I had a THR over 13 months ago. It was a disaster. My wife figures that "they retracted on my femoral nerve" (she is an OR nurse and knows a fair bit). The pre-op interview goes over the risks... anaesthetic dangers, not getting the length perfect, etc. The only warning regards nerve damage was a cursory... "you might get numbness in you leg".
The femoral neuropathy resulted in my entire thigh INCLUDING MY QUADRICEP MUSCLE losing function. I could not even move my foot off the ground. Your 'quad' is the most important muscle in keeping you standing. As soon as I got out of my bed after surgery, I fell 100% on my knee. It was the most painful thing I have experienced this side of passing a kidney stone!
When your surgeon tells you in an offhand way that 'you may lose some feeling in your leg due to nerve damage'... remember, this could end up as a much more severe outcome. I was in a wheelchair for several months in a rehab hospital, thence to a walker, 2 canes, and finally 1 cane. I still don't see a successful outcome after 13 months... it pains me to walk, not in the hip, but in my knee.
THR is not a foolproof procedure!
The femoral neuropathy resulted in my entire thigh INCLUDING MY QUADRICEP MUSCLE losing function. I could not even move my foot off the ground. Your 'quad' is the most important muscle in keeping you standing. As soon as I got out of my bed after surgery, I fell 100% on my knee. It was the most painful thing I have experienced this side of passing a kidney stone!
When your surgeon tells you in an offhand way that 'you may lose some feeling in your leg due to nerve damage'... remember, this could end up as a much more severe outcome. I was in a wheelchair for several months in a rehab hospital, thence to a walker, 2 canes, and finally 1 cane. I still don't see a successful outcome after 13 months... it pains me to walk, not in the hip, but in my knee.
THR is not a foolproof procedure!
Total hip replacement surgery is major surgery. The risk for complications is high. Surgeons are contractors. That means the more surgeries they perform, the more money that they make. Therefore it is in their best interest to perform as many surgeries as they physically can perform. An electrical muscle stimulator (EMS) can help you regain function of your thigh muscles. A portable unit can be purchased online.