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Questions regarding total hip replacement
Joint Replacements | Last Active: Sep 3, 2023 | Replies (50)Comment receiving replies
Hello. My name is Robin. I'm a 52 y.o. female who started having hip pain about 2 years ago. 7 years ago I had a total knee replacement that was textbook perfect. When my hip started hurting I went to Dr's that had me start with PT, then cortisone shots and was told that I needed a THR. I had to wait 3 months to get a surgery date and was having terrible pain that I thought was the worst pain I'd ever experienced. I was wrong. You may have read my story on this forum so I'll give you the short version. Sept. 2016 I had a THR followed by 2 dislocations,a revision where I got a staph infection then had the hip removed for placement of a temporary hip while doing the IV antibiotics for 7 weeks, had the picc line removed and 5 days later was back in the hospital because the infection wasn't gone so they had to remove the temporary hip and left me with nothing but 7 more weeks of infusions. I'm done with surgery and if I new then what I know now I never would have done it at all. At this point I would never have another surgery of any kind, I'm far too scared.Hospitals are dirty places and despite knowing about the risks of getting a staph infection, nothing has changed. There should be a bio hazard team that cleans ORs top to bottom after every surgery! They book 5 or 6 surgeries a day and there's about 30 minutes between patients. That is not enough time to get those rooms disinfected well enough to get another patient in there 30 minutes later. If the previous patient got or has a staph infection you will get one too. All these people I read about having 6,7,8,10 surgeries are crazy. I had 4 and I'm done! I had to teach myself to walk again 4 times, deal with 14 weeks of IV infusions every 8 hours 3 times a day and unbelievable pain My surgeon said he could "attempt" a 2 stage and I passed. There are no guarantees. If you don't have any pain I would leave it alone! There are far too many risks involved. This is not an issue to take lightly. Make sure you read and understand every single thing that could happen. It could make your life miserable. It was the worst decision I've ever made!!!!! It's hard not having a hip but it beats the alternative. Good Luck whatever you decide. Robin ALSO, any surgeon who tells you the surgery would be a success is a liar and a fool. And looking you in the eye and telling you that is beyond irresponsible!
Replies to "Hello. My name is Robin. I'm a 52 y.o. female who started having hip pain about..."
Hi Mamie, My surgeon was one of the top 5 doctors at the University of Washington Medical center. He is not the same one who did my knee but they work out of the same office. Although my surgeon came highly rated I still had 2 dislocations. Did he use the wrong type or size of replacement? I don't know. I'm looking into that. My concern at this point is staph infection. Why are they so common in hip surgeries? I believe that there is a big problem with the sanitary conditions in hospitals. Every hospital. I've read stories from all over the world. Why is everyone getting Staph? And why hasn't there been a serious investigation - study on why this happens so often. If it was a known fact that people that have open heart surgeries came out with staph infections as often as people who have had hips, knees and shoulders, something would have been done by now. This is not new, this is very common and i'm very surprised that none of the surgeons you spoke to said anything about staph infections. Again, hospitals make money by getting as many surgeries done as possible in a day. I'm certain that it has everything to do with the poor standards regarding cleaning. Hospitals don't care if you wake up with a staph infection. I spent all of Christmas week last year as well as the last week of Feb. this year in the hospital being treated for staph. It doesn't even phase the nurses, they see it everyday. I believe the joint was pretty much gone when I finally had the surgery so I don't know what would have happened. But if I wasn't having any pain I would definately leave it alone. Something else I forgot to mention is all the restrictions you'll face with that new hip. No bending, crossing your legs, leaning to grab something, picking something off the floor etc. I'm only 52 years old and very active. It is extremely difficult trying to go through life remembering not to do this and that because you'll always be at risk of dislocating. And you wanna talk about the worst pain ever? Dislocate a hip and your leg feels like it's on fire and you'll think you're having a heart attack. I spent 6 months worrying about every single move I made after those dislocations. It was exhausting and depressing. When they pulled the final hip out and sent me home they said "you have no restrictions at all". I was floored how could that be? Because there's nothing in there to dislocate! So I walk with a limp and a walker but I can bend, reach and cross my leg. I'll take that over another staph infection. And NO I would never consider another surgeon with more revision experience, it's not the surgeon I'm worried about, it's the filthy conditions in the ER where I contracted the infection that I'm worried about. Please, please,please make sure you have all the facts before you do anything! If you would like to contact me directly you may send me a personal message here on Connect. I would also be happy to talk with you on the phone if you like. Just contact me through a personal message. Robin
Hello @froggy1, you may notice I changed your email to say send you a personal message here on Connect. We remove personal emails for the protection of the community and its members from unwanted solicitors who may find your email. We try to protect your privacy as much as possible. If you wish to share your email with some of the other members, we reccomend sharing email addresses and contact information via the private message function. If you have any questions on how to do this, please do not hesitate to ask.
I can't give someone my email address for the protection of the community? I have no idea how to send or receive a personal message. Can you walk me thru it?
Hi Froggy,
Connect is a public website and we recommend not sharing personal contact information, such as emails or phone numbers on the forum. We don’t want you to get unwanted spam emails or phone calls. You can share personal contact information safely by using the private message function. Here's how:
1. Click on the member’s name.
2. Click on Send Private Message.
3. Write your message.
4. Click Send message.
However, we encourage continuing this discussion with the group here. There are many people considering hip replacements or who have had one, who would appreciate connecting and sharing experiences with both you and Mamie. By replying to her in this discussion, you form a support group.
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Hi, Robin @froggy1 I am so sorry you had to go through all that and continue to suffer the after-effects. Your experience sounds horrible and is one of several on this forum that have made me ask questions. What's confusing is that I also hear stories about others where joint replacements went well -- like the case of your textbook-perfect knee replacement. It so much seems to be a throw of the dice. I've been checking out sites that let you compare surgeon complication rates -- surgeon scorecard and surgeon ratings -- to find someone who has a good track record. Was your surgeon someone who was very experienced and in a hospital that was well rated? If you had not tried the surgery, would it have continued to deteriorate anyway? Have you considered a different surgeon with lots of revision experience? Thank you for sharing your story and information.