corin mini hip

[eyeoftgr]

i originally went to see dr kreuzer in Houston back in nov for an evaluation... just to see where I was in the process.

@ 43 and very active, especially tennis, I was having increased issues with tying my left shoe and eating way too many advil / aleve weekly to be able to stay active in the gym , tennis , riding in the car , summer hiking... etc...

it was time to get my life back

expecting I was a good candidate for resurfacing, I was quite shocked when dr kreuzer told me he was no longer doing resurfacing.
he gave me a few reasons for the change which I wont get caught up in the details of his decision , but he did highly recommend the Corin Mini Hip.

I was extremely impressed w dr kreuzer and had made the trip from nola to Houston based on 2 tennis friends recommendation.
One guy had both hips resurfaced w dr K and the other buddy had 1 done in nola and 1 done with dr K.
they both point blank told me this guy was the BEST and don't let anyone else touch you.

it is now 17 days post op...
* surgery fri dec 6th - walking 4 hours or so after surgery w use of a walker
* discharged from hosp Sat @ noon

Incision is @ 4.5" long , also had a drain in the side of my leg for the hospital stay only.

the first 3 days are pretty rough (my 1st surgery ever)
- this was not a pain issue and I was down to Tylenol only 1 day post op
- issue is that despite my being in excellent shape and having a very strong core and upper body, I had a very numb thigh with minimal control over my hip flexor.
very hard to raise that left leg.

hard time getting in and out of bed seemed to be the main issue because of the strain on the hip flexor - really need someone's assistance to get in and out of bed the first few days.

walker for 2 weeks - safety precaution after week 1.
cane or crutches for week 3

I feel stronger than I am going but being safe and cautious !

will see the Doc @ week 7 for a follow up, then 6 months , then annual for a few years

only remaining issue right now is "burning thigh"
it has gotten progressively better each day.

apparently the incision is rather deep and they do cut through some sensory nerve tissue that can cause this skin sensitivity.
Other possible causes for "burning thigh" may be :
* some swelling still present and putting pressure on the nerve ( I am only 2.5 weeks in recovery )
* they move or retract a lot of tissue during the surgery and that may have temporarily irritated a nerve.
* micro motions in the stem , since this is a "press fit" and waiting for the bone to grow to fully secure the stem.

based on my research, this appears to happen to @ 14% of folks having DAA (direct anterior approach)

anyone else have any experience w burning thigh ? timeline ?

I know that patience is my friend and I am very convinced that I have a great doc and the right procedure for me.

hope this post may help others set some expectations going into this type of replacement.

expecting to be back on the tennis court 3/1/14 .... we shall see once the bone grows into the metal.

[hernanu]

Welcome to the site!

My brother in law had a corin mini hip done about two years ago, is doing well with it. Time to heal - I haven't had the burning thigh thing, but like many of the temporary issues that we deal with, if it goes away fairly quickly, it should be fine.

If it persists, or if you're worried about it, call the surgeon - that's why they're there.

[chuckm]

Hello! The Corin Mini Hip looks like a fine device and a good choice.

Since this is a hip resurfacing site, don't feel like you are burdening us by giving the details of why Dr. Kreuzer has stopped performing hip resurfacing. It feels like you are holding back on us here.

He is all over youtube demonstrating his direct anterior approach when resurfacing. I couldn't tell which device he used but it was not the BHR.

As far as trouble with pain in front and lifting the leg, that's what hip surgery does. It disrupts the muscles of the hip. The part of the hip flexor (psoas tendon) is what does most of the leg lifting but it runs right across the surgical area so pain and weakness would be expected for a while until all that heals.

Chuckm

[Some Dude]

I'm 11 weeks out with an anterior approach revision. I had burning sensations in the beginning but they are gone now. I know a lot of guys are anti pain med but I felt like the pain was holding back my walking and exercising so I stayed on them until about the 2 month mark. The last couple weeks I have been walking 3-4 miles a day and am on my feet pretty much all day with no real issues. I would be a little hesitant about playing tennis at 3 months out, maybe I'm over cautious since I had a revision from a resurfacing at 5 years and I really really really do not want to do this again, and I believe it's pretty common knowledge that full bone ingrowth can take up to a year or more, I've even heard as long as 2 years for it to be 100% solid. You can do what ever you want obviously but my $.02 is to give it longer than 3 months before you start jumping around and doing high impact sports like tennis. I would be concerned about putting side loads on it too for awhile, jumping back and forth playing tennis seems like it would put a lot of stress on it. Could be I'm just being a puss but I plan to wait at least 6 months before I really start pushing and a full year before I start riding dirtbikes and other stupid stuff I like to do. Glad it's going well but don't be in too big of a hurry, you don't want to do this again, and the 3 or 4 extra months really will go by fast. Just $.02 from some dude on the internet LOL

[eyeoftgr]

UPDATE - WEEK 6

 rapidly improved from @ 3.5 weeks to week 5

 off cane , but limping after 3 weeks.
 almost no noticeable limp by week 6.

 outer thigh still numb, but burning thigh went away @ week 4.

 amazing how much improvement I saw from week 3-week 5.

[luann again]

Hi Eye- glad you are doing better!
I'm with Chuckm, what reasons did your Dr give for not doing HR anymore? Curious.
Thanks , Lu.

[mdmdale]

I have the same hip, same dr., and same year but later in October, 2014. My numbness has become polyneuropathy and I’m unsure of why my right low back continues to be so painful. I’ve had multiple health issues arise including mitachondrial disease. I have an additional screw in my pelvis and wire around my femur and have had a horrible rubbing sound and more pain than expected. I now also have nerve damage to my skin and sweat glands and have been referred to a dermapathologist. How is yours now? 5 years and I think I may have just roughed it out too long before the replacement. Also, I was told I had complications, but I just saw the itemized statement. Average replacements is America are $32,000. Mine was $65,000. It makes me wonder if my complications were worse than I was told or if they’re why I’m still suffering so much.