Panic In Needle Park Qartulad
Tina Larzelere
Hello! I am so happy to see this website. I am 44 years old. I was born with hip dysplasia. It was not caught until I was 10 years old. I have always had pain in my hips and walked funny. My mom took me to the doctor. and they said I need to have bilateral pelvic osteotomy. I missed the whole 5th grade. I was in a body cast, then a wheel chair and then crutches. they did the right one first then 6 months later the left. I was so young and had no clue of what I had. I returned to school in the 6th grade. I was told by my doctor not to run on cement, gain a lot of weight and that I would have to have my children c-section. When you are 11 you really do care about that stuff.
I lived my life had three children. At 32 my hips started to bother me. I had not been to an orthopedic in all of those years (big mistake and shame on my mom) lol. They tried cortisone injection, but the pain was too much. My hips had brought me down once again. I had bilateral hip resurfacing in 2000 (right) 2001 (left). Due to the surgery my right leg was longer then my left. It took me 2 year to recover from that surgery.
Once again going through life and then in 2010 I start to have a very bad pain in my groin on my right side. I knew something was wrong. I had moved at this time so I had to find a new orthopedic. He did testing and came up with nothing. He told me he did not see any reason for revision. I got a second opinion. This doctor ordered me a cat scan. He told me that the prosthetic was breaking down and was deteriorating my bone around the prosthetic. He told me I had to have revision on my left and he said the right one was the same. I had my left hip done April 2011. Once again my hips had brought me down. I had the right one done Dec. 2011. I had to quit my job after this last surgery. My legs are weak and I suffered a pelvic fracture in March of 2012.
The summer before my 5th grade year, my family and I were on a vacation to San Antonio, Texas. We had such a great time at the zoo, at sea world, and the Alamo. On the last evening of the trip, we ate in a small diner next to our hotel. Sleepy and full, we stood up from the dinner table. That is, everyone but me. I tried to stand and with an explosion, my right hip dislocated. I cried until I could not breathe. My Daddy carried me back to the hotel. When we got home to see a doctor, there was no doubt that my hip had snapped. Fifth grade was a difficult time. I had to walk with at least one crutch; I could bear no weight on my right leg without some kind of support. Nearing the end of the school year, we went to see my doctor in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Dr. S agreed that something had to be done. My right hip was completely dislocated, and as a result was almost 8cm shorter than my left. Surgery was indefinite that summer.
However, the worst of the pain was not over. It was the morning of the surgery, and I had to be unhooked from traction. Knowing the pain would be unbearable, I had already been given sedatives and pain medicine. The doctors come in to my hospital room and began to remove the weights attached to my knee. The traction had worked and my legs were now of equal length again. Yet, when they removed the final weight, my hip dislocated once again. Like the snap of a rubber band, I felt my hip jump up to my ears! Screaming with pain, the room went black and I was unconscious.
The fusion was successful although it did take away all motion in my right hip joint. I had to swing my leg to walk and was not able to put my shoes and socks on by myself. It was an adjustment but I did feel better than I had in quite some time.
The pain continued to increase and also continued to negatively impact my friendships, relationships and mental health. Living with intense, chronic pain is not something I wish on anyone. The summer between my sophomore and junior year of college, I made the decision to have the hip replacement. Reason and logic told me to wait until I graduated, but desperation, pain and love made the decision easy.
My hip surgeon did a series of x-rays and was able to make the diagnosis of hip dysplasia as well a FAI. He recommended that I try physical therapy for to see if that would help. During this time I also had a cortisone injection to try and calm the pain down. Physical therapy helped me strengthen the muscles around the hip but that was about it. After working with my PT and things were not getting much better I went back to my hip surgeon and I was scheduled for a hip chondroplasty. The hip scope worked. There where two labral tears that were removed. The relief that the hip scope brought was temporary and within less that four months I was miserable in pain. My hip was rubbing on the rim of my pelvis. My hip surgeon wanted to try and do as much as we could to delay the major periacetabular osteotomy surgery.
