Too young for THR - Upstate NY!

[Bethanne]

I am 34 years old and have been living with chronic pain in my hips and back for about 10 years. The leg pain at times is unbearable. They didn't know my hips were causing the pain until about a year ago. They were blaming it on my back. In August I had hip arthroscopy done on my right hip. I have labral tear, FAI and arthritis. They shaved the bone down and it still continues to pop/lockup/and be in constant pain.

When the Dr went in he said it was worse than expected but hopes it would buy us some time until I have to get a hip replacement. I have no relief from the surgery and it continues to cause me severe pain every day. Also my left hip is bad as well and I was supposed to get the arthroscopy on that one as well but what's the sense when it has not worked on my right side.

After my follow up he referred me to a orthopedic surgeon to talk about hip replacement. She stated I was too young and that there was some cartilage remaining. If they replaced it now they would have to do it again in another 20 years. I have had injections and have done PT nothing helps I live in constant pain and just want my life back it's so mentally and physically draining.

I want quality of life now when I'm 30 not at 70! Any recommendations??

 

[tollertwins]

Find another surgeon, STAT! I know a woman who had both hips replaced about 30 years ago. They had told her to tough it out in a wheelchair till she was “old enough” - she was in her 20’s. She found another surgeon and she’s fine.

I had a similar issue w my first scope, although in my case it made the hip deteriorate really quickly.

Not doing that again, and a number of ppl told me they wouldn’t operate because my hip wasn’t “bad enough”. Found a reasonable doc who said “yeah, you’ve done pretty much everything you can to avoid one. It’s totally reasonable to replace that hip”.

Guy who did my first one did dancers in their 20’s. His comment about the labral tear in the second hip was “put it off as long as you can, then come back to see me”.

Ask the guy who did the FAI surgery for other recommendations, or maybe ask him to talk to the surgeon.

 

[Josephine]

She stated I was too young and that there was some cartilage remaining. If they replaced it now they would have to do it again in another 20 years.

What an outrageously unsympathetic surgeon! Why make you waste 20 years of your life when you could be spending it in good nick? Those years would be the prime of your life, having children and doing all the things you want to do now! The previous poster is right - find yourself another surgeon and get it done ASAP.

We have had some very young members had hip replacements. You might like to see our star, shugaplum, who had her hip done at the tender age of 24 and two years later gave birth to a fine baby boy!

You might also take a look here Teenage hip replacements

You might also like to know that 20 years is now the minimum phase of longevity for a modern hip replacement. The current thinking is that they could last even longer, as much as 30-35 years! In which case, if you had it done now, you could very likely be 70 and more before you needed to even think about a revision!

 

[Going4fun]

The "delay" thinking is really old-school thinking. You can get a new hip that gives you 30 years of largely pain-free living and movement ... by the time ... if and when you need a revision ... surgeons can give you a revision ... which is likely to be much better than current revisions ... though if you read this board, you'll see people who've had revisions on hips going bad ... who love their revisions.

 

[Bethanne]

I just need to find a doctor to agree to do it! Hopefully that's soon.

 

[Carriemay60]

I agree to get it done. I am 25 years older than you and lived with pain for 5 years which in my opinion is far too long. I really feel like I've lost a chunk of my life so can only imagine how you feel!! You could try putting a shout out here for a surgeon in your area. Don't forget you are your best advocate and you must advocate hard for yourself!

 

[Jaycey]

I just need to find a doctor to agree to do it! Hopefully that's soon.

Find a surgeon who specialises in younger patients with arthritis. There are some out there and the numbers continue to grow.

I you tell us what area you live in, our members might be able to recommend someone.

 

[Bethanne]

Upstate NY willing to travel!

 

[Jaycey]

Would you be willing to travel to HSS? Our members rave about this hospital and the surgeons there. I changed your thread title slightly so that members in your area respond.

 

[Carriemay60]

@Bethanne I wondered if you've seen this thread discussing HSS surgeons?
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/lthr-hss-surgeon.52099/

 

[GrannyC]

The term “upstate NY” seems to mean different parts of the state to different people. I live in upstate NY and had my surgery at St Joseph’s in Syracuse, NY. My OS was Dr Seth Greenky ay Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists or SOS as it is referred to. He is fantastic and very highly regarded. He does around 500 replacements (hip and knee) a year and I feel very comfortable recommending him. His brother, Brett Greenky, is also an OS and he seems to be excellent as well. This was my first experience with St Joseph’s and that was very positive, too. I visited one other OS at another hospital in Syracuse but ended up choosing Dr Greenky after my GP recommended him and I have never regretted my choice. He is great!

 

[Triker]

I have never understood this reasoning,if you need a new joint you need a new joint whether you are 30 or 60,try another doctor. I was 47 when my doctor told me I needed a replacement. I don't know where you are in upstate but I went to Dr Colucci of oar in rochester. I had my surgery at unity hospital Rochester and although it wasn't pleasant both the doctor and facility were too notch.

 

[GrannyC]

I agree with the others that you need to find a new dr. There are so many forum participants that are younger than you and have had replacements so it is not uncommon. Some drs apparently still have old days thinking. Better to have a replacement now and get on with your life than to wait 20 years and suffer all that time.

 

[Spid]

Hi Bethanne,

I don't visit the forum at all now but came on today because I wanted to see if there were any opinions on the tennis player Andy Murray having his hip resurfaced.

Whilst here I came across this thread. I've had arthritis since my early teens and around 2010 it got unbearable in my hip. I was in tears how painful it was and it was stopping me living an active life like a guy in his 20's would. I saw an orthopedic surgeon and he was happy to go ahead but I was scared so put it off. I ended up limping around and in pain for another two years and got it done a bit before my 30th birthday.

How I wish I'd got it done after my first appointment with the surgeon. I wasted nearly two years of my life. I've never been more active in my life now, I go to the gym daily and can walk until I'm out of breath with no hip pain.

Check my post history as I was very active on here during the 6 weeks recovery period. Iirc I was on here posting about my surgery just hours after it happened. If you have any queries I'm happy to help.

 

[Arry]

Hi Bethanne,

It looks like you have had a similar experience to me in terms of hip problems, labral tear, FAI and arthritis. I was 36 when I found out, and in the last two years I have 2x lots of hip arthroscopy on my right hip to have bone shaved and more and more cartilage removed. I was 37 for the 1st operation and the 2nd one was in August last year.

My initial surgeon was reluctant to carry out a second arthroscopy as we knew the hip needed replacing but he did send me through to a colleague who was happy to take a look.

I was then given and option to either have the same operation as previous to try and buy 3/5 years relief or to just get a replacement. I choose the arthroscopy as I felt I was too young to get a replacement and didn't want to put too much pressure on my wife with her work and looking after our young daughter. The surgeon was very honest with me all the way through and said there is no guarantees that I would get any relief and no matter what, I would need the full replacement sooner rather than later.

I'm now 6 months post op and I'm wishing I went for the replacement last year! I'm in the process of trying to now sort this through my insurance provider and bracing myself for going under the knife again this year.

I appreciate I've not been able to help you with the problems you are getting in regards to a surgeon but thought you may be happy(ish) to hear that others in similar ages are going through it too!

I'm constantly having second thoughts about it but like you say, the thought of a better quality of life now far outweighs the fears of struggling when (if I make it) to 70s/80s.

Good luck in your search for a surgeon.

 

[Mersada]

I'm in the New York metro area. I have been going to NYU because they take my insurance. HSS doesn't.
NYU is #8 in the country for OS, while HSS is #1. I guess it also depends on the doctor you choose. You can search them on the web and see their ratings. Good luck to you.