This pertains to my mother, age 96, <90
pounds, who had a hip replacement in 2004.
She has complained of pain in that hip
for some time, but I assumed that it was
sciatica from spinal stenosis. She did go
back to the orthopedic surgeon several
times for x-rays, but was assured that the
hip looked fine.
She has tried to stay active and walk a
few blocks nearly every day. Recently,
her walk turned into a shuffle, and the
pain was worse. She has osteoporosis, and
her spine has developed a curve in the
past few years.
A few days ago, she went to another
orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion.
The x-ray told a totally different story.
The artificial end of the femur has
penetrated through the pelvic cup into the
pelvis like a spear, probably 2-3 inches.
Apparently, this was not completely
recent, because there was calcification
around the end of the femur. The
orthopedic surgeon advised stopping the
daily walks, but said the condition is
inoperable, considering her age.
It was 5 p.m. when he told us this, and we
were quite numb at this news. The
orthopedist said that the other orthopedic
surgeon had probably noted the condition
and not told us about it, since it is
essentially inoperable.
All of which is odd, because of the many
x-rays my mother has had, and the pelvic
MRI she had 15 months ago. Nothing like
this was noted by any radiologist before.
My questions are: Is there a term for
this condition? How often does it happen?
Is it treatable, or must one reconcile
oneself to a wheelchair or bed
confinement? Should one exercise? I
imagine in heavier persons there is a
danger of the femur tip tearing into the
internal organs and producing
peritonitis.
If this had happened to me, I would
probably be hanging upside down and
gulping calcium tablets, trying to pull
the femur out and promote calcification in
the destroyed joint. This is not possible
for a 96 year old with osteoporosis.
Any comments you have would be welcome.
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julz67
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Feb 2007 Posts: 21 Location: Scotland
Posted: 04-19-08 03:01am
I dont see why at your mother's age that
it is inoperable, after all the Queen
Mother here in Britain (dont know where
you are) had her hip replaced at the grand
age of 98..... and died two years
later.... If what's happend that I think
has happend(im not a dr, but i had a hip
replacement 17months ago) is that the cup
of the pelvis has worn away and like you
said, the femur has gone through... I'd
imagine it to be an easyish operation to
bring the femur back, and insert a metal
cup into the acetabulum... I had AVN
(avascualr necrosis) for 15years, where
the femur itslef eroded away, until such
time it caused so much pain the whole
joint was replaced, have had no probs
since then....
I would speak to the surgeons again, and
ask them WHY they wont operate..is it
because it's difficult op? her age? funds?
really stand your ground... she must be in
awful pain... (im sure they could do
something if they tried hard enough)