As I got older, it was hard to tell what was the hip dysplasia and what was my joints (I had very loose ligaments), and so I was followed closely by a physician until it seemed as though everything had corrected itself. At 18 years old, I tore my labrum in my left hip, which is essentially the ligament that holds the hip to the femur. I saw an orthopedic surgeon, who specialized in hip dysplasia, and he explained that this was a very common injury for those whose hip dysplasia went uncorrected.
At 18 years old, I had to have major hip surgery in order to repair my labrum, and this was not a permanent solution. I will likely have to have a hip replacement at a young age, or a repeat of my previous surgery.
Over the course of the next two years I went through several cast changes. It was eventually changed to a shorter cast which stopped about mid thigh before I was able to come out of it completely. After the cast was removed I then had to wear a splint that kept my legs in the same position the shorter cast I was in. All of that was done and over by the time I was about 3 1/2 years old.
The doctor told my parents my left hip had gone back into place just fine but my right hip was still slightly out. He could do surgery or my parents could wait and see if it went into place as I grew taller. He said there was a 90% chance it would. Because of all I had already been through and the 90% chance it would go in on its own my parents decided to wait.
As time passed my right hip became more painful. At age 11 I went to an orthopedic surgeon and the xrays showed my left hip was fine but my right one was still slightly out. My first surgery was scheduled. A small part of the socket was clipped away and the ball of my hip was moved over. Two pins were put in to hold it there but were removed a few weeks later and I was on crutches for about a year.
As the years passed I would dig my crutches out and use them from time to time. By age thirty seven the pain had reached a point where I could no longer take it and I was using a wheelchair when going anywhere that required a lot of walking. I went to see a orthopedic surgeon and this time the xrays showed my hip socket (what little I have left) is mostly flat and not much, at all, is over the ball of my hip and I have arthritis.
These hips were done in Monterey, California at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. At the time, glue was being used. I remember the surgery as being many hours long, with medical staff dressed in something resembling hazmat suits. I was in the hospital 10 days. I could put weight on them immediately.
After the surgery, I was in need of a blood transfusion. This was the beginning of the AIDS crisis in America and I actually had to go back to the hospital at a later time to be tested for AIDS. It was all very secretive. I was given a number to use to book my appointment in their lab. My name was never used and was always referred to by that number. They notified me by phone as to the results. I was fine.
In 2007 I underwent Spinal fusion S-1 to L-3. This was necessary because my poor back took the brunt of my shallow hip sockets for the duration of my life and carried me through weight-gaining pregnancies. Eventually, it was just bone on bone. No problems with that now.
I find that being patient and pampering myself, giving my body thanks every morning for being my vessel for enjoying life, and celebrating the little things makes all of this a little easier. We are part of the most Elite Club around with a very high initiation to join.
On the 22/11/13 I went to London to be evaluated by Mr Marcus Bankes, a leading PAO surgeon. Following MRI and CT scanning he confirmed the diagnosis of bilateral hip dysplasia but also diagnosed a right labral tear and hypo mobility with a score of 6. He felt this was why the pain in my right hip had significantly increased and my walking distance was now down to 15mins with severe pain. He advised that I was an excellent candidate for bilateral PAO surgery but advised me of the possible complications, so I could have all the information before making a decision. I decided to go ahead with the surgery and we booked for the right hip to be done on the 14/1/14.
Being an active mum with two young children I was extremely worried about how I was going to cope and I had been advised that I would require 6 weeks of constant support. I was lucky enough to have a very supportive husband and family and although my husband and I had separated a couple of months earlier he said he could take alternate weeks off to look after the children and I, if my mum could helping out on the other weeks. I also had some friends who were able to help out with school runs if we needed them too.
I am now 4 weeks post pao and I have set up a face book page called My PAO Journey. The aim of my page is to give an insight into my recovery from pao surgery. I hope this will help and support other people trying to decide if surgery is right for them.
I am also trying to raise awareness of DDH. I feel that raising awareness of this condition and educating people on correct swaddling of babies, is vital in preventing years of unnecessary pain and surgeries that could easily be avoided. For people suffering with DDH due to hereditary conditions or for no known cause, it is very important that they realize that they are not alone and can talk to other people who have undergone major surgery, in the pursuit of a more active pain free life.