soft tissue, NOT the new hip! My first hip slipped right out, “like it was sprayed with nonstick spray.” And it’s a mystery why. Hoping it’s not happening again!


Sent from my iPhone using broken link removed: https://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=75543

Ah right I see. Sadly you are not out of the woods yet. Hopefully now they will find a solution to your problem. I sympathise. I will try and read through your whole thread to get the full picture. I am still awaiting a date but have had the pre-op so should not be too long away. It will be done in a different hospital with new surgeon. I note that Josephine is keen to see your x-rays. In my case the original surgeon thought the x-rays were fine and the new one immediately pointed to gaps and looseness. If you can get something to her it would be very useful to get her view. I wish you continued good luck in your recovery and hope you will get sorted soon.

 

[ajr1949]

There seems to be a lot of "it may be this" or "it could be that" and "let's do this test and that scan" from OS's before the actual problem is found.

This was me. Been in pain for 15 months.

 

[ajr1949]

Read through your thread from start to finish. You really have been put through it. I had to wait the 12 months and pretty much had all the tests you did before the second opinion. I had the aspiration and sure enough the pain was worse afterwards. In my case it was to rule out infection. The results didn't find any infection but they will check again on the day of the op. Fingers crossed. Hope things will improve for you. It is frustrating but don't overdo it. I am not looking forward to the revision surgery but am trying to remain positive. Your thread has been helpful to me so thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Josephine]

This might help
A few tips on posting xrays

 

[AMR1879]

I try to upload full size and they are too big, I don’t know if I can crop the anymore.

 

[Josephine]

Cropping is no good. You have to resize the image in the pixels.
Send it to me in my email iosephine@bonesmart.org

 

[AMR1879]

@ajr1949 your story does sound like mine! I too had the aspiration to check for infection, before my revision. Then when they did the revision they took many samples and had them run through lab while I was still on the operating table. They wanted to make sure there wasn't any infection before they put in the new hip. Thankfully there wasn't any sign of an infection. The revision went perfectly, my Dr said it was like doing a routine first hip. The femur didn't fracture and the new hip fit nicely. Unfortunately, I am not feeling like it is fixed, as you read in my last posts.

I am starting back down the same path as last time. I had blood work done, my sed rate and c reactive protein were elevated, so that is a sign that there is inflammation however it could just be from having three surgeries (with two being major surgeries) on my hip in the last year. So tomorrow I have a bone scan, so we will see what that shows. If it is like last time, there will be some uptake (which is a sign of inflamed tissue/bone) but not so much to be terribly alarmed. I bet another aspiration is in my future. My Dr is very serious about making sure it is not infected b/c with my surgical history, it could be very difficult to deal with. I feel pretty sure it isn't infected, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed! He wants me to have blood work every month to track my sed rate and c reactive protein. Besides infection, it could be the new hip is "modeling" which I think mean settling into the bone. Which can be painful, but will subside, usually after 6 months. The other possibility is that my bone didn't grow around this one either for some reason and he will take it out and put in a cemented hip. So we shall see what is to come with the darn hip. I am so over it!!

 

[Mojo333]

Fingers crossed and prayers for you.

 

[ajr1949]

Fingers crossed and prayers for you.

Thank you very much. I appreciate that.


@AMR1879 thanks for the further information. It all helps. Hopefully we will both be new people in the not too distant future. I actually had my best day since the aspiration today.

 

[AMR1879]

So you mean like this?

That would imply a stem issue again.

Do you see the dark area in the middle of my thigh?! That is exactly where I feel consistent pain. The bone scan shows inflammation in bones, I see my Ortho surgeon tomorrow morning. Something is going on with this new hip...

 

[Marvy]

@AMR1879, I am sorry that you are having to go through all of this (again). I am hoping that when you see the surgeon today that you will be able to get some answers. Please let us know what he says...

 

[Josephine]

The bone scan shows inflammation in bones,

How odd - I could have sworn I replied to you about this. But the truth is that I don't do scans, just xrays.

 

[AMR1879]

Saw Ortho surgeon today, bone scan shows a stress fracture (or infection). He doesn't think it is infection but will have me repeat blood work in one month. He wants me to be on crutches 4wks and cane or one crutch 4 more weeks. I feel defeated and a complete loss for words. I am not any better off than before I had my hip done the first time 11 months ago.

 

[AMR1879]

How odd - I could have sworn I replied to you about this. But the truth is that I don't do scans, just xrays.

You did reply via email, I was attempting to put the two images together - the one of where I described the location of the pain and where the inflammation showed up on the scans so other people who may be reading through the posts could see the similarity. I didn't mean to tag you, sorry!

But I do have a question. Can a stress fracture still fall under the "modeling" umbrella? Or does it jump into a classification of its own once it turns into a stress fracture?