The Harmonious Hip: Countdown...again!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Countdown...again!

Thursday we carve the turkey....then Tuesday we carve the hip. Sorry, that's kinda gross huh? Well, I'm excited. Sounds weird, but I am. I think because the last hip surgery went so smoothly and I'm already beginning to see the change in my right hip (increased ROM, less pain, etc.), I'm anticipating this will be the same. I'm just ready to be done already, for cryin out loud! I'm ready to actually join the mobile human race again and not have to "think through" a walk of any distance. "Will I need my cane?" "Should I use the handicapped parking today?" "Am I 'crippled enough' to warrant stares from other shoppers?" "Should I just keep the crutches handy, ya know 'just in case'?" Kinda sick of all that.... But alas, I see the light! And the light looks good from over here :-)

To recap...here's another little lesson in basic hip anatomy and then in "Amy's hip anatomy":

Here is a picture of a normal hip. So, you see where the labrum is...it's the tissue that seperates the "cup" from the "saucer". Well, MY labrum on the right hip was completely torn off, flipping on itself and pinching between the bones with each and every step. Yeah, owwwwch!!! But, now it's been repaired with some handy dandy screws. Word has it that the labrum is torn on the left too...we shall see how bad when Doc gets in there.

Now, you see a hip with Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI), this one doesn't show any dysplasia like I have, but you get the idea. So basically, in a nutshell, there's bone where it doesn't belong and therefore rubs and bumps against one another. Yeah, again, owwwwch!!! So, the fix is either to break the pelvis and rearrange the entire thing and screw it back together, OR....a less invasive option is to "shave and trim" the bone so that it no longer bumps and rubs together. This is what we did with the right hip in August and the plan is to do the same to lefty on Tuesday. Yay!!!

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What is Hip Dysplasia?

You may hear about babies or pets with hip dysplasia, but it can affect adults, especially young women. Hip dysplasia is an abnormal condition affecting the hip socket, oracetabulum, and the thighbone, or femur. In someone with hip dysplasia, the hip socket is too shallow, or the femur is in the wrong place. Doctors check for hip dysplasia in babies before sending them home from the hospital -- it's an easily treatable condition in newborns. But if hip dysplasia isn't detected and corrected at an early age, the health of the hip will deteriorate over time because of its misalignment. Depending on the severity of the situation, this could result in pain, osteoarthritis, difficulty walking or an inability to walk. It can also contribute to a marked deterioration in a person's basic quality of life. It's not just dogs and babies, y'all!

Periacetabular Osteotomy (or PAO)

PAO: The Mother of All Hip Surgeries... A procedure that cuts the hip socket out of the pelvis to allow the socket to be repositioned and then screwed back into place. This allows the ball & socket to move fluidly, preventing further cartilage damage and preserving the joint in patients with faulty hips. The PAO preserves and enhances the patient's own hip, NOT replacing it with artificial parts like a hip replacement. The hip may still develop arthritis over time, even when the operation is successful. However, PAO is still the preferred treatment in young adults to postpone the need for hip replacement as long as possible.