THR Increasing pain 6 months to year post-op

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stant52

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I had my left THR a year ago Feb. Everything went great after the operation,pain-free, quick recovery. Stayed off work almost 5 months ,my job requires being on my feet (concrete floor) 8-10 hours,working in a grocery store,doing a lot of lifting 15-50 lbs. and unloading skids from trucks.
I guess pain started at about 6 months, 2 weeks after a dental appointment for cleaning. I took antibiotics before hand. I complained to my doctor, blood work for infection and x-rays are all normal evrything looks good . I can walk and work all day ,anywhere , fairs swap meets ,work,with just an ache BUT if I sit down for 15 minutes and try to get back up the pain is now so bad I can barely stand on my hip, but in a short time, with pain ,once I walk 100 yards it starts to go away.Pain is front hip joint and rear lower butt back of hip joint . This pain starts evry time I get up from sitting ,sleeping. 6 months ago it was minor but now IT HURTS ! Just had blood work done again 4th time and xrays for 1 year visit. So today I went for a bone scan,hopefully this will give some answer. Range of motion is great I can do anything but BOY do I pay for it when I'm done. After a day of work ,all evening ,every time I get up it HURTS ! I can always feel it ,sitting sleeping standing It feels like a swolleness on the back side where you sit . Sorry so long ,my first time posting, Was searching the internet for some ideas. Was getting ready to try another doctor but will wait until I hear the results of bone scan. Thanks
 
Hi Stant52.....welcome to BoneSmart! We're glad you found us and hope posting here will be of benefit to you. I'm so sorry to hear of your problems....NOT FAIR!!! But it sounds as though you are taking appropriate action with the blood tests, xrays and bone scan. I'm assuming you will be discussing the results of all of this with your original surgeon. And if you don't get much of an answer, I think your plan to get another opinion is just right. You should NOT be hurting like this! Please let the forum know how things progress and thanks for posting!
 
Welcome Stant52
I had my right hip replaced in June.
I am sorry to hear of all of your pain especially after doing so well.
I hope you find out what is going on soon.,
I just had extensive back surgery (thoracic spine) but my hip has been bothering me more and more lately as well.
I actually broke down and iced it last nite.
I also had a knee scope and see my surgeon tomorrow so I am going to ask about the increasing hip pain as well.

Good luck ,. When do you get the results of the scan?
Judy
 
Welcome to BoneSmart, Stan. Actually it's quite short post so don't worry about that.

I very much doubt an infection from dental work would show up like this after only 2 weeks. What it sounds to me
is your femoral component is loose. So when you are weight bearing, it is pressed down into the femur and all seems well but when you rest it, it kind rises up and the pain you get is when it is being pressed down into the bone again. I could be way off here, but that's my take on it. I think it's time you had a second opinion from a revision specialist.

Did you have a cemented or uncemented hip?
 
I believe it was un-cemented ,a pourous material spike grows fast and my surgeon says it looks solid from the x-rays. Hasn't moved . I may have results of bone scan this week ,if not early next week.
 
Hmm - okay - but I'm not convinced. The symptoms are too specific and covert loosening has caught out many a good man!
 
Hi Stan,,,,, Another hippie here! Everyone sofar has told you, you have absolutely done everything you can to try to fifure out the problem,,,,Being so physically active may indeed be the problem! If you aren't getting satisfaction from your OS, I hope you seek out another doctor's opinion! I hope you can get resolution to your pain ASAP, Post & please let us know how you are doing! Good luck to you!
 
It has to be redone - revision arthroplasty. And using a cemented prosthesis.
 
That's just wonderful !! There should be a way to inject super glue with a scope ,Ha,ha, hell they can do everything else !
 
Got a phone call from my surgeon today. The bone scan doctor and my doctor examined the scans and can find NOTHING wrong !!
He said he would gladly help arrange an appointment at another large hospital with a diffferent orthopeatic specialist,if I wanted another opinion.
Or ride it out for a while and see what happens.
 
