Walking without a hip joint

Thank you for sharing about your Girdlestone procedure. How do they immobilize the hip after surgery? How long after surgery did it take to walk with crutches or a frame? How long did they say it takes for the femur and pelvic bone to heal together so the pain diminishes and load bearing is possible? Thanks again ... I am grateful for your time and knowledge.

I'm about to have my 4th THR. 1st one came loose, 2nd got infected and now this one is loose and infected. Was told I will have to go several months without a hip. Having trouble wrapping my head around how I will do that. If you any tips or helpful hints, It would be much appreciated

I'm about to have my 4th THR. 1st one came loose, 2nd got infected and now this one is loose and infected. Was told I will have to go several months without a hip. Having trouble wrapping my head around how I will do that. If you any tips or helpful hints, It would be much appreciated

I had to have my hip replacement removed due to severe bacterial infection
My dr put an antibiotic hip spacer in and I lived with that for 10 months with no problems
Used a walker or wheelchair and have now at one year using a cane
Will be on antibiotics forever
Good luck to you

Hi...after they took the antibiotic spacer out at 10 months, did they put in another hip for you? I was curious as I have no hip due to infection and so wanting to walk with just a cane but haven't gotten to that point yet after 2 years. Do you feel comfortable to go out and about with just a cane and not fall? I'm 71 and was very healthy prior to this happening to me......Cindy

Hello Cindy
Yes I have a new hip replacement on 8/15 .
I am still a bit wobbly
I had severals hip dislocations in the years past and in 2022 it popped out again
So this time the rod that is inserted is longer and the cup is reinforced somehow and I a wire keeping it in place
I am 74 and I know I will have to use a cane the rest of my life AND be on antibiotics too.
I haven’t driven yet and really haven’t been out by myself
I could drive I just am a bit apprehensive which is silly I know
Do you still have an infection? So why not put in an antibiotic spacer I wonder .
2 years is a long time for sure

Thanks for your reply. I'd say you were doing very well after only 5 months. Unfortunately, I had no real symptoms of an infection until about 5 days beforehand when I went septic. The surgeon was going to do antibiotic spacer, then replace with another hip in 3-4 months, but when he got in there and saw the extent of the damage to muscle and bone he had to decide whether to amputate at the hip or clean me up as best he could and try to save my leg. He had to remove my vastus lateralis, illiotibial band, and part of my gluteal muscle due to necrosis. He said he had never seen anything like it and figured I had that infection brewing in me for a long time. The infection is still in my femur and pelvis (chronic osteomyelitis) and I will be on antibiotics for lifetime also. He said the risk was too great in his opinion to ever try for another implant as he feels it would get infected. My bacteria was "strep". After what I went through in the hospital for 3 weeks, I can't imagine ever going through something like that again. I am doing rather well with very little pain and still hoping to walk with just one cane or crutch someday. I have met several other people online that also have a 'girdlestone' as I do and we offer each other support and encouragement. Wishing you all the best in your journey!

Having read many of the experiences recorded here, I thought it might be of interest to share my journey on this forum, and give some hope to others, who are struggling with life without a hip.

In 2016 I was diagnosed with primary bone cancer and needed drastic and life changing surgery. I underwent a T1/ T2/ T3 internal hemipelvectomy in order to remove the cancer from my hip, pelvis and acetabulum. In addition, an osteotomy was performed on my right femur to prevent the pistoning of the femoral head into organs in my abdomen. Reconstruction was not recommended, or undertaken, by my surgical team, due to the extensive post operative bone deficit and lack of anchor points.

I was told that I would either need two crutches to mobilise or a wheelchair after the surgery but I really wanted to be able to walk again in a more normal fashion. However, and despite our extensive and very expensive efforts working with leading prosthetic and orthotics companies, we concluded that there was nothing available to help me. Then Covid came along and so my husband decided to see if he could make one - as the saying goes …how hard can it be?

Almost 3 years on and we have developed what we believe to be the world’s first ‘full bodyweight offloading exoskeleton brace’, which we have recently demonstrated to leading orthopaedic surgeons in the UK and Germany, who have all been amazed as to how it works and how well I can walk.

The brace is a prototype and to others may look slightly uncomfortable, but the reality is that it is incredibly supportive and comfortable. It actually feels more strange when I take it off !

