i have been dealing with adult hip dysplasia since i was diagnosed in 2000. I had about 49% femoral head coverage, my hip sockets were just too small. I was not diagnosed as a child because it was not severe enough( i was tested when i was an infant) only with xrays did they find this. Both sides were afftected.
I have 3 surgeries under my belt. One was a salter osteotomy. The basically chopped off the ball of my femur and moved it to another place in my hip socket. Not only did that not work, but my leg and my gluteus muscle were shortened. The pain only got worse and my back was thrown out of wack.
I finally got some good results when they performed a ganz osteotomy. They chopped my pelvic bone in 3 pieces and totally reconstructed the socket. The surgery was a big risk, andi wont even talk about the pain. But i am 9 months post op and i am doing so much better. The only downside is some limited range of motion, but i dont have near the ammount of pain that i had. I am going to have the other hip done this summer. They will also shorten the leg so i am level.I am offsetting hip replacements by 20 years, and who knows with the way that orthopaedic medicine is advancing, the hip replacements will be a walk in the park compared to what i had to go through all these years.
Has anyone else had this medical issue at this age and if so, what did you do?
The following user gives a hug of support to marysib: leejrfan88 (03-18-2011)
My hip pain started when I was 24 years old, but I wasn't diagnosed with fibrous dysplasia until I went to the ER 2 years later. They did a bone scan and found several other spots. I did surgery where they placed a rod and screws into the hip and down the femur to stabilize everything. I am now 37 and still have some issues, but not just with my hips.
Just curious if your doctor ruled out everything else?
I went to many specialists( i am currently serving in the armed forces)
The last doctor that did surgery on my and diagnosed me is a civilian and is one of the few doctors in the country that can perform the ganz osteotomy. I feel good with this doctor. He specializes with adults( the last two doctors dealt with pediatrics.
marysib, your story sounds almost as if i wrote it. Like yourself, I am on hip surgery number three. I am a 19 year old female who had hip dysplasia diagnosed when I was about 14. My first surgery was last year and it was also a salter osteotomy performed by a pediatric surgeon. It left me with legs of different lengths and with a lot of back pain. The surgeon insisted it was healed, however it turns out he used pediatric hardware and the osteotomy site never actually closed (the pins he used weren't strong enough). Seven months later I had to have surgery again to have a plate and several screws inserted to try and heal the osteotomy. I recently (two weeks ago) had a ganz on my other side and I am doing pretty well, I can't wait to see the final results. As for the first side, I will be having a ganz done on it sometime in the near future. I have now found an amazing surgeon that I would recommend to anyone. If you don't mind me asking, who did you end up going to? Feel free to email me directly.
Last edited by moderator2; 06-24-2005 at 07:33 PM.
Reason: please carefully review the posting rules - no emails
sorry it took me so long to reply, just have been real busy. I am going to undergo my last surgery(crossing my fingers) on my left hip, going thru the ganz again on my left hip, they are also going shorten my leg due to the failed first salter osteotomy which jacked up my back and did nothing at all. I am still healing from the right side that was done back in june of 2004 , but it has really gotten alot better. i am seeing a doctor in memphis tennessee, he is really great, and to actually trust a doc after the botch ups i have had is really great, well in less than a month i hope to be on my way...let me know how you are doing too, ok? Us hip chicks need to stick together
I was borned with dislocated hips and they didn't find it out until I was 14 months old. I was in traction for 3 weeks and a body cast for 6 months. They tried to put my ball back in the sockets, but my sockets never formed right. So they call it bilateral hip dysplasia because both are messed up. I have been having a lot of pain in my right hip area for a year or more, but I can't seem to find a doctor who will do the surgery because of my age 37. They tell me to go home and when you can't take it no more we will think about doing the surgery. I have 2 children one 7 years old and the other 10 months and it is really hard to take care of a baby when you can't get around very good. The reason I replied is I was wondering if you could recommend a good Doctor or anyone else who sees this. I live in Alabama. The doctors here seem to always give me the run around or refer me to someone else.
I am seeing a doctor at the Campbell Clinic in Memphis Tennessee. I have to tell you, the surgery is no joke, 2 months non weight bearing, so you are basically using a walker or in a wheel chair, crutches are harder because you have less stability and your leg tends to move more, there is alot, i mean alot of nerve pain the first month, so you are down for a few months, i have a seven year old son and it is hard, so you would need help. The doctor's name is Dr. Guyton. He deals with adult DDH, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.
I just found this site and joined because I've been diagnosed with hip dyplasia. I'm 51 and the pain in my leg is increasingly limiting my movement. I'm seeing a specialist at the Rothman and, besides the Ganz ostetomy, he mentioned another procedue where the front of the ball is 'shaved off' a bit. Have you heard of this. The Ganz ostetomy seems so drastic and iffy. I appreciate reading your experiences.
