Revision 4/23/13

[Ruby Red]

They captured him and he is on the way to a hospital and I'm hearing a lot of talk about it being Mass. General. Noooo!

 

[Poppet]

Oh No..... Fingers crossed for you Mary Jane... Give it a few days and it might be clear to go ahead for you

 

[Ruby Red]

They took him to a different hospital. I am so relieved!

 

[Vida]

Good luck Mary Jane. There are quite a number of us here who experienced congenital dislocations. I spent at least 6 months in hospital at age 18 months, miles away from my parents, who could not afford to visit. It happened that way because I had a doctor uncle who suggested I undergo a new type of surgery only available at a certain medical centre. My mother is 89 and still feels guilty. I keep telling her it all worked out fine but it was only when I had a daughter (and had her checked) that I understood how she felt! I am sorry that you've needed a revision, its a miserable setback. Best wishes for Tuesday -- I hope that, like me, this will be the last surgery you ever need and that your recovery will go smoothly this time. Vicki

 

[BarbaraR]

MaryJane, I hope everything goes well for you this week. XO

 

[Ruby Red]

Thank you. I hope it all goes well and this is the last time also. I just want to be knocked out now and wake up when it's over.

 

[Big Sis]

I was told I couldn't bring any electronics with me to Mass. General, but we'll see. I may not be able to post until I get home but will report in as soon as I can. Hopefully, the events happening here in Boston don't interfere with my surgery date. They are not allowing anyone into the hospitals here right now but personnel. Hoping it will be resolved by then.

Hi Mary Jane, I too had the anterior approach for the first surgery. My surgeon used the Stryker ABG II stem. I had revision surgery at MGH 11 weeks ago. I wonder if we had the same surgeons. My revision surgery didn't go the way I hoped it would. My surgeon told me that when he opened my leg, everything was black from the corroded metal. He had to cut out half of my muscles and tendons. My femur broke when he put the new stem in. I am still in a wheel chair. My leg is now 3/4 inch longer than the other. I'm not doing so great. It would be nice to talk to someone that is going through the same thing.

 

[Vida]

Big Sis While we are waiting for Mary Jane to post, why don't you start your own thread? I am sure there are a lot of Bonesmart members who can empathize with your situation and offer valuable advice. I am not qualified but I do want to say how sorry I am that you have been through such a traumatic experience and I sincerely hope you get all the help you need in terms of support and rehab to get you up and walking again. I am going to tag Josephine our highly experienced forum den mother and orthopedic nurse, who I am sure will have some words of wisdom. Meanwhile, stay here and post your progress, when you feel up to it. We are here to help. Vicki

 

[Ruby Red]

Hi Big Sis ... I'm so sorry to hear that. My surgeon was Dr. Young Min Kwon. Who did your surgery? He said he had to remove about 30% of the surrounding tissue that was damaged from the corrosion. There was a lot more tissue damage than what showed up on the MRI but I didn't get a lot of specifics when I was in the hospital. Fortunately the femur did not break. My first week home from the hospital was just awful, but I have been slowly but steadily improving.

I am having my first follow up this Wednesday so I will know more details then. I am still on crutches with little to no weight bearing on that leg. I'm sorry you're in a wheelchair. It was bad enough going through this once, let alone having to do it again and then to have to be confined to a wheelchair for a much longer recovery period.

If you want to PM me that would be ok or we can continue talking here. I'd be interested in knowing where you live and where you had your first surgery. I'm just outside Boston.

 

[Big Sis]

Hi Mary Jane,
Dr. Kwon was my surgeon. He had to lengthen my leg to stabilize it because I lost so much of the muscle. Did he have to do that for you too? I bet we had the same first surgeon too. I don't want to put too many details here because I've hired an attorney to sue Stryker. I think if we can PM that would probably be better. How do I do that?

 

[Big Sis]

Thank you so much Vicki. It has been a nightmare. I don't really have a good support system so I thought it would help to be able to talk with others that have or are going through the same thing. I'm so glad to have found this. How are you doing?

 

[Jamie]

Big Sis....welcome to BoneSmart! I'm glad you found our forum and have joined us. We are here to provide support for you as you go through this recovery from your revision. I would like you to start a thread of your own in the recovery forum. Here are instructions on how to do that.

We do encourage you to post on the public forum as much as possible because your information helps others who might be going through a similar experience. However, I do understand that some information might be sensitive enough to warrant use of our private messaging. You access that via the INBOX tab at the top of the page.

