I Might Have Found My New Hip Surgeon (or Studying My X-Rays Like Crazy)

This week I finally had my appointment with the new hip specialist at my hospital. While I’m still sad that my first hip surgeon is gone, I was interested to hear what another doctor might say about my issues.

When I found my first hip surgeon, I did get a second opinion. But my second opinion didn’t feel like there was anything seriously wrong with me and that my hip pain was really just muscle pain that wasn’t going away (by that point, I had been in very bad pain for 6 months). So since my original hip surgeon was the one who believed that there was something wrong with me that could be fixed, I trusted his opinion completely. And when he told me that I would still need 3 more surgeries on my hips, I accepted that as what had to be done.

So going in to meet a new surgeon is a little scary. He did have my medical records and was able to review my old surgeon’s notes on my condition and surgery. But as I expected, I needed to get another set of x-rays so this doctor could see how things look today.

So right before my appointment, I visited the orthopedic x-ray room.

I had 2 different types of x-rays done. The standing up ones are pretty easy (and almost totally painless for me). The laying down ones are tough. The way I have to lay with my feet on a chair and my knees out cause me a lot of pain. And when it was time to sit up after the x-rays, my hips locked up and got stuck. I was able to stand up after a minute or so, but all of this just reminded me of how much I needed to meet with the new surgeon and get a game plan going.

The new surgeon was very nice. He had me tell him about my history and my understanding of my past diagnosis and treatment plans. He also asked me about specific pain issues that I’m having. I was able to discuss some of the issues that I have in Orangetheory and how I’d like to be able to gain flexibility and movement again so my workouts might get a bit easier for me.

Then came the surprise to me. The surgeon brought my up x-rays on the screen and pointed out some abnormalities that were never discussed with me by my old surgeon.

It’s hard to explain the issues, but the short story of it is that he added a diagnosis of bilateral hip dysplasia with short hip sockets. Basically, my hip sockets are too small for my legs and that because of this I’m putting extra pressure on the outside of my hips. This, along with the bone spurs that were previously discovered, are the reason I needed my first surgery.

The good news about this is that it looks like I might only have one more surgery in my future. All the issues I’m currently dealing with in my right hip (the one that was operated on in 2006) are caused by scar tissue. This cannot really be fixed and sadly I will have to just accept this pain for the rest of my life. I could have another corrective surgery, but that would most likely cause additional scar tissue and make my right hip even worse. But my left hip should only need one surgery and that isn’t going to be a hip replacement!

There are still several steps to go before I have my left hip fixed. First of all, I have to lose more weight. My surgeon gave me a weight that he wants me to be at before he operates on me. Then, once I am close to that weight, I will have to do an MRI to see which of the 2 surgeries that can correct this issue I am eligible for. One of the surgeries has a recovery time of about a month, but it only has a 50/50 success rate. The other surgery has a recovery time of about 6 months, but it has a significantly higher success rate.

It’s a lot of me to think about. I’m been studying my x-rays against x-rays I’m finding online to see if I can understand my diagnosis more. And I’m doing lots of research online as well (but only on more research based websites). It’s a little overwhelming, but knowing that the surgery would be at least a year away makes me feel a lot better.

I have no idea how having this new diagnosis will affect my workouts. Obviously the pain that I’ve been feeling for forever isn’t going to change. But perhaps my coaches will have some ideas of modifications for some exercises that will be better for me. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

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