cortizone shots to prolong hip replacement surgery?? - Knee & Hip Problems Message Board

stacieharmon · 10-25-2005, 02:21 PM

Has anyone tried the cortisone shots to prolong hip replacement surgery? I am only 27 and in need of a new hip but am worried about starting so soon. I had legg perthes disease as a child which has required 4 hip surgeries so far. Now the answer is to replace the hip. I have 4 kids between the ages of 6 and 8 months. I am not looking forward to recovering from surgery and trying to take care of my family. The dr. has mentioned cortisone shots in the hip for the pain until we can do the surgery but I am nervous about any side effects or problems that can occur. Does anyone have any advise?

Concerned mother :

Tobias · 10-27-2005, 10:27 AM

You might benefit from reading this, from the Univ. of Washington Dept. of Orthopedics:
http://www.orthop.washington.edu/uw/hipandknee/tabID__3374/ItemID__269/PageID__597/Articles/Default.aspx

Note that it compares and contrasts the difficulty, likely results and efficacy of cortisone injections for arthritic knee and hip joints (it works better on knees than hips). The article also notes that such shots are only rarely used for hip OA.

gregger · 10-31-2005, 08:21 PM

Stacie,

I can tell you that they will work ONLY for a short time, in my case about 3-5 weeks in my hip and my spine and shoulder only about 1-2 weeks and this length varies in each individual. I've had many shots in just about every joint and as they do take the pain away very quickly it is not a long time resolution. Also you can only have 3 shots in one year or risk the chance of tissue damage in the area of the shots. After the past 5+ years of putting up with the pain of bone on bone and taking pain meds which now barely do anything I have chosen to give in and go for hip surgery. You are still quite young so you might want to consider hip resurfacing, which I'm looking at having done. It is much better than THR (Total Hip Replacement) and is geared for the younger patients. I'm 44 and still quite active outdoors so this is the reason I've chosen hip resurfacing.
For more info on this you can check out the following sites.

http://www.resurfacingofthehip.com/
http://www.activejoints.com/faq.html
http://health.*************.com/group/surfacehippy/

I wish you the best of luck in whichever treatment you choose.

Regards,
Greg

Irishgal · 11-16-2005, 12:37 PM

hey girl
im 25 and i got a hip replacement in march.
i had two cortisone injections in my bad hip. the first one worked for about 3 months. the 2nd didnt work at all. its up to yourself whether you want to try them to draw out the surgery a few months longer but it wont be any longer than a year. i was dreading the surgery. didnt know what was going to happen and was so worried about it all but i was out of the hosp after 7 days and was on 2 walkin sticks, not even crutches. i wasnt even taking pain killers to get by. after 6 weeks i was walking perfectly normal

no one can tell you what to do. it is your decision but i would say whether you have the injections or not, you will need a replacement.

2young2Bhippy · 11-22-2005, 12:58 PM

Hi Stacie, I had two cort shots to delay my surgery until a more convenient time. The first lasted 6 weeks and the second even longer, but my surgery was 8 weeks after the second shot so I don't know how long it would have lasted. The shots are AMAZING and (in my case) were painless as well. They deaden the injection site so you don't feel it, and afterwards I was walking limp free and pain free. So I highly recommend them if you need to buy time finding the right surgeon and doing research. Also, there is a lubricating gel that some doctors can inject into bad knees along with cortisone which prolongs the positive effects by months. Even though the gel is not officially approved for hips, some doctors may be able to inject this gel into your hip with the cortisone (my dr. offered to do this), with the idea that you can get one of these 'double' injections every 6 months to help you put off surgery for years. My Dr. said it's worked for a number of his patients, it depends on the person. (I elected to get the surgery this year due to insurance reasons.) Worth looking into! Good luck... Greg