Loosening of hip after a total hip replacement

My wife had total bilateral and nine months out had to have a revision on her right hip because it became loose and could have done more damage if not done immediately is what the surgeon shared. You and you alone, know your body and if something does not feel right, be a strong advocate for yourself. Not sure on what materials they used on your implant but my wife also came down with Cobalt and Chromium poisoning from her implants twice! If something honestly doesn’t feel right search and seek until you feel better. We ended up changing orthopedic surgeon because the first one kept declining to do a cobalt blood test and we felt something was wrong, had the test done by or through her primary and found her cobalt level to be over 17.5; very toxic. The second orthopedic surgeon was better to start out with but did not seem to have patients for long term care so my wife now sees a third orthopedic surgeon with hopefully no real complications! Best of luck, stay positive and again, be a strong advocate for yourself!

Hi -. I hear you on the disheartening outcomes of what is promoted as a highly successful solution. I had my second hip replacement on May 6 so am just over 2 weeks into recovery. Unlikely my first hip (done at age 50 - I'm now 64), groin pain has been my chief complaint. I've been told by multiple practitioners it's related to the arthritic hip and will heal once I have the surgery. So - now weaning from pain meds - the pain is there and I'm trying to be optimistic about the slow reality of strengthening the muscles post-surgery. But I appreciate you sharing your experience as I don't trust that the typical PT exercises will address it. This morning I am barely able to move my leg at all - and the pain is once again radiating to my knee, lower back, and just feeling inflamed. The joint feels inflamed- so of course now I'm worried about issues with the healing process. I see surgeon again in 2 weeks. Any resources you discover for healing over-stretched ligaments of deep muscles I'd be interested in- and am here to offer moral support to keep listening to your body. Amazing breakthroughs are happening for healing ligaments - a lesser-researched field but one I believe will benefit women especially for pelvic health as our hormones play a key role in this area of the body. You are so young - you will learn through this experience and perhaps in the long run understand what your body needs for your future health as well. Wishing you a miraculous breakthrough soon! Stay with it.

Thank you for the kind works Danny! Luckily my surgeon did ask me to do all kinda of bloodwork to make sure I had no infection so I'm happy about that! You're absolutely right, I need to advocate for myself because nobody can feel what I'm feeling. I'm hopeful the other surgeons will have some more answers for me 😀

Unfortunately I experienced the same kinda pain you having right now and unfortunately nothing I did ever helped. I thought the surgery was my way of not feeling pain but that didn't go as planned! I hope you have yours figured it out and be out of pain because its not a good way to feel!
Thank you for all your kind words!

My wife’s first total bilateral was at age 53; six hip surgeries and 11 years later, hopefully no more for a very long time! She still has a lot of discomfort but it all seems to be in her lower back, kind of where they inject the epidural. I question whether or not the epidural could be causing the degenerative disease in her spine and of course, no was the answer. Supposedly now she has no restrictions from the implants but walks with a really bad limp which adds to the discomfort in her lower back. Goes to the spine clinic where they fuse the nerves that last about 6 months before they regenerate and repeat process. Limited mobility does not help with weight dilemma, which too, adds to the issue. Hopefully with or when we start getting comfortable weather she can get out a walk more! Good luck

My first hip replacement was a failure. I had to go to a different orthopedic surgeon. The doctor put in wrong size hip. I went through what you are going through. Mine was caught six months later. I went to a shoulder doctor that referred me to an orthopedic oncologist. I had osteoporosis and avascular necrosis.
The first doctor did not clean out my hip joint and put in cadaver bone. End result it cause my hip to dislocate, fractured the actebulum and pubic ramus very painful. Took a year and a half to be able to walk. He had to keep me in pool therapy for a year and a half to walk again originally he said I would never walk again.

I had my hip replaced on March 18,2024. I started having pain and developed a terrible limp and pain. Kept telling my PT something was wrong. Long story short the pin had moved. I had to have it redone in August 2024. OP had caused there to have no bone for the hardware to attach to so they cemented the second prosthetic in place.

I'm truly sorry for what you're going through.

Pain in the groin was my main complaint before I had my hip replaced. That seemed like a weird place for hip pain, until the Dr pointed out that the femur turns in towards the pelvis and the head of the femur fits in the socket on the pelvis - directly under the groin.

I don't know about edema or the tendon lengthening procedure you mention. I'm no expert, but a loose prosthetic sounds like it may be at least part of the problem.

You're very young and I'm guessing they would not have needed to use cement. I'd ask whoever suggested a loose prosthesis for a way to confirm that and fix it. Your hip surgeon should not be referring you away without staying involved.

