A less than routine hip replacement

rbodle

I thought I'd share my experience of what might be a less than routine hip replacement.

 

In November 2007 I underwent a left hip replacement at the Wellington hospital near Lords cricket ground. The surgeon suggested that if my bone structure was strong enough, to opt for a resurfacing. The hip resurfacing was completed using components made from a cobalt and chromium alloy.

 

With the reaction to metal on metal hips a few years after I had regular blood tests and cobalt and chromium ions never reached the levels to replace but, were very close.

 

Recently I underwent a left side ttc hind foot nail surgery at Guy's hospital following 2 failed sub-talar fusion attempts. In my recovery I noticed my left leg was shorter than my right and started using gel heel packers to even my walking gait. The disparity in length increased gradually and I was using 3-4cm packers.

 

A few weeks ago I awoke unable to weight bear on my left hip. X-rays at A&E showed a femoral head fracture, when laying on the trolley my left leg was at least 10cm shorter than the right. Special tools and bespoke components were required and I underwent a revision 6 days after admission. It is fairly conclusive the metal irons from the resurfacing weakened the bone to a point where it fractured without a specific trauma. I suspect the insertion of the hind foot nail might take a relatively high amount of force in the longitudinal direction of my leg bones and could have initiasted the femoral head failure.

 

I'm still in recovery as I was warned the levels of anaethesia used were very high but feel much better. Hopefully that improvement will continue as my body flushes out the cobalt and chromium ions.

noddingtonpete

Hello @rbodle and welcome to the Community. It's good to have you here and thank you for sharing your experience. I am sure it will be of interest to others going through similar treatments.

Best wishes

Peter (moderator)