What to do about thigh pain after hip replacement, anterior approach?

Posted by dfdelacio @dfdelacio, Apr 22, 2022

I had LTHR in August 2021 with an anterior approach.
I have had pain on the outside of my thigh about 1/2 down. The pain is a 7/10 anytime I am standing and or walking, even for short periods of time.
I am on narcotics for the pain management and yet still I have incredible pain.
I’ve had X-rays and MRI, and none have shown anything wrong with the hip joint.
I have had countless visits with a Physical Therapist at $40 a visit with no improvement.
Has anyone else had this problem?
If so, what helped?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Joint Replacements Support Group.

I have thigh pain as well, one year after anterior hip replacement. It comes and goes …

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Dr. Anderson Eng: World Renowned Orthopedic Surgeon. Third generation Orthopedist. Does mostly clinical trials and revisions. He will disagree with your surgeon’s advice if he thinks the advice is incorrect. He disagreed with my original surgeon, and second opinions from a Duke orthopedic surgeon, and a UNC professor of orthopedics and orthopedic surgeon.
Dr. Eng tells it like it is. He will explain what is wrong in terms you can understand and your options to fix it. I was advised to have the original THR replaced by the Duke and UNC orthopedic surgeons, but by following Dr. Eng’s advice, I rehabbed my hip myself. It required a lot of patience. Fourteen months later I was playing doubles tennis and walking four miles. That was eight years ago and I still have the original hardware.
Dr. Anderson Eng
Anderson Clinic
3299 Woodburn Rd # 480
Annandale, VA 22003
703-892-6500

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@sastar

Call the hospital where you had the surgery done and see if they have records with the serial number and brand name.

Ask your doctor for all of your records. Put your request in writing by letter or email. Require that he respond to your request by providing you with the records including serial number and brand name or a written statement that he has lost them. A documented request may provide you with the information you are seeking.

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Agreed. All of this information is closely tracked by the manufacturers per FDA regulation. Even if the doctor inadvertantly misplaced the records, they still exist at the hospital. (My daughter worked in FDA Compliance for Medtronic - parts are tracked down to individual electrical leads...)
Refusal by multiple parties to provide them would raise a red flag for me.
Sue

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@geraldszaf

I've had right hip pain on a right hip arthroplasty done back in 2008. The orthopedic surgeons I've seen lately tell me the hip is perfect. I've had xray after xray plus MRIs; however, I know that one can not see soft tissue (muscle, tendon, or nerves) around the titanium replacement. They can not see around the stem. If my hip is perfect, why am I in pain?

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I'm sorry for your pain. I had a THR in 2017 and still after 6 years have a lot of hip and thigh pain despite doing everything I was supposed to after surgery. I am also limited on the exercise I can do without hitting a wall. I can't seem to go beyond 40 Minutes of walking which is even less than I could do before the surgery . My X-Rays also looked "perfect". Surgeon then suggested an injection for bursitis which didn't help me at all. ( I knew it was more than bursitis though since I also had thigh pain) Has any doctor suggested you might have bursitis and has anyone suggested treatment for that? Perhaps you could look into the possibility of bursitis as the cause of your pain?
I had a Triple Phase Bone Scan which showed "aseptic loosening". In other words, no infection, but loosening of the implant. I would need a revision to fix this but I'm too afraid and wary now to have another surgery. I wish I were braver. It doesn't sound to me like you have loosening since that pain is often in the thigh and yours is in the actual hip but I'm not a doctor. I hope you can get to the root of your pain soon. Best wishes and good luck.

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I am only 11 weeks post TLHR anterior approach. I sometimes have thigh pain, but it comes and goes. I cannot imagine dealing with the pain you described for over a year. I would definitely be looking to see another doctor for a second and even third opinion. I also agree with the other posters about getting the information on the specifics of your implant. Good luck to you. I hope you can find pain relief.

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@katrine

I'm sorry for your pain. I had a THR in 2017 and still after 6 years have a lot of hip and thigh pain despite doing everything I was supposed to after surgery. I am also limited on the exercise I can do without hitting a wall. I can't seem to go beyond 40 Minutes of walking which is even less than I could do before the surgery . My X-Rays also looked "perfect". Surgeon then suggested an injection for bursitis which didn't help me at all. ( I knew it was more than bursitis though since I also had thigh pain) Has any doctor suggested you might have bursitis and has anyone suggested treatment for that? Perhaps you could look into the possibility of bursitis as the cause of your pain?
I had a Triple Phase Bone Scan which showed "aseptic loosening". In other words, no infection, but loosening of the implant. I would need a revision to fix this but I'm too afraid and wary now to have another surgery. I wish I were braver. It doesn't sound to me like you have loosening since that pain is often in the thigh and yours is in the actual hip but I'm not a doctor. I hope you can get to the root of your pain soon. Best wishes and good luck.

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My doctor suggested it was spinal stenosis or bursitis. They tell me everything but the hip or nerve damage from the surgery. They claim they lost my surgery records. That is suspicious to me.

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@geraldszaf

My doctor suggested it was spinal stenosis or bursitis. They tell me everything but the hip or nerve damage from the surgery. They claim they lost my surgery records. That is suspicious to me.

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Suspicious to me as well. According to my neurologist, I have severe spinal stenosis. Nonetheless, seven weeks ago I had my left hip replaced and I have had no significant or measurable pain since then.

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I have suffered with chronic back pain for a couple of years. It started after I had my hip replaced, and then a hip replacement revision on the same hip. Thee surgeon claims that the replacement is good, and that I suffer with nerve damage. It's been nearly 2 years since my surgery and I need help!
Have any of you had a Medtronic Spinal Cord Stimulation installed? If so, how is it working for you? Any help would be appreciated!

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@bbrebozo

I had THR 5 months ago. My hip feels ok but my mid-thigh has been quite painful when walking for the last 2 months. The doctor implied it is a common problem but will take xrays if it persists for another couple months.

I also had extreme swelling and heat/redness in my foot and lower leg which have finally gotten much better recently.

One other potential complication is that 53 years ago I broke my femur, tibia, and fibula in that leg which I think may be contributing to current problems.

Really what I'm wondering about is other peoples' experience with thigh pain after THR and if it has gone away on its own? I just don't know if this is a common problem or not. Prior to surgery I kept hearing how simple it was, "such a lifesaver", etc, and that hasn't really been my experience so far. Thank you.

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I had a left THR seven weeks ago and I have been pain free from day one.

Be aware that sites such as this one are incredibly helpful BUT the postings are not statistically valid. People tend to go to a forum like this when they are having trouble and fewer do so when they are happy with their results.

My advice is to use what you read here as a stepping stone but don't assume it is always accurate nor common.

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I had right hip replacement 5 years ago. Not a lot of pain after surgery. However, in the last two years pain, not in my groin where is was before surgery, but in my side hip and down my thigh. I have 15 inside stairs in my house and have trouble going up and down now. We thought it was bursitis and I have had a few injections into that site. It helped for awhile but not anymore. I just had an MRI last week and have a zoom with my ortho tomorrow. From what I could figure out in reading the MRI my implant looks fine. It's getting hard for me to stand when sitting also hurts if I lay on my side. I had read that 30% of people having hip replacement do get bursitis. The results didn't say anything about my bursa. I am full of osteoarthritis so maybe it's that. Also grabbing at straws here but my cardio changed my statins a few months ago so also wondering if that could be the cause.

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