If you do need a revision surgery - yeah that's not ideal - but if it fixes your hip, it will be worth it.

I'd suggest finding another surgeon for a second opinion as well. Finally, you are very young to need a hip replacement. What was the reason?

All the best to you young friend.

Joe

I agree! Second opinion is the best! A surgeon doesn’t like to be questioned, it’s their reputation on the line. My wife had a total bilateral, surgeon come to me in waiting room, all went well, recovery should be out to get you in about 15 minutes…..5 hours later, I started getting very upset because no one had come to get me and most staff had gone home for the day. After I got on the phone and made it clear that I wanted to see my wife I was sent to another floor where they said my wife would be, get there, no one knew anything about her, went back to recovery and demanded an explanation, oh! She just went to her room, back to another floor I went and she was there. Black & Blue from head to toe. They attempted to get her up to walk, femur nerves was compressed or severed in left leg, had to place a mobilized brace in order to walk with help from a walker and two people at her side. Seven days in ICU and then transferred to rehab at Fanny Allen in Burlington Vermont. Second day there, dropped onto shower floor because attending physician omitted mobilizer on at all times in his written orders for the nurses. Wife in Constant pain and on heavy pain medication for 9 months. Finally, femur nerve starts to regenerate. Wife has X-ray of right hip, fractured pelvic, revision required ASAP. Her surgeon expresses, “ This Time, I will preform the surgery “‘ wife says, “ Who in the hell did it the first time, why was I black and blue from head to toe, even my breast were all bruised “; never did receive an answer. Well, revision was preformed, pain in groin area was intense, follow up showed Cobalt / Chromium poisoning and loose replacement on left hip; another revision recommended. The surgeon that supposedly did the first two operations had left the facility to another hospital to practice on patients, we followed to that hospital, he gave us the sense that he did not want to provide care to my wife. So, we went back to original hospital with a new surgeon; his last name was “Moschetti”. He preformed a revision on the left hip. Pain was consistent in her groin area; nothing really seemed to help. Four years go by and wife goes in for a routine follow up, blood test was preformed and What, Cobalt / Chromium levels dangerously elevated and two staph infection; complete hip implant removed from right side, port placed, 8 weeks in IV Antibiotics, revision preformed.
Update! Hips do not seem to be an issue…lower back, where they have placed several epidurals, degenerative bone disease. Of course they say it is not from the epidurals! Maybe not, who knows.
I share this for one real reason! You and only You know your body inside and out! My wife often say, had she had this to do all over again, she never would have had it done, I’m not so sure, she was in a lot of pain prior!
Not any one person took any responsibility for all that “WE” went through! I was working a full time job as was my wife prior to her first total Bilateral; which needless to say lead to her employer terminating her position.
You know your body better than anyone! Be loud and strong, you sense something wrong, stay on it until you feel you have been heard! A revision is not the end of the world and in fact, if there is something wrong with your current implant you will not heal completely because your internal organs are designed to reject something that is possibly harming your body!
Best of Luck!

I am so sorry to hear this! Absolutely the truth is you have to be your own advocate! I went through 20 years being at the wrong kind of doctor and neurosurgeon, before I was at an orthopedic surgeon; from there, I spent another four years fielding for surgeons before I found my Prince charming. In that delay, I suffered permanent nerve damage from the discs, falling completely out in my lumbar back and the bones grafting together. They had to be saw apart infused. My first orthopedic surgeon got mad at me and wouldn’t do the surgery. By the time I got to the fourth orthopedic surgeon, he told me that he did all the revisions for the surgeon that got mad at me! I carried around upset and insecurity for four years, and it was devastating to me. When a friend told me he was going to that first surgeon who was published, beloved by the local hospital, handsome, so he was on the local hospitals, television commercials-I set out to tell my friend don’t go to this guy, and I found a lawsuit against the first surgeon for neglect! By the grace of God I go and I was very lucky that that first surgeon did not do my surgery. Before that I had to complete hip surgeries after researching types of THR and reviews on surgeons. I had the best materials (which I didn’t even know at the time about materials. I was so busy, researching reviews and types of surgery that I didn’t know. Materials needed to be understood as well). I am very sorry you could not get good care for your wife, but don’t give up and keep going! When you mentioned “loose“ what I thought of was the possibility of not rest strengthening the adjacent muscles, which need to be very strong to help hold everything in place after the surgery. I wish you good luck on finding a great surgeon. If you are near San Diego, Ucsd has a great team of orthopedic surgeons that I can vouch for. They teach future doctors so they have to be good and they have a lot of experience and they’re not in it for the money.