Right now, I am not walking at all. Due to repeated infections, all 3 of my hip implants had to be removed over the last 3 years. The last time, the surgeon said there isn't enough left in my hip region to support another replacement. So he took out the bad hip December 31. The first time I'll be seeing him post-op is March 5. He claims that after the scar tissue builds up, I'll be able to walk. Has anyone else been in this situation? Were you able to walk? What problems did you have? Do you have any advice?
Right now, I am not walking at all. Due to repeated infections, all 3 of my hip implants had to be removed over the last 3 years. The last time, the surgeon said there isn't enough left in my hip region to support another replacement. So he took out the bad hip December 31. The first time I'll be seeing him post-op is March 5. He claims that after the scar tissue builds up, I'll be able to walk. Has anyone else been in this situation? Were you able to walk? What problems did you have? Do you have any advice?
My hip was remove approximately 4 years ago. I am able to walk with a walker and with a cane going in and our of restaurants if it isn’t far to walk. Around the house I can walk some without anything. That being said, as soon as the doctor said I could I had my shoes built up to compensate for the shorter leg. It may take a couple of times to get the shoe the right height so do t do them all at once. Don’t expect this to be a magic bullet though. I really do not recommend walking a lot without a walker or a cane because even the best built up shoe will not compensate for the missing hip so your spine may curve some over time. The most problem I have now if with the good leg because over compensation for the bad hip. My doctor says most of that is because of artheritis in my back where the spurs are agrevating my Sciatic nerve. You didn’t mention your age, but I am 72 so my experience may be mush more different than yours if you are a lot younger but I want to encourage you not to give up because you can walk again even if it with a walker. I started walking before I came out of the brace (Even though I was basically on my toes on the short leg and didn’t walk far at a time....your doctor did put you in a brace while the scar tissue is building didn’t he? The build up shoe was my biggest help. Wishing you the best....just stay positive.
Right now, I am not walking at all. Due to repeated infections, all 3 of my hip implants had to be removed over the last 3 years. The last time, the surgeon said there isn't enough left in my hip region to support another replacement. So he took out the bad hip December 31. The first time I'll be seeing him post-op is March 5. He claims that after the scar tissue builds up, I'll be able to walk. Has anyone else been in this situation? Were you able to walk? What problems did you have? Do you have any advice?
Dear @decrepitd ,
Wow you really have had a hard time with this. My husband is 49 and he is suffering so much and a lot like you and what you have been through. He has had four hip replacements done twice each side until July 2019 when he really got injured ( like he wasn't already) , his right hip has now gone THROUGH his pelvis! It's moved and made an actual hole in his pelvis it looks like when you put a stick in the sand and drag it, that's what the X-ray and bone scan has shown but on top of that he also is dealing with a horrible broken back that the disks are actually piled up and poking out his back under his skin looks like he has a triangle bone sticking out in the mid lower part of his back. We are being told he most likely won't walk again UNLESS they can somehow do bone grafts to try to put a pelvis there, but it would make this surgery that much longer and the way they are taking now they keep saying it's a very dangerous and complex surgery and it's going to be a very long surgery anyway so we are really concerned about the not walking issue. His Dr. Says that "J" is what I'll call my husband, J might be able to pull his bad leg around but my husband has a serious bone disease that has destroyed his bones everywhere in his body. His bones are dead. Both his hips are bad but J's right one is scary! The left one is starting to move and listen the same way the right hip has and we've been told that they don't think they will be able to put a spacer in, they say they will be cutting out a bone infection that he has all around his right hip they will remove all hardware on right hip, then they have to split the bone open(femur bone) and scrape the infection out , maybe try a bone graft to put some kind of bone so he might be able to have something in the place of the hip like a spacer but then we face another blood infection 😷, the one he had back in August had J on antibiotics for six or eight weeks and two months later he still has the infection and this kind has to be cut or scraped out . I'm trying to connect with others who are where we are or where we were or will be. You can find me on FACEBOOK at LizZi Z Odom purple hair with yellow baby bird on my page and I've got a little white dog can't miss me I'm in Florida 😎. Anyone else who is dealing with this is love to talk with you about this more. Thanks and I'm praying 🙏 for you. I'm so sorry you are dealing with so much. You aren't alone, I'm her for you anytime. HMU sometime I know we can learn and share info about this hip and walking without a hip or spacer. Have a blessed God Filled 🙏 Day.
