How long are your able to keep a hip spacer in (so far 3 years)

Sorry that was a type O, I meant to type 3 years

Hi! I’ve had my spacer in for 9 months now. I had surgery last May and my surgeon and I discussed keeping it in as long as possible. My goal was one full year as I didn’t show signs of infection the first time for about 7 to 8 months. I really wanted to make sure the infection was gone. Luckily labs are good and the leg is looking really good so I’m very pleased about that. They never gave me a definite time frame but they said that some people did really well with their spacers and chose not to have the revision surgery. Kept there spacer in for many years. Unfortunately, I’m having quite a bit of pain with it and I’m still on one crutch. I’m about 40 pounds over weight though so I know that has something to do with it. I’m slowly loosing the pounds and it feels better but I’m still very weak in the leg. Without being able to do physical therapy or strength training I don’t see me getting off of it and this one crutch is getting pretty tiresome. I go back in May for my annual exam and I’ve said surgery for July 30 at the Mayo Clinic but that’s only if the surgeon agrees. I’m not the best surgical candidate as I’ve had way too many already and I’m only 44. Lots of surgeries as a baby/young child and my first hip replacement was at 16.

How are you doing with your spacer? Most people I hear from hate them and want them out as fast as possible. I was thankful I apeare to be doing reasonably well but keeping it in for many years just doesn’t seem fun for me. Haha 🙂

Hi. I’ll try to make this as short as possible and thank you very much for your reply. Back in 2003 I was in a severe accident which fractured my hip, femur, knee and many other things. I eventually recovered with the exception of my right hip which was infected with MRSA. After many replacements with spacers and pic lines in between I’m still in the same spot. In October of 2016 I had surgery to clean out my infection and put in another antibiotic spacers once again. I still have the spacer in and I’m dealing the replacement because at 49 years I’ve had enough. Over 20 surgeries so I don’t have much faith in hospitals/surgeons. Have no idea what I’m going to do.

Sorry that was a type O, I meant to type 3 years

Hi! I’ve had my spacer in for 9 months now. I had surgery last May and my surgeon and I discussed keeping it in as long as possible. My goal was one full year as I didn’t show signs of infection the first time for about 7 to 8 months. I really wanted to make sure the infection was gone. Luckily labs are good and the leg is looking really good so I’m very pleased about that. They never gave me a definite time frame but they said that some people did really well with their spacers and chose not to have the revision surgery. Kept there spacer in for many years. Unfortunately, I’m having quite a bit of pain with it and I’m still on one crutch. I’m about 40 pounds over weight though so I know that has something to do with it. I’m slowly loosing the pounds and it feels better but I’m still very weak in the leg. Without being able to do physical therapy or strength training I don’t see me getting off of it and this one crutch is getting pretty tiresome. I go back in May for my annual exam and I’ve said surgery for July 30 at the Mayo Clinic but that’s only if the surgeon agrees. I’m not the best surgical candidate as I’ve had way too many already and I’m only 44. Lots of surgeries as a baby/young child and my first hip replacement was at 16.

How are you doing with your spacer? Most people I hear from hate them and want them out as fast as possible. I was thankful I apeare to be doing reasonably well but keeping it in for many years just doesn’t seem fun for me. Haha 🙂

You're a champ. I've had mine in 9 weeks and can barely move. What are your days like? Do you work?

I totally understand how you are feeling. This last surgery with the current spacer was very difficult. The infection was very bad once again so they were telling me there was a chance and there's still a chance I could lose my leg which made my mental state before the surgery very bad. They told me the surgery would take about 3 hours but when they opened me up the surgeon told me it was one of the worst infection he has ever seen so it ended up taking about 7 hours. My days for like the following 2 years were horrible, the pain, weakness and depression. The are better now but still very difficult and Im sure you feel the same way. Since my accident in 2003, I went back to work about 4 times but it would constantly get worse and I would go back in the hospital for another major surgery. Finally my boss said I should just go out on permanent disability so that is where I am at now and to be perfectly honest with you it is very depressing since I've worked since I was 10 years old. Times are very hard financially amongst many other things.
Sorry to ramble it just helps to vent. No companies, sometimes life deals you a bad hand and it can always be worse!
For what it is worth to you, the best advice I can give you is never give up and everyday find a reason to fight it. I'm free if you ever need to vent, I don't have all the answers but I'll always give you my opinion based on my experiences the last 16 years. Im not the best with how these groups work. I hope you have a good night, stay strong!!!!

Hi. I’ll try to make this as short as possible and thank you very much for your reply. Back in 2003 I was in a severe accident which fractured my hip, femur, knee and many other things. I eventually recovered with the exception of my right hip which was infected with MRSA. After many replacements with spacers and pic lines in between I’m still in the same spot. In October of 2016 I had surgery to clean out my infection and put in another antibiotic spacers once again. I still have the spacer in and I’m dealing the replacement because at 49 years I’ve had enough. Over 20 surgeries so I don’t have much faith in hospitals/surgeons. Have no idea what I’m going to do.