1. < Bones, Joints & Muscles

Open gluteus medius and minimus repair pain 15 months post op

Posted by jaysaki @jaysaki, Apr 14 11:29am

Anyone else have an open gluteus medius and minimus repair and still in pain 15 months post op? I have done 5 months pre and post operative physical therapy for this injury that started almost 3 years ago. I cannot seem to get my surgeon to understand the amount of pain I am still experiencing. I have experienced next to no relief from the procedure and have lost so much of my active lifestyle. The surgeon keeps insisting it's bursitis and tendonitis even though the bursa was removed and new bursa should have grown by now. They insist the glute is healed when all of my pain is exactly as it was pre op. They have injected the area with steroids and I have done a round of pills with no real relief. I managed to maintain quite a bit of strength in my hip abductor through this entire process which made it take even longer to get diagnosed and now they are using that as the single determining factor when I go in for my follow ups and saying it is healed. There are almost no doctors in my area that do this procedure so I am out of luck for getting a second opinion. I am following up again next week and even tried to be proactive and ask for a post op MRI before my visit. They outright refused saying they don't want to do any imaging until they are sure what is causing the pain even though I have consistently told them the same things every visit. I have never experienced anything like this with any physician. It is bizarre and very discouraging at this point. Any tips or similar experience with this procedure?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Bones, Joints & Muscles Support Group.

jaysaki | @jaysaki | Apr 18 5:14am
In reply to @jimhd "My wife has been going through a very similar situation. She had a gluteus maximus repair,..." + (show)
@jimhd

My wife has been going through a very similar situation. She had a gluteus maximus repair, with pain continuing, then a hip replacement, with pain continuing. A doctor finally discovered a torn muscle that had been overlooked for so long that it was atrophied beyond the point of repair, so she was told that the debilitating pain would be something that would have to be managed the rest of her life.

Most recently she saw a physiatrist, who referred her to a nerve ablation specialist. Last week, after a trial injection of anesthesia to the nerve at the hip joint, she had a nerve ablation. She had very welcome relief the day after ablation, but the longer term effect won't kick in for 2 or 3 weeks. She has gone through a bunch of cortisone injections over the past several years, too, with no benefit.

The surgeon who did the muscle repair missed the second tear. The same surgeon missed the damage below my ankle when he did repair to my ankle, now requiring a fusion. Frustrating.

It's great that you are taking initiative in getting the appropriate treatment. Doctors can be dismissive, unfortunately. If one won't pay attention, you can try getting the tests and treatment from a different doctor. A physiatrist is a good resource, as they tend to look at the bigger picture than the other doctors who can get focused on what they think they know.

Jim

Jump to this post

Thank you for sharing and happy your wife is finally receiving the care and relief she needs. It is extremely frustrating to be constantly expressing concern and communicating non-relief of original symtoms only to be told, I am healed. I have lost so much time and missed out on so many activities. I have had multiple steroid injections in the area and worry that something was missed and these injections have done more damage than good. I have confirmed that the surgeon I saw here is the only one in this speciality within my state so my next step at this point is probably to travel to Boston to seek a second opinion and basically start over again. I hope that your wife continues to find relief from her procedure.

REPLY
frt | @frt | Sep 24 2:37am

It's been two years since my gluteus medius minimus surgery. And right now, i'm in more pain than ever I iced the area so much recently, I got second degree burns. The surgeon that performed my GMM surgery has moved out of state, so I have a new surgeon right now, and He wants to start from square one. I've explained over and over that i'm in worse pain now than before the surgery, and i'm experiencing severe deep glutial pain to the point that I can't sit any more than half an hour at a time. I also have these excruciating pain spasms in my right glute, that feel like electric shocks. My new surgeon keeps wanting to try new things such as p.R p which has not worked. Cortisone injections, which i've gotten in the past also don't work. At this point, the pain is almost unbearable.And i'm not sure where to turn or who can do some kind of revision surgery. I've been with this new surgeon for a year, and have done all the conservative measurements, ice, meds physical therapy,
which basically makes the pain much worse. The MRI has some hazyness he says, what does that mean! All I know is I cant live with this debilitating pain any longer.
Does anybody know what kind of surgeon would do this sort of revision surgery to get me out of chronic pain?

REPLY
3 replies
dlydailyhope | @dlydailyhope | Sep 25 6:53am
In reply to @frt "It's been two years since my gluteus medius minimus surgery. And right now, i'm in more..." + (show)
@frt

It's been two years since my gluteus medius minimus surgery. And right now, i'm in more pain than ever I iced the area so much recently, I got second degree burns. The surgeon that performed my GMM surgery has moved out of state, so I have a new surgeon right now, and He wants to start from square one. I've explained over and over that i'm in worse pain now than before the surgery, and i'm experiencing severe deep glutial pain to the point that I can't sit any more than half an hour at a time. I also have these excruciating pain spasms in my right glute, that feel like electric shocks. My new surgeon keeps wanting to try new things such as p.R p which has not worked. Cortisone injections, which i've gotten in the past also don't work. At this point, the pain is almost unbearable.And i'm not sure where to turn or who can do some kind of revision surgery. I've been with this new surgeon for a year, and have done all the conservative measurements, ice, meds physical therapy,
which basically makes the pain much worse. The MRI has some hazyness he says, what does that mean! All I know is I cant live with this debilitating pain any longer.
Does anybody know what kind of surgeon would do this sort of revision surgery to get me out of chronic pain?

