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riding accident fracture nof

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liz

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Mar 28, 2007
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two months ago i had a bad riding accident. my right hip was screwed and plated. I have been non weight bearing since and have 3 weeks to go before seeing surgeon again. i am a very active 56 year old with 3 horses ,dogs and 3 jobs. I feel very let down because i was not offered a replacement hip at the time which would have meant i would be ok by now. the reason given was my age. the procedure i had will only last up to 4 years when i will need a new hip anyway. the blood supply to the hip has been compromised so it can crumble anytime form here in. my life has just stopped because of the decision not taken by me but by the surgeon, without discussion with me. has anyone else had this happen ? if so I need to know the outlook for me. thanks liz
 
Hi Liz,
I am afraid I can not offer you any help, but I can sympathize with you and feel your frustration. I am so sorry to hear of your riding accident, I know it can happen any time. I own a Hanovarian mare that I event with. I have bilateral THR that are now 2 yrs old so I am always trying to not come off, but sometimes that is out of our hands. I also own 8 Siberian Huskies that we show and skijor with, 4 cats and run my own business so I can sure empathize how you must be feeling right now.

Can you see another surgeon and perhaps go ahead with a THR? I got mine when I was only 53 yrs. I would have a very hard time dealing with what you are going thru. It did take me 3 opionions before I found the surgeon that told me I needed both hips done within a year and who I had complete faith in, so maybe you need to find the 'right guy'. Good luck!

Andrea
 
thankyou for your message of support. if I do not get the go ahead to start walking in 3 weeks from my surgeon I will get another opinion as I simply cannot go on like this. one of my horses developed laminitis for the first time a week after my accident and had to go to a friends for care as I could not do anything for him. My husband, who knows nothing about horses, and has no interest ,has had to look after my other two. fortunately they are out 24/7 so dont need a lot of care. It is a constant worry. How ever did you manage when you had your hips done? hope you had a good support network. I dont know whether I will ride again. My husband is very against it for obvious reasons. I do drive one of them so may just break the other one and stick to that. very sad to give up though. Glad you are riding even though you have two new hips. liz
 
I have been walking now for 3 months. not using crutches but still limp. I have pain in my groin on walking and sitting. saw surgeon today and he says I have some bone loss in the hip. see again in 6 months but he muttered hip replacement! I can do most things now but have not ridden. tired of the pain though.
 
Oh dear, poor Liz! There are so many instances where people have bad luck but with a fractured hip it's almost inevitable. I don't see if you live in US or UK but I can tell you what I know about this, if it helps.

First off, unless the fracture is inside the joint (subcapital fracture) it's very uncommon for the surgeon to proceed immediately to a replacement. It's just not an option. The reason for this is that there is a very good chance the fracture will heal and everything will be alright. Rushing into a THR is not a good protocol as the fixation you had does not require the hip joint being entered at all and is a much lesser procedure. It has a lesser chance of traumatic arthritis developing as a result of surgery. I say this because had the fracture been inside the joint, the option would most likely have been a hemi-arthroplasty or replacement of the head alone as the cup part of the joint, being in good condition, does not need to be interfered with.

The age factors into this for two reason, first because it means you have a very good chance of it healing well and secondly because you are a tad on the young side to have a THR.

But there are some other things you should remember. First, you are only 8 weeks post op. Fractures take around 14-16 weeks to heal and in the hip, maybe a bit longer. Second, this was as the result of a bad fall which in itself takes a while to recover from and will inevitably delay the healing process.

Third, the prediction that your present hip will 'only last four years' is just that, a prediction, a guess-timate and by no means a certainty. With any luck, it could last much, much longer than that. At this time, nobody knows how long it will last. If you had the usual Dynamic Hip Screw fixation (DHS), they are actually a very good appliance and, unlike the static appliances used in my young day, can adjust to any bone adsorption (shrinkage) that will occur around the fracture site.

So, my advice to you is to try to be more patient. Nothing goes quickly where bones are concerned nor is anything carved in tablets of stone. You may/may not require a THR at a later stage but don't rush into it. You do not yet know how well you will do with this. Give it time. You might be surprised.
 
thankyou for that interesting information. i wish the doc had told me as much! I live in uk. I will try to be patient but i am very active normally so get frustrated I have to limit myself a bit. liz
 
You're welcome! Please get back if there's any other info I can help you with. Fractured necks of femur is something of a speciality for me!!
 
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