Walking without a hip joint

I have no left hip due to bacteria infection
I hop on my rt leg while holding up my useless left
Will I ever be able to walk again?
They say I have to go to a rehab facility first
Will I end up in a wheelchair the rest of my life ???

I am so happy to see that you are making such great progress with physical therapy. I would be very interested to know what PT exercises you have been doing. I had cancer in 2006 and I received massive radiation to my left hip area. I did not realize that this damaged my bones. In 2012, I stepped backwards off the second rung of a ladder and fractured my hip socket and pelvic girdle. The bones would not have broken if they had not been weakened by the radiation. The fractures did not heal with traditional PT. We decided to avoid surgery because of possible complications; my bones were not healing, the tissues were also damaged from the radiation, and I had lymphedema due to lymph node removal. In 2016 I went to the hospital with a high fever and disorientation. Turns out I had developed an infection in my hip even with no surgery. At this point I was septic (MRSA) and they did a joint clean-out surgery. I had an antibiotic spacer for a few months, and after that was removed and the antibiotics were done, I developed another infection. I had another clean-out surgery. My specialist suspected that I had infection in my bones, so in 2017 I had another surgery where more of my femur and part of my pelvic girdle were removed. The femoral artery was also damaged and could not be repaired, so they put in an artificial vein. I came out of surgery with 3 large incisions instead of one. The doctor said no weight bearing for 3 months. It has now been 3 months since my last surgery. It has taken me this long to feel sort of OK. It's been hard coming back from this last surgery. Now I am having the same question; how do I learn to walk now? I've been primarily in a wheelchair since April, but have to use a walker to get through my bathroom door. My muscles have atrophied so much over the last year. And the floppy leg is something else! I have not been good about doing any PT lately because I've been so tired, drugged, and in pain.

How are things going for you?
Your entry caught my eye bc my friend is currently living without a hip after a fracture, 5 replacements which all became infected—likely from her lymphedema, which she has had for 40 years. Quite debilitating. She is bedridden but allegedly can learn to walk without a hip but I see no effort being made by the rehab/nursing home for this to happen.
I am hoping you have had good results since your post 5 years ago.

Hi there! I am doing pretty good most days. All told I've had 5 surgeries now. Plus one for a bowel obstruction a year ago. They think that was lesions from radiation sticking together and causing my intestine to twist over on itself.

I am now missing the front of my pelvic bone and the top of my femur. I was stronger before my last surgery. That one took a while to recover from. Abdominal surgery is tough. Plus it affects your ability to eat and digest, keeping you weak.

I am able to walk with a walker, but I need to really lean on it and rest often. But I'm out of the wheelchair! I use an up walker at work and a regular rollator at home.

I go in to my office for work every day. I walk about a quarter mile over the day inside the building. I'm pretty tired come Friday. I usually take an accessible bus that picks me up at my house. I am able to drive still, but can't lift my regular rollator with the seat. It weighs 15 lbs. I got a small walker with no seat that I can take in my car. It weighs 8lbs. So I can go to places that have a scooter I can use or short distances like a restaurant. I tried crutches, but I fell a few times. Sometimes just twisting wrong and my bad leg collapsing, once in a restaurant with slippery floors.

I do best indoors on smooth floors. I walk slowly. Can't make it across a street before the light changes. Don't think I'll ever go to just a cane like some people can. I am cautious with exercise because I have hurt myself by doing too much.

When I was in rehab, I started with one of those gray folding walkers. Just tip toe weight bearing on that side. A few steps at a time. Adding a few steps each day. They don't like you to use a rollator at first because the fall risk is higher. They allowed my friends and family to come help me. Usually they are short staffed, so they don't voluntarily offer PT, unless it is a short term facility. You sometimes have to be your own advocate and say what you want.

I was also able to get off opioid pain pills. Now I take acetaminophen and use a heating pad for pain. I also lost some weight because of some antibiotics over a 3 month period making me sick. I don't recommend that diet. It helps not having so much weight. I turned 65 this year, so it's never to late to try and get stronger. I'm still not good at doing PT. Lol

Hello @dzoneill, and welcome to Connect.

Would you mind telling us a bit more about your question? We have a lot of members who have discussed having hip issues or replacements, but I have not come across the question regarding lack of a hip joint. Is this from an injury, surgery, or other medical issue?

I was born with a congenital hip dislocation and had 3 surgeries between the ages of 2 and 15. At the age of 26 (1985) I had a THR. There were 3 revisions, the last in 2006 at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. In 2013 I was admitted with sepsis, a massive mrsa infection which later mutated into visa. March 2014 the prosthesis was removed and I spent 2 1/2 years in a wheelchair and on IV antibiotics most of that time. Last summer my case was taken over by another surgeon who deemed it unwise to try another revision and we agreed. A new infectious disease doctor changed antibiotis and I am now mrsa/visa free. I have no hip and no spacers, the femur is significantly shorter, leg length difference is 3 1/2 inches. The new surgeon has me walking with walker and crutches and a 3 inch lift on my shoe. 3 months physical therapy to strengthen muscles atrophied from so much time in the wheelchair. I am about to move to one crutch, and the goal is a cane. Xrays show excellent build up of scar tissue supporting the leg. My original question was wondering if there are others having the same experience.

Hello All,
So glad to find this blog. I’m a 55 year old female. I had my first Left THR at 49. A revision due to doctor negligence at 50. My pelvis broke at 52 causing my left hip to fail as well. I had a 3rd hip and pelvis repair. Within months my ball popped and I had a 4th hip. After 10 weeks I got an infection causing a 5th earlier this year. The Dr informed me yesterday that removal of my artificial joint is the only option. I’ve been told that I will be able to walk with a lift shoe and walker after PT. I’ve had RA since I was in my early 20s. I’ve had a THR on my right and both knees replaced with no issues. I’ve been searching for information on this issue to no avail. It’s nice to see others have had the same issue.

I have a shoe lift in my left shoe. I buy a regular shoe and have a 1.5 inch lift put on the left one. You can send a photo (or link) of the shoe to the lift company to see if that style is good for a lift. There are easy-to-use online companies that add lifts.

I primarily wear a sandle (Ecco Yucatan), but have had the lift added to a Mary Jane style and a winter boot.

Hello @dzoneill, and welcome to Connect.

Would you mind telling us a bit more about your question? We have a lot of members who have discussed having hip issues or replacements, but I have not come across the question regarding lack of a hip joint. Is this from an injury, surgery, or other medical issue?