THR Complications after 10 years

Getting a hip replacement young ultimately means you will have to have revision surgery later on in life! Mine happened exactly 10 years after I received a Total Hip Replacement on my left leg at the age of 19.

　

In the beginning of 2011, I was working onsite at an exhibition (I am an Event Manager), and as I was walking around I felt like I had pulled my groin. In all honesty, I probably did - I don’t exercise at all so something as simple as walking would cause me injury haha. Later on in the day I was on the phone to my mother and recall saying that I think it’s a good time to see my Orthopaedic Surgeon again. It had been 10 years after all, a check up on my hip and an x-ray would be a good idea.　

　

I made the appointment to see my surgeon in a few weeks time. By the time the appointment came around, I was coincidentally starting to experience pain in my hip – no longer the feeling of a pulled groin muscle. Good thing I was seeing him!

I had my x-ray before the appointment and without the radiographers report my surgeon took a look and said my hip looked fine! It was really stable, there were no signs of the hip components loosening and the bone structure looked great!

　

I was confused, I had pain, yet he said my x-ray looked fine! What the hell is causing all of this discomfort.

　

Seeing as though I do absolutely NO exercise, i thought it must be muscular or the lack of. I must need to change that lazy aspect of my life and start building my muscles up to support my hip and put a stop to this discomfort. But no, he didn’t like the idea of me possibly pushing myself physically – even though its what I should have been doing all along – carefully strengthening my core, legs and glutes. When you exercise with a THR you must be soooo careful as to what you physically do. No running, no jumping, no excessive cycling – no anything that could do damage or ultimately wear the joint out. After all it is a machine and doesn’t rejuvenate itself – makes sense, I get it.

　

However! Surely you’re not meant to go through life in this much pain, without there being something wrong. Your body shares its pain with you purely to tell you there is something quite not right. So thinking of this – I had to listen to her and stand up for her.

　

After going back and forth with my surgeon, trying to get a plan of attack that we could both agree on – it got to the point where my stubborn streak came out in full force....I stood up, went to leave and said "Well if the x-ray says that my THR and bone structure is all ok and there is nothing else you can do for me, I am going to go home, get on with my life and going to try and rehabilitate my hip."

　

And as if it were just to shut me up, a referral for a nuclear bone scan was written and pushed across the desk

　

A week later I had the bone scan and there it was – a 2cm bone cyst in the roof of my acetabulum (the top of the cup, which is within your pelvis). AH HA! Finally, now I can see what is causing the pain!! I know I’m never wrong ;)

　

Surgery was scheduled for the 22^nd of July 2011. The "plan" was for my surgeon to take a look at what was going on inside my hip, clean the cyst out, patch me back up with a bone graft and send me on my merry way...............

　

...............boy was I wrong.

　

The next 12 months consisted of 5 hip operations, including the complete removal of my original THR and replacement with the one I have currently.

　

Pays to be stubborn sometimes, especially when it comes to your own heath. "They" say that patients do in fact doctor themselves better than their surgeons more often than not. At the end of the day – the patient knows their body the best.

　

Wear your scar with ears. If you hear it – give it a voice, because no one else can.