THR at 19 - am I too young?

[PippleHipple]

Hi Guys,
Here's my story (It will take a while to write as i am in work teehee):

When I was 11 years old, I was playing football and my hip somehow dislocated. I went to hospital and they did an ultrasound(I now wonder why they didnt take an X-ray!), said it looked like there had been some trauma as there was fluid on the hip, and sent me away with the advice to stay on crutches for a week and the promise that they would follow it up with Physiotherapy.

After about a year of Physio they decided it was infact my feet (flat and odd looking but perfectly functional) they sent me away again to continue with my little exercises (which i didnt feel helped much).

The Dislocation continued, but it became something i was used to and knew how to position myself to make it stop. Any time i'm in a position with my legs slightly apart or to a different angle the pain starts and I can feel my hip slipping ( this makes having a boyfriend often awequard!)

Anyway, A little red flag popped up in my head when i took a trip to the lovely New York City in January 2008 ( I am now 19).....
And it was so cold that walking was excruciatingly painful for me to do and it almost RUINED my holiday!

Now the fun begins! My Left hip has started to do the same thing....

I went to my doctors yesterday and he had a good old twist of my legs (which was painful). He thinks i have one of two things, Osteoarthritis or Developmental Dysplacia.

I think both of these things lead to Surgery, which im Very scared about!

I have so many questions and i'm off to the hospital today to get X-rays of my Pelvis, Hips and Legs. Im worried about what will happen!

I'm scared cause if im 19 now, It could mean several operations if the new bones wear out....

Am i too young?!

Philippa

 

[Bob A.]

Re: New To The Game??

By all means talk with a surgeon and follow his advice. That said, here is my second hand knowledge coming from my wife who is a PT and deals with hips and knees all the time. The ceramic replacements are having their issues. They have been known to squeak a bit, my surgeon does not like them. They also have the potential to crack in extreme situations since they are a brittle material. Metal on metal seems to be the way to go, at least it is for me.

As for running, squash or other high impact types of sports... Lets just say if you want the repair work to last, you might want to adjust your activities. My wife went to a seminar last month, and afterward read to me the section of of the book where it states that high impact activities are strongly discouraged after these types of operations. They recommend lower impact sports such as walking, golf, swimming that don't pound the joint surfaces together. We all would like to keep going like we are used to, but these artificial joints are not perfect ad the end goal should be to make them last as long as possible.

This post is out of context here since Josephine separated the thread.

 

[BigDog Mom]

Re: New To The Game??

Hi Bluto,
This is just one/my experience so take it for what it is worth. ;)
I am 48 used to run 4 miles a day(with dogs). Now I can not walk 2 without paying for it 2 fold in pain.
I have shallow hip sockets which have landed me with OA in both hips both bone on bone. I am scheduled for bilateral THA in Aug.
I have been doing hydro therapy for 3 months now an hour, 3 times a week. We also bought a Bowflex in Jan. which I use the other 3 days a week and I have exercises the PT gave me to do daily. All of these things have helped me deteriorate LESS quickly. I tease the PTs, in that I tell them the hydro has helped me to be able to put my right sock on still.(some days it is a challenge)
Any way I guess what I am saying is that all of it mitigates the weakness caused by joints that don't work properly and is great preparation to get as strong as I possibly can to have my Op and regain my life as quickly as possible. But none of it has made pain free and I still do the Penguin walk. Not that I don't think Penguins are cute but....

Best wishes,
Donna

 

[Doug]

Re: New to site, 13 weeks post-op for BTKR

Pipple,
In my opinion, you need to look at the quality of your life. At 19 there is so much for you to look forward to. It sounds as if you have had such a rough time with your joints you probably haven't been able to really get out and enjoy everything this world has to offer. There are things to do and sights to see.
Many of us on this forum have spent many many years in pain with bad knees. I had my knee replaced on Jan 17 and am very glad I did. I'm 55. I will probably need a revision at least once before I kick the bucket. But big deal, I am doing things now that I haven't been able to do in several years.
With current technology, you would face several revisions in your lifetime. But consider that the science of joint replacement is constantly improving. It was pretty much unheard of when I was your age.
Talk with family and your Orthopedist for their direction. But in my opinion, you aren't too young to get it done and then get out and have a blast.
Best of luck with your decision.

 

[Josephine]

Hello, Philippa. I moved your post into a thread of it's own as I think it will get more answers that way.

Let me answer your post a point at a time ...

They do ultrasounds on 9 year olds because most of the bone is still cartilage and that doesn't show up on an xray. So they actually get MORE information that way.

As for the O/A or dysplasia, sometimes you can have both, even at 19. I have seen plenty of 19 year olds getting THRs because the alternative is just not acceptable - years of pain and poor function, only ever able to have half a life because life is dictate, controlled and governed by the pain in the hip. You really want to live the next 20+ years like that?

Of course you don't!

So now begin to look on the positive side.

As you see in my signature, I have been working around these hip replacements for over 45 years - actually it'll be 50 years come September! And I have seen progress like gangbusters on the technical side. Even at the start, the prostheses lasted an awful lot longer than anyone expected. If you look in the top of this forum, you will find this thread .. 40 years life span for a hip replacement!!
This lady had her hip put in when she was 38 after a road accident and it's STILL going strong! There are many, many, many like her.

