Jeff’s THR Revision after Hip Resurfacing 2011

September 17, 2007

I got my hip resurfaced Tuesday Sept 11th, by Dr. Crovetti in Las Vegas. I am recovering at home, but still need to take at least one narcotic every 5-6 hours. I am planning a web site dictating my whole story. I am so glad I found this web site. I guess I am a regular Joe, since I am still using a walker, and then going to a cane. I am getting better day by day. I think the worst part for me is that since I was in great shape (I rode bicycle when I could up until the day i had my surgery) the doctor said I gave him a good sweat trying to cut through my ass muscles. So that will be my healing time, muscle recovery.

Just going through surgery, my doctor had me up the day after my procedure. I was allowed to put as much weight on my hip as I could stand. The familar "pain" deep in your hip is gone, when I got up I had no pain in my hip, it was all my muscles, and yes they are SORE. You have to be "brave" to get up, I thought there was no way I could take the pain, but your body is remarkable, and each of us is also, so we can do anything we set our mind to!

Dr. Crovetti was such a great doctor. He is so passionate about it. That is what attracted me to him for the surgery. He said I LOVE THIS SURGERY. His words to me once he saw my x-ray is, "your hip is jacked up". I laughed as if I didn’t already know that. But after the surgery he said it is in there, he said you can cross your legs, or sleep on your side or whatever you want once the pain lets you. He also trains other surgeons on the procedure. He was the best!
Dr Crovetti
702-990-2290
880 Seven Hills Drive, Suite 140
Henderson, NV 89052

September 18, 2007

The pain has decreased today, I guess I’m just gonna let little things like that go, without panicing. Thanks for the toilet seat advice but luckily today I actually had success sitting on a low toilet seat (it wasn’t easy), so it’s all good now.

September 23, 2007

I am back in Oregon after flying from Las Vegas NV. It was 10 days post-op. It was not fun.. I was worried about blood clots, but didn’t realize how much pain I was going to be in. The stewardesses were great, and the guy in the middle seat actually moved so I could have both the end seat and the middle seat. No matter how many attempts anyone made, and downing 2 percocets 5’s nothing helped my discomfort. So that being said, how soon do you guys fly back from Belgium from Dr. De Smet? I wish I would have waited one more week in my opinion. and I feel like I took a step back after that. I think they tell it wrong. I think the doctors and nurses should tell you that day by day you will be able to do more things, but the pain is very slow to go away. I am wondering now, if my pain will be slower to go away, since I just had arthroscopic surgery in Jan, 8 months ago. It is 12 days post op and still taking at least 1 to 2 pain pills a day. I walk with a cane, but still have pain I hope this is normal and not a result of my other surgery.

September 25, 2007

When I got my hospital bill of $69,000 that I found out he used a Cormet device, and oh well, I can say it’s holding up pretty good, but it’s only been 2 weeks. I am hoping he didnt go the route of Cormet for the price that ball covering was 20k, and the acetabulum part was 12k so man think about how much money they make off of the insurance companies, if oversees they can do it for 12=20k the whole surgery when it cost me 69,000… or wait probably about $100-$200 thanks to insurance. So I hope the Cormet is just as good as the rest, or I might be in trouble soon!

September 30, 2007

I went to my first PT apointment on Wednesday the of September. He massaged the area (my but), then did minutes on the stationary bike, then did some squats on the total gym, which felt good. Now the frustrating part. I went to a cane when I flew back to Oreon from Nevada, so that being said, after my first PT, it wasn’t bad that night. The next day, I set up my own bike on a trainer. I figured how to get on, and did 5 minutes slow RPM. It started hurting so later I did 5 minutes again slow RPM. Well that night, and the next morning I could hardly walk with my cane. Then when I went to the PT on Friday, he put me back on crutches, since I could hardly walk with the cane. He said it’s better to keep your gate going, and putting just enough pressure on it to keep stress on it. So today Sunday, I am still using my walker/crutches. Now that frustrates me, I was OK using a cane, but can’t use it again yet. The PT said that the pain I was experiencing, which is in my groing area when I walk, is bone pain from my acetabulum. Does this sound right? and why can’t I walk with a cane, it’s like im going backwards. It has been 2 weeks and 5 days.

October 7, 2007

Well finally Friday, which was 3 weeks and 3 days, I went to one crutch for good. I also drove last night, it didn’t feel that good driving but oh well I have groceries I want now! Here is my question, it kinda makes a clunking sound when I take a step forward, kind of a clunking sound. It doesn’t hurt or anything when it makes that noise, so I’m wondering if anyone else has had this sound? I also am currently walking every day about half mile so far. The good news is that if it starts feeling bad, I can sit down and it then feels better when I get up, so Pat your right, time is the answer!

