Thigh Pain

[Poppy]

A close friend had uncemented hip replacement nearly 4 months ago and pain in his thigh is getting worse - a stabbing pain so bad that he can't put his foot to the ground on getting up in the morning. He's on high blood pressure pills, 8 paracetamols and 4 antiinflammatory tablets a day, also aspirin as he has factor 5 complication with his blood. He is an active 72, tries to walk every day but shows no improvement. Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[Josephine]

Sad as I am to be the bearer of bad tidings, there are about three possibilities here -

1. he has sciatica or ligament inflammation
2. his femoral prosthesis (stem) is loose
3. his acetabular prosthesis (cup) is loose

Has he been to see his doctor yet? Has he seen his surgeon and told him about this problem? He needs to go see his GP or the surgeon ASAP and get his hip xrayed to eliminate 2 and 3.

 

[jaz]

I started going this way about 9 weeks post op and found out the stem had rotated. The surgery was repeated when this was identified by X-ray at 10 weeks. Tell your friend to go back to his OS, the sooner the better.

 

[Poppy]

Thanks for the input. My friend has had an x ray but hasn't yet seen his Surgeon. Waiting for appointment with Physio. Is trying massage and this seems to help. Maybe it is a blood supply problem.

 

[Josephine]

Good point - does it get worse when he walks and improve when he stops for a short rest?

 

[BigDog Mom]

Hi Poppy,
Although I am a lot younger than your friend. If he is heterozygous as opposed to Homozygous, his Factor 5 Leiden is not "as" big a deal. It does mean they have to keep it in mind but it is not nearly as bad as being homo.
I had a massive DVT in June and it was discovered I was hetero along with a structural defect that was the main culprit. That just meant that they did give me a Lovenox shot the day after surgery and I had to take anti-coagulates for 4 weeks. (which has just meant my bruising seems to have been a little more extensive and is hanging on a little longer)

FWIW,
Donna