Hip displaysia surgery opinions?
Mrs. S
7 years ago
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hip replacement
Comments (11)I totally blew my knee out 20 months ago and had an MRI within a week and arthroscopic surgery the next week. It was considered non-elective, *almost* emergency surgery. I did it doing what else - gardening. Long story short, because I could go on and on, the surgery was not a success and I have been left with a knee that does not fully bend or straighten and I have a definite limp. I'm now 48 - I was 46 when it happened. The orth. doctor I originally saw, a friend that is retired from surgery, told me I needed a knee replacement. The doctor that did the surgery thought it could be repaired. He told me that he doesn't do any replacements until 55. (Gee, a bit better than 60). Long term prognosis - I need a knee replacement but he will not do it until 55 or I get such bad arthritis that the joint is almost gone. I think I'm getting there. But, meanwhile, my back and hips are taking such a beating. Problem with seeing another doctor is that it's months and months to get in to see someone else and you are risking being told the same thing. I get so frustrated. Fortunately, we have had such a nice winter that I haven't had to use my cane much except when I do long walks. I fell twice on ice last winter and the doc just said "You can't fall anymore. Everytime you fall, you hurt it worse." Gee - like I fall on purpose!! Grrrrrr........ Don't get me started on the health system right now. We have Ralph to deal with here. Shauna...See Morehip injury
Comments (9)FHOs are more often done on small dogs, however I know of several large dogs (including a German Shepherd) who had the FHO surgery and totally recovered, it worked great. When they remove the femoral head, a false joint forms out of tissue. This creates a cushion for the remaining bone and the dog is able to use the join pretty much normally. I had this done for my terrier mix when he was about 6-7 years old due to hip dysplasia that was too severe to do a hip replacement. Because he had severe HD and had lost most of his muscle mass prior to surgery the recovery took a lot longer than expected, but he was putting weight on the leg about 8-9 days after surgery, and apparently it is pretty normal for them to start using the leg very quickly after surgery. Unlike many hip surgeries, dogs are able and encouraged to exercise the leg very soon after surgery-- there is not a prolonged period of crate rest which would have been very hard on my active terrier (and on a puppy.) I would say that a puppy would probably have a faster recovery from either surgery than an older dog. If you want to read about my terrier's surgery and recovery, I created a diary here: http://www.chicagocanine.com/pooch/poochhd.html I would also suggest checking out the Yahoo Group for hip dysplasia, although your dog does not have HD they will likely be familiar with the types of surgery you mentioned... Here's the url: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CanineHD/...See More~Remember My Knee Replacement Surgery..
Comments (45)Oh my good friends! I love and appreciate all you so much! Reading your replies has lifted my spirits and my courage. Honestly! Since I have no choice in the matter (well, I do have a choice: stop doing anything that requires the use of my left leg.....) I might as well have a good attitude. Knowing I can come here for support means a great deal! In answer to the questions...I hope I don't miss any!... Fear and terror is how I lost the weight. Truly. See, the joint works fine. The weakness, pain and swelling is in the femor and the tibia. Any exertion created problems. My leg hurt while I was sleeping. When I started feeling the prongs of the joint moving around is when I got serious about weight loss. Basically I cut out the sweets and used portion control. If I wanted to have a dessert, I didn't eat bread or potatoes with the meal. I pretty much ate what I wanted but the portions were very very small. Eating a high protein breakfast each day kept me from snacking. Two months of physical therapy helped immensely and now I am in pretty good shape. I blew it the last week what with the holiday sweets and treats but they are all gone now. Insurance: My insurance will pay for the second surgery. However, everything involved in this process is in subrogation. If you recall, immediately after the accident my surgeon's PA read the radiation scan and scheduled a knee revision for the following month but I could not get into the see the surgeon for another ten days. During that ten days I got calls from every insurance company involved, including our health insurance, wanting to record or conversations and asking me to sign documents. This is when I sought the advice of an attorney. I told the surgeon I could not agree to another surgery until I knew the bills would