Jump to this post

@frt
What type of surgeon did your surgery? Do you know the exact procedure done and remember what they said the surgery would help relieve in terms of pre-surgical symptoms? Did they tell you the risks of the surgery?

I have bilateral gluteal tendinopathy and hamstring tears and understand how painful this is. Did you fall/injure your gluteal muscles? Do you know the cause of your symptoms?

Is it possible they injured nerves during your initial surgery? Have you seen a neurologist for EMG/nerve conduction studies and myelogram to check nerve health and function?

I also have lumbar stenosis, degenerative disc disease and neurogenic clarifications which causes pain/weakness/numbness in lower back, hips, buttocks, legs and feet. Have you had a MRI of your lumbar spine to check if you have any spinal cord/nerve root compression?

REPLY
dlydailyhope | @dlydailyhope | Sep 25 7:00am
In reply to @frt "It's been two years since my gluteus medius minimus surgery. And right now, i'm in more..." + (show)
@frt

It's been two years since my gluteus medius minimus surgery. And right now, i'm in more pain than ever I iced the area so much recently, I got second degree burns. The surgeon that performed my GMM surgery has moved out of state, so I have a new surgeon right now, and He wants to start from square one. I've explained over and over that i'm in worse pain now than before the surgery, and i'm experiencing severe deep glutial pain to the point that I can't sit any more than half an hour at a time. I also have these excruciating pain spasms in my right glute, that feel like electric shocks. My new surgeon keeps wanting to try new things such as p.R p which has not worked. Cortisone injections, which i've gotten in the past also don't work. At this point, the pain is almost unbearable.And i'm not sure where to turn or who can do some kind of revision surgery. I've been with this new surgeon for a year, and have done all the conservative measurements, ice, meds physical therapy,
which basically makes the pain much worse. The MRI has some hazyness he says, what does that mean! All I know is I cant live with this debilitating pain any longer.
Does anybody know what kind of surgeon would do this sort of revision surgery to get me out of chronic pain?

Jump to this post

@frt
P.S. Have you tried Voltaren gel for pain caused by inflammation? You need to use it for 7 days straight to notice the benefits. Also, have you tried Salonpas lidocaine nerve pain patches? I have had about 7 spinal injections in my lumbar spine and they worked initially because they knew my source of pain. They stopped working and then had surgery last month. My understanding is steroid injections can compromise joints/cartilage over time. I am not sure how these injections affect tendon or muscle tissue when injected into gluteal muscles.

REPLY
ams | @ams | Sep 26 2:39pm
In reply to @frt "It's been two years since my gluteus medius minimus surgery. And right now, i'm in more..." + (show)
@frt

It's been two years since my gluteus medius minimus surgery. And right now, i'm in more pain than ever I iced the area so much recently, I got second degree burns. The surgeon that performed my GMM surgery has moved out of state, so I have a new surgeon right now, and He wants to start from square one. I've explained over and over that i'm in worse pain now than before the surgery, and i'm experiencing severe deep glutial pain to the point that I can't sit any more than half an hour at a time. I also have these excruciating pain spasms in my right glute, that feel like electric shocks. My new surgeon keeps wanting to try new things such as p.R p which has not worked. Cortisone injections, which i've gotten in the past also don't work. At this point, the pain is almost unbearable.And i'm not sure where to turn or who can do some kind of revision surgery. I've been with this new surgeon for a year, and have done all the conservative measurements, ice, meds physical therapy,
which basically makes the pain much worse. The MRI has some hazyness he says, what does that mean! All I know is I cant live with this debilitating pain any longer.
Does anybody know what kind of surgeon would do this sort of revision surgery to get me out of chronic pain?

Jump to this post

Have you thought about nerve ablation? I had back pain due in part to tears. It has been 1 1/2 years since my ablation and haven't had any pain yet. Getting approval from insurance took longer than all of the tests.

REPLY
kforrest | @kforrest | Oct 7 11:13am

i think drs are so overloaded with patients that they aren't able to do their jobs very well. i have learned that i need to be proactive not rely solely on my primary care physician alone. i have osteoarthritis in my hip. my primary care dr says she is amazed it hasn't cracked off. i have to use a walker because i cannot stand on my legs. i did find another dr because the disrespect i was getting was bad the front desk told me to find anothr dr. my doctor had me on statins for over two years, which could have brought this on. i also am diagnosed with diabetes2 a lot of years ago. my a1c is 10. i am on ozempic for a month. it was only through a referral that i asked for that i was able to find a new dr. you need a referral a cold call by you will not get you accepted by another dr. good luck

REPLY
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.