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Revision THR Complex surgery with revisions, infection, sepsis, and more…

Hello again, hope you are well. I took 2 tests today and the first one was my very first mammogram ever. I also had a DEXA scan, that was a first for me as well. I'll get the results sent to me and my PCP, NOT the surgeon who attempted to do the revision on my 5 year old hip implant and failed.

I last saw my surgeon on April 5 and he said my next surgery will be in a couple of months but he will set me up for more pre-op test within one month. Next week it will be 2 months since he told me it would be 2 months....and I haven't heard a peep. So now no one wants anything to do with the damaged hip of some gray haired senior citizen, or wants anything to do with the damaged hip that's been worked on by a Global Health physician.
I KNOW what goes through the minds of these drs and health care professionals when the first see me.. I was finally sent to several physicians last Dec, 2021 and they all reacted like....does she really expect us to FIX her? They did not realize that just 6 months earlier I was driving 80,000lb vehicles that were over 70' long up to 10-11 hours every day or night. I kept the truck and the 53' trailer clean and in good repair. I refused to use a blower to clean debris out of the trailers like so many other drivers did, I swept the trailers out myself as a mini-workout. I found my customers on time, delivered on time and somehow managed to keep from killing myself or anyone else. I had to take a DOT physical every year and carry a card that said I am physically fit to operate this class of vehicle safely as well as legally, actually my last medical card just expired yesterday. I am aware of the prejudices carried by a lot of people in the trucking industry, especially people who come from different cultures and believe Granny should be home in the rocking chair. Lol. I had one dr walk into the examination room, take one look at me and practically shout 'How old are you?' There are many, many older drivers and I can guarantee no one would ask a gray haired man how old he was....as if that determined their ability to operate a piece of dangerous equipment.
One of the things I loved about driving was meeting other drivers from around the world, even trying to learn words in a different language. I ran with Romanians for a while, they were so Old World that it was like being back with my Italian family. This new surgeon comes from somewhere else and I will not be dismissed by him. I believe he will get a life lesson from me about not crossing certain boundaries, lol.
Can ya tell I'm upset? I really sorry about it, it's just that my head keeps spinning faster every day over this mess.
 
@spaniel
Thank you so much for sharing! I am definately going to a PPO as soon as I am allowed to. I'll go back to NJ if I have to just to find a capable and honest surgeon.
 
Hang in there and don't give up. Sometimes it takes a while to get everything in order to receive the care you need. You'll get there.....
 
@Jamie
Thank you so much for the support, Jamie, your kind words help me stay afloat when I feel myself sinking into a bottomless abyss of self pity.

Oh! One other thing I forgot to mention......
******** I got my HANDICAPPED PLATE yesterday!!*******

Those few extra steps I save make such a difference, whether it's going to the dr's or waiting for my online grocery order to be filled.

The tech who did my DEXA scan today comes from a family of truckers and it was like visiting with an old friend, but when she said if I was going to keep talking I had to make sure I didn't move.
I said....Uhh, not happening, I'M ITALIAN! HAHA!
Have a great weekend!
 
Oh yeah.....just one more thing!

My surgeon said I needed to lose weight. Actually what he said was....
"Didn't you take care of yourself in that truck??"
So I put weight on? During the pandemic? BAH!
Yeah, I put weight on because I was living on vending machine food while I ran my butt off making sure YOU had toilet paper! Lol!

Today I learned I LOST 10 POUNDS!

Take THAT!!!
 
I like your spunk and you really have to advocate for yourself in this new age medicine.
Every health professional is afraid of malpractice.
When I had my hip replacement and was told next day I had to wait for PT to get me out of bed to walk I inquired when that would be cause I know you have to get up and walk fairly soon after the surgery.
They weren't sure...ok well why did you remove catheter at 5AM if you aren't sure when PT is coming???
Now I have to use bathroom. Nope. Can't get up w/o PT use bed pan. What? How am I supposed to do that?
Well I started kicking and screaming (not literally) and PT came, got me up, I used bathroom and walked.
I wish you the best.
 

HAPPY HAPPY DANCE:loveshwr::loveshwr::loveshwr::loveshwr:​


My arms are tired, my strength weakening...I am worn from fending off the giant behemoth that is the government, that is greed and that is simply not wanting to do any more work than barely needed. I call my insurance all the time. Is my doctor still my doctor? Is he actually DOING something that will help me, not just make him more money? I always get the same answer when I mention I think I'm on the wrong plan...."Oh no honey, you can sign up for exercise classes on this plan." I know you pulled up my profile, I CAN'T EVEN WALK! Then the inevitable...."anything else I can help you with? No? Then would you mind answering some questions about the service you received?
For some strange reason, this morning the solar winds gently blew an opening in the astral clouds, which allowed the mostest, excellent human being in existence to be the next person in line to answer my call and after a 3 hour phone call I am shedding tears of joy. Finally! Someone actually LISTENED to what I was saying. The energy, intelligence and enthusiasm of this woman proved to me that 'Life finds a way." She did some research and checked my file and told me I didn't have to wait for open enrollment to start in October to get on a PPO, she informed me she would be happy to do it for me right then and there! I can now go to my original surgeon, (and she made sure that he accepted this new plan of mine) and I won't need referrals anymore, either! When I mentioned how the hospital left me alone in the rest room and I fell off the toilet, first thing out of her mouth was: LAWSUIT! Everyone else just pretended I never said a word. OK, so I still have to find someone to try and fix me but now that I found someone who did not dismiss me but listened to me, gives me renewed strength! Grab a gear and hammer down, I got places to go and people to see!!! Have a great weekend!!!!
 