Right now, I am not walking at all. Due to repeated infections, all 3 of my hip implants had to be removed over the last 3 years. The last time, the surgeon said there isn't enough left in my hip region to support another replacement. So he took out the bad hip December 31. The first time I'll be seeing him post-op is March 5. He claims that after the scar tissue builds up, I'll be able to walk. Has anyone else been in this situation? Were you able to walk? What problems did you have? Do you have any advice?
Yes I’m able to walk without a cane but I do in public because of the limp. I have a lift in my shoe which helps a great deal.. I have no hip and no spacer... I also can exercise on the step machine do squats pretty much everything but it has taken a lot of work to get here... my hip was removed July 2018. I do notice that I throw my back out a lot since all of this... must be because there’s no hip?
This is J's back where his disks have collapsed and popped out. He and I are very concerned about these upcoming surgeries, from possible bone grafts to multiple surgeries to being told because his left hip is now doing the same thing as the right hip has, he's going to be without both hips! Does anyone else not have hardware in both hips and can you walk? I had pictures of the X-ray of his hip, I'll post that when I get it. It will blow your mind!! Scariest thing I have ever seen in person. God Bless you all. I pray all of you 🙏😇 can function as well as you ever have.
Hi, my husband is going thru a lot of stuff like you . I would really like to talk to you about this , my husband is going to have his 4th total hip replacement taken OUT any time now. The surgeon is saying his bone disease ( no cure no treatment) has destroyed his pelvis , he broke this last hip replacement in a car accident 😣 in July 2019 . Please please contact me here or on FACEBOOK at LizZi Z Odom on Facebook. Please???? I want to compare you both and see where you are at and where my husband is. Looking forward to hearing from you soon please 😊?? Will be lifting you up in prayers.
It will be his 5th hip surgery this time. I made a typo in my comment above. Sorry. You are all OVERCOMERS and God Will see you all through everything ahead in life. You are loved ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Right now, I am not walking at all. Due to repeated infections, all 3 of my hip implants had to be removed over the last 3 years. The last time, the surgeon said there isn't enough left in my hip region to support another replacement. So he took out the bad hip December 31. The first time I'll be seeing him post-op is March 5. He claims that after the scar tissue builds up, I'll be able to walk. Has anyone else been in this situation? Were you able to walk? What problems did you have? Do you have any advice?
I also had infections .. I had a girdlestone procedure.. it took time but I’m able to walk.. my advice is to strengthen your leg is much as possible.. it was very hsrd at first and took so much work and still every single day I make sure to do leg strengthening exercises.. but it will pay off!!! Anything will help you have to move., don’t let your muscle atrophy like I did. Every day my walk/ limp gets better and better. you can do it!!! My only problems I’m having now is sometimes I accidentally throw my back out. And my knee on my good leg feels overworked hopefully won’t have knee problems
@dzoneill I am sorry to hear of your situation and I can totally relate to your situation however mine came in a different form. In 2005 I was in a head on collision with a semi which caused my left hip to dislocate (along with numerous other traumatic injuries) they were able to put my hip back into place without surgery however a couple weeks later when doing physical therapy it became dislocated again. So the decision was made to put hardware in to try and stabilize it from dislocation, which worked until my femoral head became necrotic a year later . At that point they decided to do the first THR ...it was great ...but it only lasted two weeks and then I got Staph infection and it had to be removed. So then they put in a concrete hip spacer.. Needless to say we went back and forth like this 4 times over the course of 7 years ...everytime they put in a new hip I would eventually get MRSA/staph and they would remove it. Finally when hip replacement 4 became infected I was referred to Mayo Clinic .
Their recommendation was to take everything out and leave it out for at least a year. If I could go at least one year without infection they would try one last hip relplacement .
It was a long recovery process plus learning how to walk with a hanging hip but i actually stunned doctors a year later when i was walking without any assistive devices (i probably shouldve been using my cane at least lol) of course I had a major limp since my left leg was so much shorter but i made it work not only for one year but for 4 years!
Finally last year I went back and told them it was time, my lower back had been killing me so bad from my uneven gait.
June 6th I recieved my "Hail Mary" 5th total hip lol and I am so happy to say that so far (fingers crossed) i havent had any problems with infection. Im only 34 years old so I know its a life long battle but at this point in time thing are looking up!!
Thank you for your post because I’m going through this right now! I broke my hi a year ago in may. The first surgery was a screw and plate to fix it because of my age. 4 weeks later that broke so then I got a full hip replacement. 4 weeks later, got infected, long story short, I’ve had 2 total hip replace, and currently on my 3rd medicated spacer! I’m scheduled for a new hip in may, if this corona junk is gone. Dr informed me if this hip gets infected again, I will have to go with no hip. I’m really concerned because I already have chronic back problems. I’ve had 4 surgeries on that!! I’m just not sure what to do. He said I can keep this spacer in for as long as it last then do the hip, but it’s not very comfortable! Which is more comfortable in your opinion, the spacer or going with nothing? Sorry this was so long!!!!