So what do you plan to do, Stan? Seems a second opinion might be a good idea just to be sure. It's hard to imagine this level of pain has no cause. You might want to consider getting a second opinion on your own, though....just to be sure it is a completely independent opinion.
 
You need a second opinion from a revision specialist. Don't settle for less.
 
My surgeon said he would arrange an appointment with a doctor at a large nearby hospital (Geisinger) but should I go see someone he knows ?? He said I could of course go anywhere but I don't know just where I want to go. Newer doctor(orthopedic) in town the past year everyone is raving over ,suppose to be really good. Nearby ortho group suppose to be good, another group 2 hours away ,suppose to be really good. ????????????????????????????? I live in central Pennsylvania, Williamsport anyone with any favorites ?
 
Ring them all and ask to speak to the secretary who looks after the orthopaedic surgeons or ortho admissions. Ask them if they have a surgeon who specialises in hip revisions. If they don't know, ask them who does and speak to them. If they have such a person, then make an appointment and ask him the questions in How to choose a surgeon and a prosthesis but with the emphasis on his revisions rather than his primary hips.Short answer is that you have to interview them and figure out what sounds good or not. Make sure you take a notebook and write down what he says. If you want to post them in here, I'll soon give you an opinion!
 
Do you live near Philly! They have some wonderful hospitals there as well! Good luck, Stan & keep posting!
 
My surgeon said he would arrange an appointment with a doctor at a large nearby hospital (Geisinger) but should I go see someone he knows ?? He said I could of course go anywhere but I don't know just where I want to go. Newer doctor(orthopedic) in town the past year everyone is raving over ,suppose to be really good. Nearby ortho group suppose to be good, another group 2 hours away ,suppose to be really good. ????????????????????????????? I live in central Pennsylvania, Williamsport anyone with any favorites ?

I'm not anywhere near PA, but here's what I would do (to avoid going into telephone system menu hell!) in order to do what Jo suggests. First, check with your insurance to see which surgeons are part of their network. If you're aware of a large teaching hospital within a reasonable distance (i.e., associated with a university medical school), check out their OS faculty roster & see if they're part of your insurance network.

Also, you can check out yourself all OS surgeons at the hospital your surgeon mentioned. Many times, the hospital web site will have a listing of docs with privileges or have a "finder" service. (Sometimes, docs refer you to a colleague they know & often work with, and sometimes they just refer to a directory.)

Bottom line, even though it can be a royal pain, if you want to determine WHO is best for YOU, you've got to take the bull by the horns & be pro-active. Hope there's someone here from your area who can make a more targeted recommendation!
 
Stan, I would find someone (or more than one) on your own to talk to just to be sure you get a totally independent opinion. It may take some work to find someone and you may have to "interview" a couple, but if they can determine (and fix) what is causing your pain, it will be worth the effort!!!
 
UPDATE -Re: Increasing pain 6 months to year post-op

Well , I had my appointment with a new doctor today . A man of 43 years experience and countless re-vision surguries. Former head of ortho at large hospital .Does clinical studies now ,69 years old.
Anyway ,his opinion is that my pain is caused by the type of hip used ,I have metal on metal ,he feels if I have this intense of pain after more then a year ,it will never go away and that it is due to the metal on metal . He wants to replace the cup with one of a newer form of polyeyelene . He believes that will solve my problem . My spike can be re-used with a new ball put on it to accept the plastic cup.
He said he has seen TOO many metal on metal hips that the person has had continuing pain ,all due to the metal.

So now , do I live with the pain every time I get up from sitting ??!! It's worse the longer I have been on my feet ,usually after about 6 hours when I sit and get up up the pain is so bad I can hardly stand to put any weight on that leg . It takes maybe 15 minutes of standing ,walking until the pain goes away . Then I just have a mild ache .At home at night is the worse ,after working all day . I could use my crutches again it hurts so bad !
 
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