Nerve damage post hip replacement surgery

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i just want to know how you are now i had my op 4 weeks ago i have exact the same as you i have to go for nerve study in a few weeks but it is a sore study and i am not looking forward to it r u better

sleepy · Newbie Joined: 01 Jan 2007 Posts: 4

Hipz2007 · Newbie Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 1

Hello, I am 32 years old and within the last 4 months, I have had both my hips replaced. I am experiencing the same problem in both my feet. I feel the 1000 needles, pain and numbning, in my feet and some times in my buttocks. I have searched high and low for successful treatment, but I have not find anything that works for me. My local pharmacist told me to add a supplement of Vitamin B6 to my regular diet. This helps my buttocks but not my feet. I am scheduled for a nerve conduction study in May, if any one can offer any additional suggestions, please contact me

Hipz2007

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I had hip resurfacing in Feb 07 which a stretched nerve & possible hematoma may have been involved.As a result foot drop and nerve damage has been with me since the operation.I went to the docters office and found a another patient of his that had same conditions as me foot drop & pins/needles.He had hip resurfacing in Dec 06. He has been going to acupuncture and has meet others with same symptoms.A friend told me that another gentlman had same results who was operated on a week before me (who I have since meet). Who is watching over these doctors? 98% success rate is falling fast.Who should be notified.

6andcounting · Newbie Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 1

I can't believe how common this is! I just had my 6th surgery on my left hip for an injury I sustained in 92. I have never had problems after a surgery but this time right after I woke up the top of my foot and the last three toes felt like they had been wrapped in cellophane. They felt crunchy and painful. Now it feels like I am wearing a heavy cold wet sock. I am 5 weeks out. It isn't as bad as some of you, discribe so obvisouly there are various degrees of this I have no foot drop, but after I am in the shower for a minute my foot turns dead person purple. Most of the day it is red. Weird. I have a spot in my calf that is incredibly painful to touch too but they have ruled out clot so I guess it is nerve damage....Any suggestions on what I can ask my ortho when I follow up with him in two weeks? He had told me if there is nerve damage we are pretty much screwed.... (he is a funny guy) well it seemed funny before this happened! Smile

Thanks for all of you who posted. It helps to know I am not crazy, or alone....
good luck to all of you.

Tanya Davidson · Newbie Joined: 16 May 2007 Posts: 4

I had a total hip replacement a year and a half ago. Initially I was doing quite
well into my recovery....hoping to get back to an active lifestyle. About
3 months into my recovery something horrible happened and I have been
quite disabled and in pain ever since.

I am 44 years old and had hip displasia as an infant. The left hip did not form
correctly and as a result I my left leg was 3/4 inch shorter and I had very
limited external hip rotation.

My surgeon lengthened my leg, so that now my legs are the same length and i also now have normal external hip rotation.

I was beginning to train 3 months into my recovery, hoping to
get back to some competitive cycling. During this time i noticed some pain in
the area of my ischial tuberosity as well as some numbness in my heal
and outer toes.

I went back to teaching full time at the 3 month mark and began to
experience increasingly severe pain mostly in the left buttock. It was, and still is, a burning,
numbing, aching pain that gets progressively worse with standing, walking or any other physical activity.

Since then, I have only been able to work part time, and sometimes the pain
gets so severe I have to take time off.

The doctors here are stumped. X-rays are text book perfect. I have had
nerve conduction studies, tried active release therapy, acupuncture, physiotherapy, massage therapy, a Botox injection into the piriformis muscle,
and a cortisone injection into the ischial tuberosity area where the pain seems
to radiate from, MRI and ultra sound imaging show no notable abnormalities.

I have also tried Lyrica, which seemed to help, however, with the decreased pain, i found that i stayed on my feet longer, and then the symptoms got worse and began to show through the medidation..thus not really helping the healing process, only masking the pain. Anit-inflamitories such as Celebrex and Arthrotec have had little affect.

The pain seems to radiate from the area of the ischial tuberosity. There is
actually a palpable mobile mass in the area. When I sit on a hard surface it
moves and is quite uncomfortable. The pain can radiate there and/or move to
other areas around my left buttock and to the outside of my leg where the incision is.

The chronic pain is driving me crazy. At the moment, I have had another flair
up. It is painful to stand, walk and sit. Any physical
activity seems to worsen the symptoms. Heat and rest are the only treatment
options that seem to give me some relief, and healing. However it takes so
very long.

If you have any insight, please let me know. I am at the end of my rope.

Thanks so much,
Tanya

**edited by moderator**

erfette · Newbie Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Los Angeles

Here it is the week before Memorial Day Weekend, almost a year and a half since my surgery and almost a year since my last post. The nerve damage still persists. Somedays not too bad, other days like yesterday it was pretty bad. My primary physcian made the comment that he had never seen a case as bad as mine so he suggested I see an orthopedic surgeon in Santa Monica, CA. Unforutunately, I would not be covered under my insurance and so I suppose I'd have to pay an arm and a leg (preferably the bad one Very Happy

) to see him. I'm waiting until my school lets out for the summer to contact him to see if he will see me. Until then, I do what I can to cope with the pain. I'm seeing an acupuncterist, with limited results and started bicycling again to take my mind off the pain. I take a hydrocdone once in a while, but try to limit it to one or two a week.
I feel for those of you who are going through this pain. I wonder if the type of surgery being done for hip replacements is the cause of the nerve damage. It seems people who have minimally invasive surgery seem to suffer this kind of damage more often than those who go through the normal procedure. If you haven't already checked it out, try the Totally Hip web site. It's a really great site. I wish there was something more I could add.

erfette

mom2alikev · Newbie Joined: 29 May 2007 Posts: 1

I had total hip replacement on my left hip on Dec. 29. 2006. I woke up with terrible pain in my left foot that radiated up my calve, never had any hip pain. The pain in my foot and calf was excrutiating and depressing. I had numbness on the outside of the calf and over the top of my foot. I was diagnosed with foot drop and given a stiff afo while in the hospital. Recovery was difficult. I went and had a better afo made when I was out fo the hospital and went to Foot Solutions to find some good supportive shoes to help with my walking. I am 44 years old. I had both hips pinned for slipped epiphysis at 12 years old and the pins removed a year later. I went to Houston on May 1st to have a nerve transfer with Dr. Nath. He performs the surgery behind the knee and cuts until he finds a sufficient nerve branch to use for the transfer. I just got off of being on crutches for 3 weeks. I am having to regain a lot that was lost from being out of physical therapy for a month. I tire easily, have pain every day, stiffness and my unoperated leg/hip is getting a lot of abuse and will need to be replaced. My entire family is suffering along with me. I am not sure if it is the "new" techniques they are using or if the doctors are too sure of themselves and just treat every patient the same, go in and cut and try to stick to their schedule. I pray daily that the nerve transfer will work. It will take up to a year to know if it will reverse the damage.

Maryej39 · Newbie Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 2

I had total hip replacement surgery (no cement) 4 months ago. Nerve damage caused my left foot to have strange feelings and Lyrica helped that problem, although at night it still feels like a block of ice! I progressed from walker to cane and was doing quite well until all of a sudden I began to have pain in my left thigh bone (right where I think the prothesis ends). The doctor just dismisses it with "still healing" and says I should get away from the cane. Without the cane to lean on and take the weight off that side, I walk (more hobble) like an old lady - 69 is not an old lady! I walked fine before this. Has anyone had any experiece with pain in the thigh? Mary

Nerve damage post hip replacement surgery

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