Leg Lenth Question

[Shawn in Northern Ca.]

Hello all,  I am hoping for  your infinite knowledge and wisdome.  I am two weeks post op today (LHR)and still feel like my resurfaced leg is longer than my other leg.  It was shorter prior to surgery and Dr. felt he could get them more even.  Do I need to continue waiting for the healing process for a few more weeks or when do you know for sure that the lengths are different and you should be concerned??  Any thoughts greatly appreciated.  Shawn

[decooney]

Mine felt a tad longer too, especially the first week, like at least 1/4" longer for sure... I could tell as one knee was bent and the other not, almost as if I was leaning to one side...  However, as swelling in my leg and hip and all is going down at three weeks post-op, and if there is such a thing as "settling in", I'm sort of noticing it's not as bad as I first noticed.  I am still seeing and feeling a small difference, but maybe it's getting better each week, not sure exactly.  When I asked my surgeon, he thought they had it really close in surgery so I'm still playing the waiting game. 

I too would be interested in hearing from others who noticed this early and then saw changes later after several months of time passed. 

[stevel]

My left leg (operated side) seems shorter as I walk with a bit of a limp.  At 6 weeks post-op my Dr. says my body will continue to adjust over a 3 to 6 mos period.  So no heel lift or foot insert is advised.  He recommends stretching the muscles around my pelvis.  He examined my 4 week post-op x-rays and the implant is properly positioned.

[obxpelican]

I think most people I've talked to had that feeling of length difference, I had it for a week or so.... it seemed that when my swelling went down the length difference went away for me.


Chuck

[fenceman]

Mine definitely felt longer for the first month.  I could look in the mirror and my pelvis was higher on the BHR side.  It has gradually straightened and at 2 months I felt pretty even.  I am 3 months out and walking without a limp when I think about my stride.  I do not have any pain so I do not know why I limp except out of habit.  2 years of limping is a hard habit to break.
Bill

[Bionic]

I don't know whether this has been mentioned before, but arthritis itself effectively shortens the leg connected to the affected hip by reducing the cartilage cushion between the femur and acetabulum.  My physical therapist took some measurements of my legs and confirmed that my right (arthritic) side was about 6mm shorter than my left.  I figure this is about what I've lost in cartilage.

Since her discovery, I've been wearing a lift in my right shoe, which I have found helps me a great deal.

I can imagine that after surgery I'll feel as if my right leg is longer, whereas the fact may be that it is back to normal and my perception is slow to catch on. 

[Big Bill]

Hey Bionic.... I wore a lift and arch support B 4 my resurfacing. It really did help. I am now at a little over 4 months post op (no more lift or supports) and nobody can detect a limp or gait issue.  I forget that I even had anything done sometimes ! 

        Big Bill  C.A.S.H.   7/9/08   

[decooney]

Update;  At 4 weeks, my operated leg is not feeling as long as it did before, like it is "settling in" so to speak.  Use is going up and swelling is down.  It still feels a tad longer but not nearly as noticeble as the first two weeks.  I'm told it can take up to 6 months of settling in before you really start to see and feel a difference.