be paid which is when he said the knee was not injured and told me to carry on with normal activities and come back in a year. Basically I have turned everything over to an attorney. The last time we spoke he mentioned a settlement. I told him for now all I was concerned about is the bills got paid. You see, there is still over three thousand dollars of medical bills incurred immediately after the accident that have not been paid. For now I just want to be able to walk again and stay out of the poor house. As some of you pointed out this time around I know what to expect and can prepare. Thank you for putting this into perspective for me. The surgeon says I will spend at least three days in the hospital for physical therapy. I spent less that 24 hours in the hospital the first time around which horrified my current doctor. He said he requred more time to observe and monitor my progress before letting me get over a hundred miles away from him. The first time I was told I couldn't go home until I learned how to use crutches. Considering I've spent a LOT of time on crutches in my life (this is the twelve surgery on this leg since I was a kid) I proved in a hurry I was crutch-competent. LOL I got in the room at 8 o'clock at night and was on my way home by 8:30 the next morning. I came home with a staph infection (something the surgeon was not very concerned about; they referred me to our family doctor for treatment) which set me back considerably in my recovery. Apparently my current knee can't be re-used. It will have to replaced. I wonder if they will let me keep it? LOL This leg has been broken, set, rebroken and reset and the knee rebuilt once and I have the hardware from each episode. I'd like to have the knee to add to my collection. LOL How morbid is that? Thanks again everyone. I appreciate it! I will keep you updated. Lori...See MoreHip replacement
Comments (24)I've had both hips replaced. A neighbor has had both hips and both knees replaced. My surgeon said I should have had mine done 20 years ago and I wish I would have been able to but no way could that have happened. Knee replacement and hip replacement are very different. The knee moves differently so in theory, the knee is worse. Talking to people who've had it done, it really depends a lot on the person. Both are MAJOR surgeries. The issue with the hip is the implant ball is much smaller than the body's natural ball. Hence they put a "filler" liner in there to take up the space. One warning made several times to me is that a hip can dislocate much more easily than the body's natural ball. As you heal, the muscles and other stuff will settle back in and help protect it. Ask your doctor about riding the horse, I'd assume it should be no problem but if you get thrown, it'll likely be far more risky than for someone who has not had replacements. Best advice I can give is the advice I was given from a good friend who had her knee done - do the exercises they suggest before surgery. It'll make things a lot smoother. And it does. I was in therapy for my back and the therapy was most of the exercises they recommended so I did a crash course and pushed myself hard. Everyone was amazed how well I did. I wasn't expected to do well after the surgery but I surprised all of them. For me, I was well prepared for the surgeries. My surgeon was fantastic and his MA was also amazing. Was there pain? You bet. A lot? Yeah but that's relative. For some it would be excruciating. For me it wasn't simply because I've had such incredible pain for the last 25 years I've effectively become numb to a lot of the pain. My GF needs both knees replaced and she's scared to death to do it and keeps putting it off. But that's another story. I was given the choice on having a spinal or general anesthesia. No brainer for me, I took general even though some claim the spinal lasts longer. There's problems with spinal in that it doesn't always work for one thing. They've had people where it quit in the middle of surgery so they had to use general. With mine, since mine were so bad, what was normally expected to be 2 - 2.5 hours took 6.5 hours the first time and 8.5 hours the second time around. No way would a spinal have lasted that long! But I was given the choice. And there's of course risks with any anesthesia to consider too. The doctor(s), therapists, nurses, etc were all amazed with my recovery, how well I did so soon. However a walker was ordered for a period of time immediately following surgery more for safety than necessity. With a hip replacement you're basically learning to walk again. Not a big deal but it's a bit different for a bit. Most adjust quickly. Good luck. And you're wise to go with a surgeon you trust. Makes a big difference. Plus they know you and I think that's a big advantage....See More
nannygoat18
7 years ago
Mrs. S
7 years agoMrs. S
6 years ago
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