You know, each year for years, there have been around 200,000 hips done in the UK alone - heaven knows how many in the US. If even 2% of those had to have revisions even once, there would be hardly any time left to do primaries!

The surgeons will tell you the 'average' age for a THR is about 10-15 years but this is erring on the side of extreme caution. They have to consider the legal implications of telling you different as you might feel inclined to sue if they said what I am about to tell you and then something happened (because nothing is certain in this life). We do have a tendency to believe that what a doctor says to us is cast in tablets of stone and if he says it will last X number of years and it doesn't, you might feel more than a little peeved!

Now I know and you know, that your age does increase the likelihood of a revision but what I am trying to say is that even at your young age, the reality is very likely that you may only be looking at two revisions, three if you are unlucky. That's one around 45/50 and another 65/70. All evidence is that these hips are lasting an awful lot longer than was ever expected. So live in hope. Get your life back first and you will likely find it is years before you need to worry about redoes.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[PippleHipple]

Hiya,
Thanks for the kind words of encouragement! I'm pretty much petrified and i know its a pretty standard operation, I just dont know how to manage it on the pain front at the moment, taking ipbobrufen regularly doesnt seem to touch it!
And im waiting for the results of my Xray to see what it actually is. I think its just the uncertainty at the moment thats driving me a little loopy, and working in an office for long hours makes me a little cranky as I get so stiff..

I'm glad i've found a place to talk to people with similar problems. its very encouraging!

thanks again,

Philippa

 

[mikey]

At your age, would't resurfacing be under consideration?

 

[JoanneC]

I spent the best part of my life being told by surgeons I was too young and my hip wpuld only last 10 years. What they didnt take into consideration was they I couldnt run, couldnt walk, couldnt dance was frightened of getting a boyfriend and although I had friends had no life at all! I had to wait until I was 33 and am only now catching up on the life I should have had. I think it depends on your quality of life but I know what I would have done at 19 if I could turn back the clock! You have your whole life ahead of you and although there are no guarantees Im willing to bet?? OOOOOHH LET ME THINK! A left hip on it that you wont regret it!!

 

[ano]

I also think its very incorrect to always say, "I will need X number of hip revisions because I am X age." The fact of the matter is, we do know about how long current technology probably will last, generally, but we have no idea how long hips developed 15 to 20 years from now will last. In 20 years from now, technology may allow hips to last 60 - 80 years, which means, no matter what your age, its very possible you may only need one revision more in your lifetime. So its really not accurate to say, I'll need one in 20 years, then 20 years later, than 20 years later, etc. It just isn't true.

 

[Traceyleth]

Hi phillipa
I am 35 and scheduled for LTHR on July 21st my problems started around the birth my first child 14 years ago but i would say the last eight years have been horrid for myself and my family like Joanne said cant dance can't walk very far can't excersise properly and you just carry on managing but sometimes you sit back and think it would be nice to be looking forward to going out instead of dreading it. I am at a family wedding tomorrow and i know that i will be sat for long periods which will cause pain or i will be standing which will cause pain the painkillers have little or no effect and the day for me will be endured rather than enjoyed, i have forgotten what its like not to have pain. I know you are younger and this must be a great concern for you but a life endured is not a life lived. My surgeon said to me she had never had anyone come to her afterwards and say they wished they had never had it done, and this would certainly be the usual response from people posting their stories. Also i agree with what ano said about revisions. My surgeon is very confident that this implant will last me a very long time and with the way medical advances move on by the time i need revision who knows what science will have to offer. I hope you get your results soon and that once you know what your dealing with you can make the decision thats right for you.
Tracey

 

[Bluto]

Re: New To The Game??

Phillipa,
I would wait to find out what the diagnosis really is. You are very young for a hip replacement but from what I have heard from others it comes down to the pain and quality of life. I am 44...well almost 44 and thought I was too young for a hip replacement but I have found people much younger than myself and the same age that have had the procedure done. I haven't yet because I can still bear the pain but some of your symptoms are very much like mine....the twisting of the hip joint causes the pain to come on and although we are getting into summer the colder weather seemed to bother it also. Have you seen any of your X-rays?? That was the first step for me to determine how much deterioration is in the hip joint. A good friend of mine who is a physical therapist told me that sometimes it could be a tear in the cartlidge in the hip joint or bone spurs which I know I have bone spurs and these can be repaired fairly easily and painlessly. Like I said I would find out first what condition your hip joint is in but don't assume just because you are having pain it leads to automatically to a hip replacement. Because you are so young there might be alternatives that can put off hip replacment for a while. My first Dr. basically told me to call them when I needed a hip replaced and now I am hoping there might be some other alternatives like the less evasive repair but everyone's situation is different. I have heard that the new replacement hips can be replaced easier now and don't require taking off more of the femur so the number of times you have it done is not as big of an issue. By the way I have been diagnosed with Osteoarteritis. Hang in there but all the facts first....Good Luck!!!
Bluto