I am sorry to hear you have dislocation problems and are facing additional surgery. I know Dr. Della Valle and please be assured that he did not “screw up.” He is an excellent surgeon and I know he will do everything in his power to give you a good hip.
Your description of the “ball not adhering to the cup and that’s why it’s slipping” is not consistent with how a hip joint works and it leads me to believe that you may be misunderstanding at least some of what you are facing with this revision.
A hip prosthesis has an acetabular component that is either cemented or uncemented. These days, an uncemented cup is the preference for many surgeons and I imagine that is what was placed in your original hip. It has a special porous coating that allows your bone to grow into it during the early part of your recovery. During this growth period, it is critical that a patient is not performing activities that might interrupt this growth. Typical things that need to be limited or not done are those things that result in a twisting of your body such as golf, basketball, tennis, or Pilates. It would be good to discuss with Dr. Della Valle whether he plans to use an uncemented or cemented replacement when he does your revision. You might also ask if he plans to use a constrained cup that can further help prevent dislocation.
Many times a surgeon will use one or more screws in the acetabular component to provide additional stability for this early stage of growth. Eventually, your bone will grow into the metal cup so that it becomes part of you, a process that typically takes
2-3 months. Until bone grows into the implant, the cup is held in position by friction or screws that hold the cup to the bone. What you describe with the “slipping” would indicate to me that you may have a loose acetabular cup that didn’t adhere to the bone properly. When this happens, it can take a while for the cup to loosen to the point that problems occur, which may be why it took a while for your hip to begin dislocating.
A plastic or ceramic liner is fitted into the acetabular component. The femoral part of your hip joint fits into this cup and the femoral head rotates freely to give your hip its movement. Dislocation occurs when the ball is allowed to rotate too far either from a loose or poorly aligned cup. There are particular types of implants that can help keep the prosthesis in place if dislocation is a problem and your surgeon may be considering this type of implant for you.
Once you have your hip revision, please refer to the chart below that we give to all members when they enter recovery. It shows how long it takes the various parts of the body to heal and begin to function normally again. While I’m sure your doctor indicated you can begin to do things again at 6 weeks, it is important not to push too hard with activities or exercise until full healing has taken place. You want this hip to last the rest of your life and it can if you treat it with care, especially during the first 6-12 months it’s in place. I understand that you will be impatient about returning to your high level of activity, but a temporary reduction in your activity levels of a few months is a small price to pay to ensure your hip has the best opportunity possible to stay strong and functional for you in the years to come.
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@Sohowarrior
