Glute atrophy

[Ljpviper]

Hello,

   Figured I would start a new post. I had some issues pop up after 11 months of a right hip resurfacing with Dr. Gross. This was last year around March 2017. I went back to him and did X-rays, blood tests all was fine. Fast forward to now still having chronic pain in the hip, swelling no strength.

I had an MRI done with a surgeon group here locally. The surgeon has done over 10k hip replacements. We reviewed the MRI on his PC yesterday.

Basically my glute medius muscle is like mush and is turning white in some some spots. It basically on the top part and the white part is at the end of incision.

Now it all makes sence I had a great recovery for 11 months. The from one day to the next started getting glute pain. Hoping it's not nerve damage thus limiting the the glute medius from firing. It's funny I got the MRI Tuesday and the report showed no abnormalities. So I would never trust a standard radiologist report. 

Any advice on this issue would be great I an active and 47 so that's a non issue. I have chronic pain from this daily.

Thanks all

Larry
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[Pat Walter]

Larry


I am sorry to hear you are having problems.  I hope you can get this figured out.  I don't have any suggestion other than to get several opinions from the top doctors.


I wish you the best and hope to read a post about a solution to this problem.


Pat

[John C]

I will throw in a few ideas, based only on my own recent experience, along with some theories based on zero medical knowledge.
The past month or so I have been upping my workouts on my 4 month old hip, and the more intense activity level seems to be firing up a sore area in my 10 year old hip right where you are describing. That area has been a little weak ever since surgery, but it does respond to strengthening exercises. The optimist in me says that the discomfort is just because the rehab is working that 10 year old resurfaced hip harder than normal. The pessimistic side wonders if there might be some fluid accumulation in the glute, even though my ion numbers are <1. Dr Gross has commented that almost all replaced hips will have some fluid and wear accumulation at some point. Did the doctor who looked over the MRI with you comment whether the white areas were fluid? For myself, I am starting a program using the roller and massage again to hopefully break up any fluid collection, if there is any, and also stimulate more blood supply to the area.
Let us know what you figure out.

[Ljpviper]

John,

  Thanks for the comments. The surgeon who read the MRI mentioned they were fatty deposits not fluid. But he showed me the difference between the quality of the Glute max muscle and glute medius. Glute max looked healthy.

My gut feeling is at 11 months into the surgery either scar tissue broke in that incision area and basically shut down the muscle. Maybe a nerve got trapped. I also learned and this is a word of caution to anyone who gets an MRI, radiologists/doctors who read these MRIs miss stuff very easily. So if you can MRI I feel it can not always be trusted.

The local hip surgeon showed me the exact trouble area, yet the report said nothing was wrong. My cobalt and chromium are super low so I doubt it a metal issue.

I am going for an ART session on Saturday see if I can relieve some pain fron the area. Also, Dr. Gross is calling me on Thursday. Let's see what he thinks.

Thanks,

Larry

[John C]

It sounds like you are really on top of this. Please keep us up to date.
To second your warning about MRI readings: one year ago I had a surfing accident that resulted in an "orbital blowout fracture", which means that the interior of the eye socket was shattered. The key question about whether to have surgery had to do with whether the eye muscles were trapped in the bone fragments. The radiologist MRI report said that there was no entrapment, as did two other doctors who looked at it. I eventually I sent the MRI to a top specialist across the country, who said that I needed to get on a plane for surgery that day. Sure enough, during surgery he found that the muscles were entrapped and would have atrophied, which he saw in the MRI that others did not. Thanks for bringing this issue to everyone's attention.