THR New THR and quite upsetting

[Layla]

Well I dont have a long leg anymore. I dont understand why but It seams the same lenght now. I have no pain at all in my left hip. It seams perfectly normal and comfortable

Hahaha! It's Magic!
Thanks for taking the time to share that encouraging bit of info. It will hopefully ease other's minds that experience the same. Not too long now till its Righty's turn. I think once you get the earliest parts of recovery over you're going to have an awesome New Year with those two new hips.
Enjoy the rest of the week!

 

[Woodstockhip]

Great to hear! Several of us here are going through the LLD concern so your report has hit some grateful ears, for sure.

 

[spaniel]

Great to hear your good news. Different folks different experiences for LLD . Mine remains rather troublesome after almost 10 months. But like you,I dont let stuff hold me back. It's a fun season.

 

[Kingsway]

My left leg was about 30mm shorter than the right before the op But is now almost exactly the same as the other leg. This has been a boon for me, as I now have much less pain in my back and in my sacro illiac joints!
I'm also in the UK but went private The hospital experience was a world away from the NHS! Worth the expense and the 4 year loan. I've seen some scary stuff in a major NHS teaching hospital over the years... I really fear for the future of the NHS.

 

[Abbylayla]

Wow! Casual to say the least. My surgeon is pretty laid back but nothing like that. "Remind me which hip"? Yikes!
Anyway, my surgeon did advise me that my left leg (THR leg) would be longer by possibly a half inch or so until I get my right hip done because my left hip now has a cushion (cartilage) where the right is bone on bone. Made sense to me. If there is a difference in length I do not notice it so it must be pretty minimal. I had Mako Robotic surgery which requires a CAT scan for measurements so maybe those precise measurements made the difference. But you need some real answers. Totally wrong that you haven't gotten any yet.

 

[BradyDa]

I'm super glad to hear your LL is better! I too felt that my operated leg was much longer right after surgery. I'm only a few weeks in and it seems to be correcting. Our bodies are amazing at compensating, and I'm sure mine was compensating for a short leg for multiple years. Please keep us informed.

 

[Layla]

Hey steveeasy
Ready to get this behind you tomorrow? I'll bet you are. You'll soon be back home resting comfortably and looking forward to a New Year with two new hips and no more hip pain.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas! Stay in touch and let us know how you're doing...we'll be here.
@steveeasy

 

[Elf1]

@steveeasy wishing you the best tomorrow, drop us an update when you're feeling up to it. Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

 

[Sukuma]

6 weeks post op and I thought I should update on my progress. Well I dont have a long leg anymore. I dont understand why but It seams the same lenght now. I have no pain at all in my left hip. It seams perfectly normal and comfortable. I have been working carefully but some physical work. can drive very long distances and even climb up on boats.
I do not understand why ?.

I am still to read all of the thread, but was delighted to read this. I am going through the same issue at the moment and have been getting readlly depressed about it. I keep telling myself to be patient and to wait, but finding it really difficult. I am 3.5 weeks post Op and I have noticed some improvement.

 

[myglasshalffull]

Sakuma,
You are very early in recovery so take it easy on yourself, you will get the "blues" now and then. Hang in there, this is a recovery that can take up to a year. Not trying to discourage you, just being realistic.
Hope you have happy healing days ahead.
You will get up one day and do something you were unable to do previously and be excited by it!

 

[BradyDa]

I remember the long leg. Luckily I had read about it prior to surgery or it would have definitely freaked me out. For me, I hobbled around for so long putting off this surgery that my pelvis had adjusted significantly. This compensation is what had to slowly be undone.

Best of luck!

 

[Sukuma]

I hobbled around for so long putting off this surgery that my pelvis had adjusted significantly

Thanks for responding. My surgeon recommended I had the operation back in 2019, so I put it off for a long time aswell, over 3 years, so I suspect that my pelvis has adjusted significantly over a long period of time. I keep telling myself that for the pelvis make the amendments given the long time it took in the first place to change, it's hardly going to correct itself overnight!

 

[steveeasy]

Hi,
Thought id update others on how I am progressing after double THR. One done in October 2022 and the second on the 16th December 2022. I found recovery hard from both. Due to work commitments are returned to work between the two hip replacement operations. following the second hip replacement I returned to work after 3 weeks. manual job. That said the hip still is stiff and numb and. Ive put this down to not giving th3e body time to heal. As every week goes by it gets better. I suspect in a years time ill not feel any discomfort at all. I have days still when I question why I had the operations, but thats a bad day. You dont tend to reflect on the good days.

Despite all promises from the hospital involved they never responded to my complaint at all. not any form of response.

Best wishes to all.
Steveeasy

 

[Mojo333]

I'm sure recovery has been tough and felt slow having gone back to work with a physical job so quickly ...
I would still go back to my ice and rest to calm down aches after work many months post-op ...
I'm sorry you feel you are ignored by health care team...
Try to baby those hips when not at work.

It was over a year before I didn't have as much discomfort after long days...
All the best for steady improvement @steveeasy

 

[Hip4life]

I can relate to those feelings on the bad days and I only had one hip done and a long recovery away from work. I can’t imagine doing what you have done during recovery from 2 hip surgeries. Everything is compounded and working will delay the recovery time. @Mojo333 is correct: you need to baby your hips when not at work. Keep everything at a slow pace and don’t ramp up those extra activities too quickly.

I had a longer than normal recovery, so I can also relate there. It was frustrating. Patience is difficult but if you keep in mind what your goal was when you had the surgery, then this is a small blip in the larger picture. You will get there. You had to get back in the game sooner than a lot of us, so cut yourself some slack. In the meantime, we’re happy to listen and cheer you on any time you need us.

 

[Newhip_Pol]

Despite all promises from the hospital involved they never responded to my complaint at all. not any form of response.

Hi, @steveeasy,
Just catching up with your threads. Cannot believe the way you were treated in that NHS hospital but so glad to hear your recovery is progressing well despite the early return to a manual job.
I had my first hip done in NHS hospital in Scotland and the second, nearly five years later, done privately but by the same surgeon. Apart from the surroundings and the staff numbers the procedures were much the same with pre and post op x-rays and full discussion with the consultant surgeon. Three nights in hospital and no aggressive physio - seems I was lucky!
Are you taking your complaint any further e.g. to the NHS board or ombudsman?
Best wishes with your onward progress