New Hip-Replacement Blog: Young and Hip

[YoungAndHip]

Hi all,

Sorry to post this twice (I posted it in the other hip-replacement forum), but I wasn't sure where the post should go. I am a 26-year-old with avascular necrosis. Four months ago, I had a total hip replacement and the surgery didn't go quite as planned; I'm still walking worse than I was before I had the surgery, since some major muscles stopped working post-surgery.

Since I had difficulty finding information on hip replacements for young people when I was researching having my own replacement, I decided to start a humorous blog called "Young And Hip" to chronicle everything from appointments with surgeons to the raccoons who refuse to let me do my rehab in my backyard pool to trying to date when you walk like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. (It's aimed at young people having a hip replacement, but most of the people who read it are of all ages, and many aren't actually having a hip replacement ).

If you're interested, the address is: youngandhip.blogspot.com

- Arley

 

[Josephine]

Welcome to BoneSmart, Arley - I will read your blog but later. Sounds like you had a bad deal.

I deleted your other thread, btw.

 

[Jamie]

Hi, Arley. Welcome to BoneSmart!

So sorry to hear that you're having a bad time of it. AVN certainly can create some difficulties, can't it!

Can you provide a little more details on the problem you're having here on the forum? We have members who would benefit from knowing what you're going through that might not go on over to your blog at this point.

Please join in the chat whenever you would like! You're part of the BoneSmart family now!

 

[YoungAndHip]

Hi,

Thanks for the warm welcome. To make a long story short, I had AVN for 15 years after I slipped the growth plate on my femoral head. 18 months before the replacement, my hip started having these strange, intensely painful episodes that the physiotherapists who saw these episodes thought were subluxations, but since they were never caught on X-rays, the doctors weren't sure what was happening. Since the episodes were causing my leg to turn blue and were rendering me immobile for long periods of time, my doctor recommended a hip replacement.

On June 23rd, I had a total hip replacement with a spinal anesthetic. When I woke up, my whole operative leg was paralyzed. After a week, some of the muscles came back, but my abductors (the muscles that bring your leg out to the side) and my hip flexors (the muscles that bring your leg forward) never have. It's been four months since the surgery and neither muscle group has improved despite the fact that I get 6 hours of physical therapy a week, am doing my exercises religiously and have been walking/swimming/using the stationary bike etc. Still, I can't walk unassisted and am walking way worse than I was, though it's nice to not have the painful episodes anymore.

They've done an MRI (haven't got the results yet) and two nerve tests. The first nerve test said my nerves were fine, but the second nerve test said that there might be problems. My doctor is completely baffled and my life is pretty much on hold until something good happens. It's really bizarre because the two muscle groups don't connect and the hip replacement operation shouldn't have affected the hip flexors.

Has anyone had a similar situation? Any advice?

 

[Josephine]

Oh my gosh, Arley - never heard a case like that before. How scary for you. I really pray it can and will be resolved soon.

 

[Jamie]

My, Arley. I'm so sorry to hear all you've been through. You must continue to be assertive with your medical team until they can determine what is going on. Have you considered getting another opinion from doctors completely independent of the ones you're seeing now? Sometimes a different set of eyes can make a difference.

God bless you and hang in there. Hopefully the MRI will reveal something. Please let us know how you are getting along and we'll be here for you.

 

[YoungAndHip]

Thanks for the good wishes. They got the MRI report back and my doctor won't tell me what it said (he got his secretary to phone me and she didn't know), but has scheduled another MRI: my third MRI in three weeks, this time to look at the "muscles." (I'm not sure what the first two MRIs were looking at....) Anyhow, it's frustrating because I can't get in to see my neurologist for another six weeks, which is six more weeks of needless waiting, and I'm not sure how long this third MRI will take.

And, yes, I am considering getting a second opinion. The tricky thing is that you need to get another referral to another surgeon and then wait months to see him, so I'm thinking of getting on a plane and flying to Baltimore to see a surgeon who saw me pre-surgery and who is pretty world-renowned for his work with people with avascular necrosis. I figure it might be best to go right to the top of the food chain and see someone who I'm confident in. (I am confident in my current surgeon, but he seems to be baffled by the problems, so perhaps Dr. Mont will have another idea).

Ugh. Anyhow, yeah, that's the update.

 

[Jamie]

Well, it does sound like a consideration to see the doctor in Baltimore. He would be familiar with your history, which is good and definitely an independent voice.

Thanks for the update. Hang in there!!!

 

[Texas]

Hey and welcome Im a knee but i truly with you the best with everything you def deserve a break.....so sorry what you have been thru......keep us updated ..........