I'm so sorry you are having a bad time of things right now. Has your surgeon given you any prognosis for what to expect in the coming weeks and months in terms of your mobility?

Once you start your own thread, I'll tag our forum nurse, Josephine, again for you. We've been having some problems with her getting all of her tags, so it may be that she didn't see the one above.

Please let us know how you're doing.....we care about you and we'll be here for you!

 

[Josephine]

I agree with you starting your own thread. I will come and post when you have done that.

 

[pt98n]

I also have a Stryker ABG II stem and had my surgery in the Boston area. So far no problems. Did you both have your original surgery at Mass General? Just curious if we all had it at same place. Don't need to give MD names if don't want to but can you share which hospital? Prayers to you both that your recovery goes well.

 

[Ruby Red]

My original surgery was in Newton Wellesley and the revision was at Mass. General six weeks ago. I see that your surgeon told you he didn't think the ABG was a problem. Interesting. I had 30% of my tissue removed from around my hip due to corrosion of the ABG II stem. It may not be a problem for everyone, but it's definitely a problem. I'm glad to hear you are doing well. Going through this once was traumatic enough, let alone having to do it twice.

 

[pt98n]

Well, right now the ABG is not a problem as my metal ion numbers are ok and I am not having any symptoms. I also had my surgery at Newton Wellesley hospital. I hope you don't mind me asking you questions as I am trying to be pro active and catch any problems early if they occur. Did you have problems right after surgery or did well then out of the blue start having symptoms. What symptoms did you have? Did you have high ion levels? MRI show anything? Thanks for sharing, I am 18 months post op and thinking about asking for an MRI just to check. Why did you decide to have your revision at Mass General vs Newton Wellesley? I hope you have opened up a case with a good lawyer and not depending on Stryker for money. Keep healing well.

 

[Ruby Red]

I do have an attorney so don't want to say much more on here. I definitely recommend you get an MRI. If you can get in to see someone at Mass. General, have it done there. They have a more sophisticated MRI machine.

My Dr. at NWH said he wouldn't be doing the revision and referred me to a surgeon at Mass. General who specializes in revisions and metallosis.

It's good you are not having problems. Are you fairly active? Have you been able to resume the activities you formerly enjoyed?

 

[pt98n]

I understand about not saying too much due to lawyer issues. I am going to talk to one monday to be pro active.

Yes I am active, no problems walking, swimming, lifting, can even jog although don't do much as I am not a runner but great that I am able. No pain and full range of motion. Even though I am not having problems at the moment, I want to make sure I catch anything early and avoid any muscle damage as I am noticing more and more people are having problems. I am going to ask about an MRI.

I am 18 months out, when did you start having problems? Symptoms? Were you ion levels high? I have had mine tested twice so far, went up slightly but still in normal range.

My surgeon has revised 10 ABGs so far and I just saw him last week, and from what I can gather the revisions are doing ok. We may have a different surgeon or your damage was more and needed a specialist. At least you were referred to a top surgeon, that speaks well about your original surgeon. FYI my surgeon is Dr. Snyder.

 

[Ruby Red]

Dr. Snyder was my surgeon as well. Just as a heads up ... None of the tissue damage found in my revision showed up on the NW MRI. Approximately 30% of the tissue surrounding my hip had to be removed due to corrosion from the recalled implant. I would be skeptical about having one done at Newton Wellesley if it's unable to tell you what you need to know.

My hip would get inflammed and painful every time I tried to increase my activity levels, beyond walking my dog. I was never able to resume any level of normal physical activity that I formerly enjoyed. Not even yoga. I would have to stop all activity until the inflammation died down some. A couple months later I'd try again and the same thing would happen, only the pain became increasingly worse over time until I had to stop activity entirely.

 

[pt98n]

Thanks for the info on the MRI, did you have one at Mass General too that showed the damage or it just doesn't show up on MRIs well.
Thanksfully, so far, I have not had any problems since surgery and surgery itself went well. But I know many problems are showing up at the 1 or 2 yr mark and I am at 18 months so being very cautious.
I am sorry you had to go through all this. Interesting how he does some revisions, I wonder if it depends how complex it will be. May I ask what stem you have now? I have a small femur so if I would need a revision, what stem to use may become an issue.
Thanks again for sharing. How are you doing now? Hope you are progressing well and will be painfree soon.