Keep on truckin, friend.
Glad you got some good News!
 
Well, this is really welcome news! I sure thought you could only transfer plans during open enrollment, but I love that she did this for you anyway. I do remember reading something about some type of extension to open enrollment this year because of some problem, so maybe that's why she was able to make the change. Who cares. You got it done! That's all that matters. And...."hon," you can sign up for exercise programs under PPO as well. Boy, they sure do scrape the bottom of the barrel for some of these customer service reps, don't they.

So, Medicare is now your primary insurance and you have a secondary PPO plan. Who is it with?
 
@Jamie
Well, thank you, ma'am! I just caught something about the extension too, maybe it wasn't available when I made all the other calls but I am pretty sure they KNEW about it when I told all those other reps that I was NOT happy with my plan. I'm also sure the nice ladies living in the gated communities down the hill and closer to Tucson have a very nice activity center with workouts and exercises fit for every body, but I prefer a different type of activity. I live in the part of the San Pedro River Valley that is nestled between the Santa Catalina Mtns and the Galiuro Wilderness, with a variety of trails, wilderness areas and State Parks to offer something for every level of fitness. THIS is what I want to tell those reps when they say I sign up for an exercise class, lol

Well, yes, Medicare is my primary insurance and um, no other. Thankfully, my obsession with doing swan dives off speeding motorcycles or crashing and rolling my stock car passed the checkered flag has long ended, lol. I did celebrate turning 60 by jumping off the Stratosphere Casino in Las Vegas and did 5 ziplines out here in the desert, but I swear, I ain't doing it anymore....at least not till they fix my hip.

I really am curious to see what kind of treatment I'll receive at my original surgeon's practice. Will they put me in the back room with the broken AC?
Haha, just kidding.
Thanks Jamie, I appreciate the kind words. I have actually been smiling again and it feels good.
 
Gooood Morning! Hope you are healing and happy. (if only it were that easy, right?) I got the results of my DEXA scan yesterday and I'll share them with you in a second, but first I'll share what my surgeon wrote in his notes after my follow up on January 20, 2 and a half weeks after he performed revision surgery on January 3, which failed almost immediately. This is what he wrote in his notes, NOT actually how it went down.

"...it appears that she fractured the acetabulum and pushed the components medially. I discussed this finding with the patient in detail. I discussed the diagnosis of severe osteoporosis with pathologic bone.

I discussed that the patient will require a revision surgery once the component has been obtained (custom triflange cup/cage). All questions were answered.
CT pelvis was ordered."

If this came from a child I believe this would be called 'a vivid imagination' .but I call this flat out lying by someone trying to cover their backside. He never discussed ANYTHING in detail, he basically mentioned a few things as he ran out of the room, leaving me wondering 'what the heck?'. When I asked WHY the surgery failed he hesitated a little bit too long which made me suspect, then said 'your bones'. He NEVER uttered the word osteoporosis, he never ordered the component (I continually called my insurance to check) and he did not order a CT scan until March.

My DEXA scan results.....

All scans were within normal levels.
Patient is at normal risk for fracture.

The tech told me they couldn't scan the replaced hip because the metal made the machine go bonkers, but in the last CT the Radiologist saw osteolysis around the implant and mild osteoarthritis in my right hip. My surgeon NEVER mentioned osteolysis....just a sweeping diagnosis that I have severe osteoporosis.
Truthfully, I am VERY RELIEVED to hear that my bones are ok. When I missed the toilet seat in the hospital and crashed onto the tiled floor landing on my right hip, all I got was a bruise but no fracture...I had it x-rayed the next day. I never understood how I could have severe osteo, fall on my hip and have nothing happen.

I understand that DEXA scans are not perfect, but from now on I will do my best to help slow down bone loss. So now I'm right back at the beginning again in my quest to try to fix this hip. In 2 and a half weeks I will be retired for one year without any great memories to show for it. I had more fun working 70 hours a week driving an 18wheeler, lol.
 
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deleted this message because I fixed the previous one....lol.
 
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danelady said:
In 2 and a half weeks I will be retired for one year without any great memories to show for it. I had more fun working 70 hours a week driving an 18wheeler, lol.
Click to expand...
Sheesh, that is sad. I’m sorry, danelady. :console2:
Also sorry that your surgeon didn’t communicate with you in the way he documented he had. That’s disappointing for sure. Good news on your scans revealing normal levels. Now it’s about accomplishing whatever is necessary to help you enjoy your retirement….
 