I never had a spacer before. I had a girdlestone procedure which feels weird.. if I bend over i can feel it like coming out my side., it gives me the creeps lol ., how does a spacer feel? And does it really help with leg length?
Thank you for your post because I’m going through this right now! I broke my hi a year ago in may. The first surgery was a screw and plate to fix it because of my age. 4 weeks later that broke so then I got a full hip replacement. 4 weeks later, got infected, long story short, I’ve had 2 total hip replace, and currently on my 3rd medicated spacer! I’m scheduled for a new hip in may, if this corona junk is gone. Dr informed me if this hip gets infected again, I will have to go with no hip. I’m really concerned because I already have chronic back problems. I’ve had 4 surgeries on that!! I’m just not sure what to do. He said I can keep this spacer in for as long as it last then do the hip, but it’s not very comfortable! Which is more comfortable in your opinion, the spacer or going with nothing? Sorry this was so long!!!!
@gibber sorry to hear about your situation...i know all to well what you are going through I had 5 total hip replacements because of infection and the last replacement I had a Mayo clinic. Unfortunately I dislocated my 5th replacement and I got infection from them going in to put it back into place. So the plan was to leave me with no hip for the rest of my life which I hated to hear being so young (37) but I knew I didnt have a choice ... Unfortunately my infection was so bad and I had had so many surgeries on my leg that I ultimately chose to have an amputation...i know its scary to hear because of your situation but if I was given the opportunity to have another hip replacement and try again I would have. I was without a hip for 4 years and other than my back hurting gping without a hip wasn't terrible. I have had plenty of spacers to I just find that over time they can grind away at the cup of your pelvis. I hope you don't take my situation as a common one because its not and I am the one who chose to amputate, I wasn't forced. I'm here if you wanna talk or have any other questions. Best of luck to you!!
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Right now, I am not walking at all. Due to repeated infections, all 3 of my hip implants had to be removed over the last 3 years. The last time, the surgeon said there isn't enough left in my hip region to support another replacement. So he took out the bad hip December 31. The first time I'll be seeing him post-op is March 5. He claims that after the scar tissue builds up, I'll be able to walk. Has anyone else been in this situation? Were you able to walk? What problems did you have? Do you have any advice?
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1 ReactionMy hip was remove approximately 4 years ago. I am able to walk with a walker and with a cane going in and our of restaurants if it isn’t far to walk. Around the house I can walk some without anything. That being said, as soon as the doctor said I could I had my shoes built up to compensate for the shorter leg. It may take a couple of times to get the shoe the right height so do t do them all at once. Don’t expect this to be a magic bullet though. I really do not recommend walking a lot without a walker or a cane because even the best built up shoe will not compensate for the missing hip so your spine may curve some over time. The most problem I have now if with the good leg because over compensation for the bad hip. My doctor says most of that is because of artheritis in my back where the spurs are agrevating my Sciatic nerve. You didn’t mention your age, but I am 72 so my experience may be mush more different than yours if you are a lot younger but I want to encourage you not to give up because you can walk again even if it with a walker. I started walking before I came out of the brace (Even though I was basically on my toes on the short leg and didn’t walk far at a time....your doctor did put you in a brace while the scar tissue is building didn’t he? The build up shoe was my biggest help. Wishing you the best....just stay positive.