The brace allows me to walk and exercise in a much more productive way than I could achieve previously. It also allows a degree of freedom that I had only dreamt of. It allows me to fully weight bear on my bad leg, allowing for a very normal walking gait AND it protects my back and spine from unnatural loading.

The brace feels very natural and I can stand for hours…without it my foot on my good leg would be complaining after about 10 minutes of being stood up. During the summer I regularly walked over a mile in the brace with one crutch without ill effects…which given I have no hip at all or even any pelvic structure on my right side is a huge benefit to me. Without the brace this would be impossible.

Just recently we have developed it to the stage where I can walk on my own with no crutches.

The brace is we believe a unique design and is bespoke. It is custom fitted and involved me being 3D scanned, with the main elements of the brace being made of carbon fibre and 3D printed metal parts. It is entirely ‘human powered’ with no motors, electronics or servos and absolutely no surgical interventions! It has been designed to be very quick and easy to put on and can be fully fitted in about 20 seconds and removed in about 10 seconds !

We are continuing to develop it and we have a long list of ideas to try and improve it further.

Please be aware that this is a prototype, designed and built by my husband and this is the only one in existence. We have no knowledge if this will work for others.

If anybody would like further information and to see it in action then please private message me and I can direct you to a website where you can see my Xray, me walking without it and then me walking in the brace without crutches and without any pain.

I hope that this is a small ray of light in what can feel very dark and lonely days.

Having read many of the experiences recorded here, I thought it might be of interest to share my journey on this forum, and give some hope to others, who are struggling with life without a hip.

In 2016 I was diagnosed with primary bone cancer and needed drastic and life changing surgery. I underwent a T1/ T2/ T3 internal hemipelvectomy in order to remove the cancer from my hip, pelvis and acetabulum. In addition, an osteotomy was performed on my right femur to prevent the pistoning of the femoral head into organs in my abdomen. Reconstruction was not recommended, or undertaken, by my surgical team, due to the extensive post operative bone deficit and lack of anchor points.

I was told that I would either need two crutches to mobilise or a wheelchair after the surgery but I really wanted to be able to walk again in a more normal fashion. However, and despite our extensive and very expensive efforts working with leading prosthetic and orthotics companies, we concluded that there was nothing available to help me. Then Covid came along and so my husband decided to see if he could make one - as the saying goes …how hard can it be?

Almost 3 years on and we have developed what we believe to be the world’s first ‘full bodyweight offloading exoskeleton brace’, which we have recently demonstrated to leading orthopaedic surgeons in the UK and Germany, who have all been amazed as to how it works and how well I can walk.

The brace is a prototype and to others may look slightly uncomfortable, but the reality is that it is incredibly supportive and comfortable. It actually feels more strange when I take it off !

The brace allows me to walk and exercise in a much more productive way than I could achieve previously. It also allows a degree of freedom that I had only dreamt of. It allows me to fully weight bear on my bad leg, allowing for a very normal walking gait AND it protects my back and spine from unnatural loading.

The brace feels very natural and I can stand for hours…without it my foot on my good leg would be complaining after about 10 minutes of being stood up. During the summer I regularly walked over a mile in the brace with one crutch without ill effects…which given I have no hip at all or even any pelvic structure on my right side is a huge benefit to me. Without the brace this would be impossible.

Just recently we have developed it to the stage where I can walk on my own with no crutches.

The brace is we believe a unique design and is bespoke. It is custom fitted and involved me being 3D scanned, with the main elements of the brace being made of carbon fibre and 3D printed metal parts. It is entirely ‘human powered’ with no motors, electronics or servos and absolutely no surgical interventions! It has been designed to be very quick and easy to put on and can be fully fitted in about 20 seconds and removed in about 10 seconds !

We are continuing to develop it and we have a long list of ideas to try and improve it further.

Please be aware that this is a prototype, designed and built by my husband and this is the only one in existence. We have no knowledge if this will work for others.

If anybody would like further information and to see it in action then please private message me and I can direct you to a website where you can see my Xray, me walking without it and then me walking in the brace without crutches and without any pain.

I hope that this is a small ray of light in what can feel very dark and lonely days.