Best approach for hip replacement

The femoral nerve goes right down the front of the thigh and branches to the side. My surgeon said he does everything possible to avoid cutting it but it happens more with anterior because the nerve is difficult to see. My hip pain is gone but now I have nasty nerve pain.

Will it repair on its own. I’ve had others say it eventually settles down.

Had the anterior robotic hip replacement surgery November 2022. Easy peasy. Very little post operative pain. Worst part was my surgeons protocol was to have his patients strap a
V shaped foam device strapped between my legs for two months for sleeping so I didn’t inadvertently cross my legs while sleeping. Only heard of one other person that had to do this. What a pain in the butt.
Everything being said, any joint replacement is never as good as the original equipment.
Minor discomfort on occasion is to be expected.

Agreed, Sue. I believe all surgeries carry some risk of either nerve damage or nerve disruption. I had numbness/tingling on the skin around my knees after replacement. That wasn't very bothersome and resolved within a year.

I also had laminotomies on the S1, L5, and L4 vertebrae. The sciatic nerve wasn't damaged but it had been moved around, and yeah, the nerve wasn't happy about that. But the discomfort and minor pain only lasted about a week. The laminotomies were very helpful in relieving pressure from stenosis in my lumbar spine.

I hope it settles down. For now, 13 weeks post op THR, I will stay on Gabapentin for the nerve pain and consult with my surgeon at 16 weeks post op. I’m happy to say since I tried to taper down on Gabapentin and my nerve pain came back, and I started back up at an increased dose of 200 mg 3x a day, my nerve pain is under control. I’m happy for now.

I had anterior THR January 2025 and I had no restrictions and happy I didn’t have to sleep with a V shaped foam device. I was not able to sleep on either of my sides, as back sleeping was my only option due to hip discomfort for 6 weeks or so.

I'm with Sue on this. Any surgery poses a risk of nerve disruption, and rarely, a nerve(s) being cut. That's why it pays to do a lot of research for a good surgeon, and be prepared to wait a long time. Be very suspicious of any surgeon who can schedule the procedure in one week.

As far as the debate about anterior, lateral, posterior - I just had an anterior THR and would not consider the other approaches. The anterior approach spares any muscles from being cut, much less the large gluteus muscles. I'm 3 plus weeks out from THR and was back on the spinning bike in 16 days. My only post-op issue is a very tight gluteus minimus that cramps on occasion. The muscle wasn't cut but has to deal with a new, artificial hip, and months of me limping on a bad hip - leading to shortened and tight gluteal muscles on my right (operative) side. Vey slowly, I've been stretching it and the cramps have decreased. I'm also taking a muscle relaxer - but really, don't believe they do much for severe cramping.

Anyway, all surgery carries some risk. I was in a lot of pain and was and still am willing to accept those risks. But that's me. We all have to make decisions ourselves in the end.

The best to all of you.

Joe

Had anterior November 2022.
Easy peezy. Very little post op pain. Don’t think I even took pain meds except the ibuprofen I take everyday for bad knees, shoulders and back.
The worst part for me was my surgeons protocol was his patients have to strap this
V shaped stiff foam between the legs at bedtime so you inadvertently wouldn’t cross your leg while sleeping.
The replaced hip will never be as good as the original equipment. I still get a few jolts of pain on occasion. Life long physical therapy is an absolute must to keep strength in the hips.

I don't think of it as " Life long physical therapy is an absolute must to keep strength in the hips." - I think of it as simply living.
For many years, I have done several minutes of stretching in bed prior to rising. I also spend my days in as many active pursuits as I can think of - even things like car washing, lawn mowing, gardening, window washing, vacuuming, mopping and going up and down stairs to do laundry are "therapy" = using as many different parts of the body as possible.

Hi, @flyjim ~
I had a hip replacement in Apr. 2022 due to a fall, and had to use that miserable V-shaped foam device for several weeks, as well. However, my replacement has given me a range of motion that isn't compromised like my other, original bone joint. I was told early on by the nurses that the replacement would be far better and stronger than the original bone, and I couldn't imagine it at the time. But they were right (in my case, at least). Still, I hope I never have to endure another joint replacement. I'll be 78 in a couple of weeks.
Peace,
Barb