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1 ReactionDear @decrepitd ,
Wow you really have had a hard time with this. My husband is 49 and he is suffering so much and a lot like you and what you have been through. He has had four hip replacements done twice each side until July 2019 when he really got injured ( like he wasn't already) , his right hip has now gone THROUGH his pelvis! It's moved and made an actual hole in his pelvis it looks like when you put a stick in the sand and drag it, that's what the X-ray and bone scan has shown but on top of that he also is dealing with a horrible broken back that the disks are actually piled up and poking out his back under his skin looks like he has a triangle bone sticking out in the mid lower part of his back. We are being told he most likely won't walk again UNLESS they can somehow do bone grafts to try to put a pelvis there, but it would make this surgery that much longer and the way they are taking now they keep saying it's a very dangerous and complex surgery and it's going to be a very long surgery anyway so we are really concerned about the not walking issue. His Dr. Says that "J" is what I'll call my husband, J might be able to pull his bad leg around but my husband has a serious bone disease that has destroyed his bones everywhere in his body. His bones are dead. Both his hips are bad but J's right one is scary! The left one is starting to move and listen the same way the right hip has and we've been told that they don't think they will be able to put a spacer in, they say they will be cutting out a bone infection that he has all around his right hip they will remove all hardware on right hip, then they have to split the bone open(femur bone) and scrape the infection out , maybe try a bone graft to put some kind of bone so he might be able to have something in the place of the hip like a spacer but then we face another blood infection 😷, the one he had back in August had J on antibiotics for six or eight weeks and two months later he still has the infection and this kind has to be cut or scraped out . I'm trying to connect with others who are where we are or where we were or will be. You can find me on FACEBOOK at LizZi Z Odom purple hair with yellow baby bird on my page and I've got a little white dog can't miss me I'm in Florida 😎. Anyone else who is dealing with this is love to talk with you about this more. Thanks and I'm praying 🙏 for you. I'm so sorry you are dealing with so much. You aren't alone, I'm her for you anytime. HMU sometime I know we can learn and share info about this hip and walking without a hip or spacer. Have a blessed God Filled 🙏 Day.
Yes I’m able to walk without a cane but I do in public because of the limp. I have a lift in my shoe which helps a great deal.. I have no hip and no spacer... I also can exercise on the step machine do squats pretty much everything but it has taken a lot of work to get here... my hip was removed July 2018. I do notice that I throw my back out a lot since all of this... must be because there’s no hip?
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1 ReactionThis is J's back where his disks have collapsed and popped out. He and I are very concerned about these upcoming surgeries, from possible bone grafts to multiple surgeries to being told because his left hip is now doing the same thing as the right hip has, he's going to be without both hips! Does anyone else not have hardware in both hips and can you walk? I had pictures of the X-ray of his hip, I'll post that when I get it. It will blow your mind!! Scariest thing I have ever seen in person. God Bless you all. I pray all of you 🙏😇 can function as well as you ever have.
It will be his 5th hip surgery this time. I made a typo in my comment above. Sorry. You are all OVERCOMERS and God Will see you all through everything ahead in life. You are loved ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I also had infections .. I had a girdlestone procedure.. it took time but I’m able to walk.. my advice is to strengthen your leg is much as possible.. it was very hsrd at first and took so much work and still every single day I make sure to do leg strengthening exercises.. but it will pay off!!! Anything will help you have to move., don’t let your muscle atrophy like I did. Every day my walk/ limp gets better and better. you can do it!!! My only problems I’m having now is sometimes I accidentally throw my back out. And my knee on my good leg feels overworked hopefully won’t have knee problems
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1 ReactionThank you for your post because I’m going through this right now! I broke my hi a year ago in may. The first surgery was a screw and plate to fix it because of my age. 4 weeks later that broke so then I got a full hip replacement. 4 weeks later, got infected, long story short, I’ve had 2 total hip replace, and currently on my 3rd medicated spacer! I’m scheduled for a new hip in may, if this corona junk is gone. Dr informed me if this hip gets infected again, I will have to go with no hip. I’m really concerned because I already have chronic back problems. I’ve had 4 surgeries on that!! I’m just not sure what to do. He said I can keep this spacer in for as long as it last then do the hip, but it’s not very comfortable! Which is more comfortable in your opinion, the spacer or going with nothing? Sorry this was so long!!!!
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2 ReactionsI never had a spacer before. I had a girdlestone procedure which feels weird.. if I bend over i can feel it like coming out my side., it gives me the creeps lol ., how does a spacer feel? And does it really help with leg length?
@gibber sorry to hear about your situation...i know all to well what you are going through I had 5 total hip replacements because of infection and the last replacement I had a Mayo clinic. Unfortunately I dislocated my 5th replacement and I got infection from them going in to put it back into place. So the plan was to leave me with no hip for the rest of my life which I hated to hear being so young (37) but I knew I didnt have a choice ... Unfortunately my infection was so bad and I had had so many surgeries on my leg that I ultimately chose to have an amputation...i know its scary to hear because of your situation but if I was given the opportunity to have another hip replacement and try again I would have. I was without a hip for 4 years and other than my back hurting gping without a hip wasn't terrible. I have had plenty of spacers to I just find that over time they can grind away at the cup of your pelvis. I hope you don't take my situation as a common one because its not and I am the one who chose to amputate, I wasn't forced. I'm here if you wanna talk or have any other questions. Best of luck to you!!
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