October 18, 2007

It is now 5 weeks and 2 days post op. The pain is gone from walking, now I just get sore, but am walking with one cane. That being said, I can walk without the cane, but its very very sore, and takes a lot of concentrating. So my question is that when you guys got rid of your one crutch, did you walk perfectly or did you have a limp still? I’m so used to limping to avoid the pain, I find myself doing that when I try without crutch. Maybe that is because I was so used to limping before the surgery to avoid the pain. Anyway, I had a hip arthroscopy in January 07, and got my hip resurfaced Sep 07, so that is why I might be healing slower, I mean that is twice in 9 months my hip was dislocated, that and the healing again after this surgery like I did with the arthroscopy.

October 29, 2007

 I am healing, but slowly. My "groin" muscle isn’t liking what im doing to it…Stretching! It is now 7 weeks, I still use a cane if I overdue the stretching, or working out. I am glad that I can now do 20 miles on my bicycle again! I did 20.5 miles Saturday, and 20.9 miles today, and at a respectable speed of 16.1 mph. My hip just gets very sore, and I’m using a heating pad. I have finally realized, I think (know), I am healing slower because of that other operation. Having your hip dislocated (heavily) in 8 months, can’t be good!

December 31, 2007

 I can bicycle no problem, stairs no problem, if I walk to much it gets sore, but I do squats with my own weight every day, and lunges. But even at this length of time after surgery, it still gets sore, so you know if you overdo it.

August 15, 2008

Glad to see your still here Pat, you were a wonderful help to me. I am pretty much healed right now, but have a general question for you peeps who are still active after resurfacing. I can run (not pretty though), and play tennis, with no ill effects, maybe just a little soreness, but I can do it. Now I am a big guy, 5’11 pretty muscular(too muscular), and it affects my range of motion and stuff cause of the muscles. Well to make a long story short, I tried out for the police again, finally I could do all the physical stuff ( I thought) anyway it was a mile run in 10.5 minutes (easy) pushups, situps all easy. But I was struck down by probably the easiest thing to do. This stupid exercise hurt my hip 11 months preop, and I’m wondering if other people still have this pain if they do this motion. It was called a bend and twist. You are to put on hand on top of the other, then bend over touch the floor, then twist to touch an X on the wall in back of you. But here is the twist, you cannot bend at your back, you more or less touch your hands to the floor by squatting, so with my feet shoulder width apart, I squatted and immediately could tell I was in trouble. I got out 13 and you had to do 15 in 20 seconds. After I was done I was kinda limping again. So my question is this, is this THE LAST thing that heals? I am pretty much healed in everything else I do, or is this to my hip not being right after resurfacing?

November 29, 2008

I got my hip resurfaced Sept 11, 2007, so one year and 2 months and a few days, couldn’t be happier. I work out on the treadmill in the winter for 30 minutes every day 5 days a week, then do the elliptical for 20 minutes. In the summer and spring, I can ride bicycle about 100 miles or more a week. No one ever knows my hip is artificial, and the people who knew me when I limped so badly can even recognize me!

December 10, 2008

I can tell you one thing. My experience is that range of motion is very slow. I can’t remember exactly but I am 1 year and 3 months post op. I walk the treadmill, and elliptical. I like bicycling the best. On the treadmill, I do get some discomfort in my groin area on the side of my hip done. But a day or so later, it goes away. So this was do to the fact that my groin muscle was sooo tight from limping so bad. The doctor said sometimes they will cut the muscle a bit for more motion. But since I’m young (40) they didn’t do that. So YES I can say it’s a bitch to get motion done, even after all this time, I can bend touch my toes, cross my legs, do almost everything, but actually if I sit on a bed and try to tie my shoe, its kinda discomforting, I can do it, but discomforting. And I realized that is when I have the most discomfort, when Im bending and try to lift my leg up. It doesn’t hurt just discomforting. So to sum it up, it might take a long time, since I was not that flexible before surgery, I don’t think the surgery will work miracles, you got limits, so like everyone has said, just listen to your body. I don’t do treadmill if it hurts period. In the spring back to bicycle where it never hurts. But until them I can do the treadmill but after a few weeks, gets very sore, and have to rest a day or so.

February 17, 2009

it’s been 1 year and 5 months post op. It has been OK, but lately, an issue has arisen. I usually work out between 4-6 days a week. My hip usually feels OK no problems, but when I start doing the treadmill (only 18 minutes), at 4.1 and high incline. Whenever I do a high incline, my hip starts bothering me. It’s like the back of my leg right below my butt in that little crevice area. It gets so bad, it makes me wanna stop, even though my cardio can keep going. Now this is a problem that has surfaced as of lately. Is there something wrong, and btw it doesn’t matter if I rest for a few days or take off extra days, always as of lately doing the high incline.

