Hip Infection* Life After SCaprae

[Layla]

Home Sweet Home! Nothing like it.
Glad you made it home safely. Hope you had a great time.
A wonderful rest of the week to you!
@SCaprae

 

[SCaprae]

Vacations are nice, but I missed my garage and lake(watch the sunrise w/ my coffee and do my best thinking, plan the day). Got reacquainted (safety meeting) w/ neighbors. Right leg has stopped "complaining", think it was mostly related to seating position & driving (3500 miles round trip). I did use the topical ointment prescribed by surgeon, but it's basically an applied "aspirin", leaves a sticky residue and smells. Pain was not too severe and diminished as time wore on. Next appointment is 5/8/18 and am looking forward to that.

 

[Layla]

Yay for home! Yay for safety meetings! You're enjoying life.
Great you recovered from the drive. That's a lot of mileage! It's nice to travel but nice to be back home also. A great rest of the week to you. NASCAR on Sunday? If so....enjoy!
@SCaprae


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[SCaprae]

Tried again to attach an X-ray as I think the visual comparison of THR parts and the articulated spacer side by side (left & right hip) would be informative. Got farther but still ended w/ "file too large" message. If there is a way, let me know or I could email or text it to those interested.

 

[Layla]

I'm sure many would find it interesting. I've never posted x-rays myself so let's see if this helps -
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/a-few-tips-on-posting-xrays.23055/
If not....post here and we'll get some help for you. I know it can be done...
@SCaprae

 

[SCaprae]

X-ray of Thr (left) and articulated spacer (right) with left femur (where it was broken for removal of old parts) showing cable and clamp around it.

 

[SCaprae]

Cable and clamp are on right side femur, not left.

 

[Layla]

So.....the spacer is in place until it's verified the infection has been eradicated via the anti-biotics you are self administering via the PICC line....am I right so far?

Is the reason you wouldn't mind the spacer in for a longer period of time than originally planned...as extra assurance the infection has been completely eradicated?

Is the spacer more painful than a regular prosthetic?

Are you ever pain free...or always feeling you're in a state of recovery? This has been a journey.

Assuming that black line on the outside of your left femur, under the cable is the fracture? Do they always have to break the femur to retrieve old parts?

Hope you have patience for all the questions. As mentioned way earlier in your thread, I think a lot of people
steer clear of theses stories out of fear, really never fully understanding the process.
Thank you for your willingness to share and enlighten those of us who are interested.
Hope your day is great!
@SCaprae

 

[SCaprae]

Especially the answers are yes. Will elaborate more today when I have the chance.

 

[SCaprae]

Essentially not especially.
1- yes, PICC line was removed after 6 weeks, spacer to be in place for 3 months. It's the delivery system for the antibiotics inside the femur and at the pelvis. Also to prevent the leg from "shrinking" in length.
2- yes-more time to completely deliver its "payload".
3-No, it feels the same as the prosthetic parts, better as time goes by. There is a weigh restriction since it is not as "robust".
4-I am having more periods of being pain free, directly related to amount of and type of activity.
5- Typically the femur is broken during/ to facilitate the removal of the prosthetic spike. Mine was very minor. With the infection it had a "fibrous" adhesion at the bottom end.
Ask any questions that remain or for more detail.

 

[Layla]

So...did you basically suffer pain, from one degree to another, ever since the RTHR in December 2010,
thru the revision in December 2013, all the way up until your latest surgery in February 2018?

Does the infection have the ability to spread to your LTHR, or is that not a concern....does it stay confined to the area?

Do they give you statistics on the likelihood of it being completely eradicated?
@SCaprae

 

[SCaprae]

1- Yes, started with moderate pain and increased to the point where fluid was drawn to see if anything could be grown/cultured.
2- good question/ medical staff and the infectious disease people have been treating it as if it is "localized" only. I will ask.
3- no mention of statistics, but they act confidently when talking of treatment and eradication. Will ask about this also.

When I have asked about the course of action should the treatment not work, they are very "tight lipped".

 

[Layla]

Well, Let's hope this time is the charm. It's been a long journey. Too long. No one knows that better than you. You seem to be handling it well, but naturally you want it over. I will continue to remember you in prayer.
Thanks again for being so open and willing to share.
@SCaprae

 

[SCaprae]

Posed the questions to the Infectious Disease group & will share answers when received.

 

[Layla]

Interesting. Will stay tuned....

Check out JRAD on Saturday if you're able.
It's free and the Agenda and times can be found through the link in my signature in blue.
Will be interesting to see what they may offer in regard to infection. I noticed a topic titled
"I'm only in the hospital for 6 hrs?" I'm sure they'll touch on the main reason for that being the infection risk
in hospitals. At least that's one of the reasons my doc preferred I go through a Surgery Center with a 23 hr
release.

They will also be taking questions submitted during the live program.

A great day to you!

 

[SCaprae]

Answers from Infectious disease group:

The type of staph (caprae) that I have is very unlikely to migrate/ it is more localized by nature.
Statistically it is eradicated in 80% or more cases and is highly susceptible to the types of antibiotics from both the temp implant and administered by the PICC line.
Now with that said I am hoping for the best.

 

[Layla]

Wonderful news!
That sounds very encouraging.
I think if I received that news I may even call a safety meeting
And it's Friday too....all the more reason
Thanks for sharing the good news. Hope your weekend is great!
@SCaprae

 

[SCaprae]

Safety meeting already in progress. Today's topic is assembling a "studio handcraft 44" big (or so ) loom.

 

[SCaprae]

Made it through the stormy weekend , even got to use my snow removal equipment. Able to get into and out of the tractor w/o too much difficulty. Right leg/hip doing fine. More snow later this week.

 

[jaydub63]

Yes, it's a lovely "spring" we're having this year isn't it. We had two warm days last week and then an ice storm over the weekend with lots of folks losing power - thankfully we didn't. Glad to hear things are going well for you while you're kicking those bugs out!