@Layla Thank you so much, Layla, that means a lot. When I read another woman's post stating that her dr did not write down what was actually discussed either it really made me wonder. Is it about healing people? Or is it about making sure you look good should you get audited...or whatever they do.
Yesterday I talked to a friend of mine who is in her 70s. She told me years ago something happened, a fall I believe, and she got something on her head. The dr she went to told her....well at your age we just leave them. She was only around 50 and she yelled back at him how all the women in her family lived till their 80s and 90s and to not be putting her in a rocking chair yet! I love this spry woman!
They have a huge chunk of property with a lot of history and when I got my metal detector she was going to take me to a far corner where she knew there was lots of stuff to find. Now I can't keep up with her....Oy.
 
i just reread another member's warning about how important it is to do your research when looking for a surgeon you want to trust. I would like to add something else that is just as important. I KNOW you are supposed to read first, then sign second but I had been in so much agony for the last 4 months....it felt like someone was sawing my leg off with a piece of broken glass. As fast as they dropped a page down in front of me I signed it. WRONG!

A more experienced and board certified surgeon agreed to take me, but changed his mind and referred me to a non-board certified surgeon with much less experience. Both surgeons explained in their notes they would co-surgeons, but after much searching and questioning it turns out that the newer, less experienced surgeon was the one who took on my protrusio acetabuli, a much more difficult operation. I was also told that the femoral component was still good so they would only need to replace the acetabular component.

I've read and reread my medical records from the hospital and I learned a very important lesson in doing so. I never actually read the consent form. Nope, I just put my pen to it and scribbled my name as fast as I could so we could get this part over as quickly as possible. The consent form stated that I was directing this older, more experienced surgeon to perform a Left Anterior TOTAL Hip Arthroplasty. The next line on the form said I also gave him permission to do whatever he wanted and let anyone else do it too
It was stupid and careless for me to not read something before I sign it. I'm still freefalling, looking for a new surgeon and almost ready to resign myself to a life of pain.
 
danelady said:
The tech told me they couldn't scan the replaced hip because the metal made the machine go bonkers, but in the last CT the Radiologist saw osteolysis around the implant
Click to expand...
Was this an MRI or CT scan? I want an MRI of my left knee to confirm "significant osteolysis". My ortho saw it on the x-rays he recently took on 6/22/22. I want another opinion other than his, but my knee is bad.
 
@Cementless HI!! After I saw that my surgeon wrote in his notes that my surgery failed because of extreme osteoporosis, I asked my PCP to order me a DEXA scan. I mean, I had just fallen off a toilet seat and crashed onto a tile floor....with my good hip, thankfully. I came back 2 days later to get it x-rayed and except for some bruising my hip was fine. My DEXA results were god as well. I feel they would have seen severe osteoporosis in the CT scan they took 3 weeks before my surgery, ya think?
 
I had all but given up hope. Even bought a minivan that is 100x easier to get into than my pickup. I felt my future was bleak and life would never be the same......

Then last Friday, July 15th, my surgeon's office called. My custom fit part is ready and they have my 2nd revision surgery scheduled to take place in 3 weeks. Last time anyone from that office spoke with me was on April 5th. I truly thought I was no longer under a dr's care. I said wow, what a surprise to which she quickly replied 'Oh, want to cancel?' This office has the uncanny ability to make me feel like I am wasting their time. In my original THR surgery and my L5-S1 fusion I had 2 years ago, every staff member from my surgeons' assistants to hospital staff made me feel confident.

After my first revision, done on January 3rd, failed only 2wks later I swore I'd never go back there but I cannot take this pain any longer. When I told the woman on the phone that I needed to first speak with my surgeon, she asked me which one? I asked how many will I have and she said 2
I said I want to talk to whoever is going to be in that room cutting on me. I also want them to explain to me the meaning of co-surgeons. I want to know how many successful reconstructions and how many unsuccessful ones are between them. I want to know that if this surgery goes awry, who do I go to next? I feel Drs need to be straight with patients and let them know whether they will or will not do the revision. I want to hear what the risks are all over again because this is now a different operation and I want a clear and concise explanation of every single point put down on that consent form before I sign it. I am NOT the woman they first met last December, a stooped, gray haired old woman stumbling across the room. I have become personal with this pain, it doesn't scare me anymore and I want them to reassure me that they are specialists and won't cause me even more pain.

I am also buying a box of hair dye so I can color my hair, lol. When I was still driving the truck I noticed right away how I was treated with more respect out on the road. If playing this game helps me to recover and stand up unassisted next Dec 31 I will scream my head off with joy as I ring in 2023!
 
Danelady I am praying for you that your surgery goes well!! Positive thoughts! I injured my hip a year ago and had to fight workers comp ( horrible system)! I like you was very active my nickname was energizer bunny :) so to go from one day picking up a 161 pound dog when you weigh 110 to not able to walk instantly is depressing to say the least!
But I am walking now and getting better everyday so chin up that this surgery will be the answer! Stay tough sister ❤ praying for you!!! And thank you for keeping those goods rolling across this country. My brother and stepfather are truckers.
 
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