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Numbness, and inability to extend leg below knee following THR
Hello everyone, I had a right total hip replacement on 3/17/23. Immediately when I woke up from the surgery, I felt that something was wrong. My surgical side leg was throbbing so bad that I was actually moaning. The nurse gave me a pain pill. After 30 minutes, she gave me another half but I was sent home shortly after.
I got home and felt that I had been shot in my hip. I could not get comfortable. Way more pain than I was led to believe that I would have.
After a few day, that pain subsided but then my entire inner leg from groin to ankle was numb. No pins and needles just numbness. My knee became numb except for the top near my thigh and the outerside. I also cannot extend my leg at the knee or lift my leg from while laying down. I have done a lot of research and I have femoral nerve damage. My surgeon confirmed this. It's now been 10 weeks and I am no better except that I can walk but my knee gives out on me so I am afraid. I also cannot drive because it's my right leg.
I have an appointment at Mayo for August with Neurology but that is still 2.5 months away.
Has anyone had this issue and if so, did you recover? How long was the recovery?
Thanks!
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I had a thr January 26. I have only just started to walk almost normally. I have a treadmill and have been averaging at least 8000 steps a day total. My doctor told me that by going about my daily routine recovery would be 18-24 months. Yikes. I was stunned as I too have spoken to people who have had thr and they were pain free in just a week or two. That was definitely not my experience. I recently located my x-rays and I have a cable and what appears to be a very large screw somewhere in the mix. Had no idea but my surgery was complex due to having lots of damage that went into my pelvic area. Feeling pretty good now but still in some pain. But the pain is manageable. Yay. I suffered pain for years before getting the surgery. There are times that I actually skip taking Tylenol. Before surgery I was taking it round the clock for years. Hang in there. Hopefully it will get better. My surgeon is a professor at Harvard medical school and I put all of my trust in him and his extraordinary experience.
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1 ReactionHello. sorry to hear about your nerve pain. Does you knee feel jelly like? For instance if I kneel down on the bed, it feels very strange. The numbness in my leg has not changed and my surgery was 3 months ago. I am trying to be patient waiting for my quadricep muscles to come back so that I can extent my leg. I can walk around the house now unassisted but I am constantly worried that my knee will give out and I will fall.
That’s my niece felt jelly like for a while. I really found aqua fit classes has helped me gain back leg strength
At the six month mark seen things seem to open up for me. I was able to walk for long periods of time. I am now at the 9 1/2 postop. Mark and I can walk several miles. However, I still have some numbness on the side of my knee and I do get a burning sensation on and off. I think it’s just going to take a while before the nerves to completely heal.