July 24, 2009

I have posted about pain in my hip when i exercise. So I stopped exercising. Now im getting pain doing normal stuff on my right hip that I had resurfaced 9/11/07. So I got an X-ray and the doc said that there is no evidence of fracture or discloaction. So I am still having pain and went and got the x-ray results myself. Now in the findings, it says that
"There is a right hip hemiprosthesis in place. There is a Benign Appearing heterotopic calcification around the right hip. There is no evidence of hardware failure. Alignment is anatomical. The left hip joint space is maintained. There is no evidence of fracture of dislocation."
So I searched and didn’t find to many things talking about heterotop calcification. Things I have read include that maybe why I am having pain still.

September 1, 2009

I went to the doctor today, and looks like I’m going to get a total hip implant. He told me a few things. My cup has not been situated correctly and that is why I am having pain, walking, or leaning. It is about 1/4 inch off, not much but enough that the implant hits my bone. Second, my femur neck is very large, and so I don’t get much range of motion. On total hip they remove that problem that is what they cut off, so I will have much greater range of motion. Thirdly, the pin on the resurfaced hip is cemented in place, while in a total hip it is not. So taken this all in stride, I guess I am going to go through the pain of another hip procedure, hopefully this one will give me the alleviation of pain I sought in resurfacement. He said some take, and some don’t but at some time or another the cement is gonna break down and you will get pain, so there you have it, many tests ahead such as a bone scan and a WBC test UGH i hate those, but they are necessary.

November 13, 2009

I had a resurfacing 2 years ago. It was great up until the point of about 1year 4months, then i went back to exercise regularly. I had pain and then went to see the a regular doc. He then referred me to a "specialist" with problem hips. I have gone to him and this is his assessment. The cup is too shallow place in my acetabulum therefore it sticks out over the bone and I have an "impingement" my cup hits my bone on walking. Next I got a bone scan, and they said the cover over the neck of my femur is loosening, and the bone underneath is dying. The doctor attributed it to the "cement" they put in. He said that it will eventually break up, and that since i am a bigger guy, that this is probably the reason for loosening. Hence the question are all resurfacing devices on top of the neck of the femur held together by cement? Then he said that I need a total hip, since this is failing, 2 years UGH. I have to be on pain medicine at work, I’m a dealer and bending up and down he says that my tendon is rubbing on the implant.

OK then he hits me with this LIFE question, says no good or bad answer. The information is that for the first surgery, he said that resurfacing my hip beat up my muscles and they bled, then regenerated, but bone cells got in there and then it started regenerating bone in my muscle. He said I don’t belive you are a "bone maker’ and that he thinks that was part of the surgery. OK then he says here is your choice, if you make more bone from this operation, there is a chance that your hip will make more bone and possibly fuse your leg to your pelvis. If that happens he says you will have to wait for a year then we will remove it and give you a big dose of radiation to stop it from coming back. or he says you can get a big dose of radiation now and then stop the bone cells from forming.

August 30, 2010

 I had my hip resurfaced in September of 2007. I was fine for about 1 year or a little longer. I then started doing treadmill, and elliptical. After about 1 month, I started hurting so bad I couldnt do the treadmill anymore and the elliptical was painful. So to make a long story short, the implant came loose on top of my femur and was moving around giving me tons of pain. I basically limped worse and had to use a cane at work just like before the surgery. So what I had to do was get total hip replacement. I contacted Dr. Gross and several other surgeons, they told me before they knew which was loose, if it was my cup in my acetabulum, I could get another cup no problem. If they went in and found it was the cap on my femur I would need a total hip anyway. Also the doctor said NEVER to do the treadmill. Well the recovery is about the same, but I’m having swelling problems ever after 8 weeks. It also feels like I have to "crack" my hip, feels almost loose inside, anyway I guess the moral of the story is whether resurfaced or replaced it all sucks and we all have problems I just hope this surgery lasts longer than 3 years, I had my replacement surgery July 5th 2010.

March 1, 2011

 I am so frustrated i don’t know where to put myself. I had a resurfacing that was painful, but then I had no problems until the metal plate on my femur head came loose. Since that was the case I had to go to a full hip replacement. Now I’m 7 months out, and am having pain, walking, standing are the worst, sitting not so bad, and in bed I cant lay on my back, my hip starts hurting. So my hip doctor that did the surgery ordered an MRI of my lower back, and cat scan of my hip(since mri wouldnt work cause of the metal) anyways results came back, they say there is no evidence of dislocation, but one of the acetabular screws extends superiorly through the bony cortex posteriorly. This extends into the gluteus minimus muscle. Also several foci of heterotopic bone were present acetablular side othe hip join soft tissues laterally. Anyway I’m not sure, cause I called the doctor up and the nurse said my next appointment was July 19th, I said what? she said IF the doctor gets the scans and thinks there is something wrong he contacts you. What the hell, can a doctor do a surgery and do it wrong and then just let you in pain