a THR in your twenties?

[Guest guest]

ages and ages ago, brandee (beesimone) said:

> I am 22 years old...

>

> I am really considering getting a Total Hip Replacement. I've lived

> with this pain my whole life and I want to know what its like to be

> pain-free.

> I really need information on getting a hip replacement. I need to

> hear it from people who have had them. I need to know that people

> who get hip replacements are glad that they got them. I need to know

> whether I am truly too young, or whether it is ok to get one at this

> young an age. I need to know whether there are other options... and

> what the Hip Replacement options are.

Hi Brandee,

sorry not to have responded before. I'm 37 but had my first

replacement at 25.

I went ahead then because I had run out of options. I had CDH, with

multiple osteotomies and open reductions as a child, and then had a

couple of bone grafts (at 20 and 22) to try to rebuild a useful

socket and shelf. Sadly, they had not been successful because my hip

was such a mess and my mobility was grinding to a halt and the pain

levels were rising and rising.

It was a difficult decision to make: go ahead now, with something

that can't be undone and risk running out of options at a later date,

or take the risk and try to gain some good pain free years while I

was young. The conversation with my surgeon went back and forth for a

long time, but I finally said yes when I was 23, with my surgeon's

support, because my life was on hold and that was no longer how I

wanted to live. I didn't want to store up the possible good times for

an unknown future date. I decided that if I was going to claim a

working hip now then I would have to make the most of it so I

couldn't look back and think that I'd wasted the chance.

The good news: it was incredible once I'd healed up. Once the pain

had gone, I got my life back. I'd forgotten what it was like not to

be exhausted by pain all the time. My hip was better than it had been

for the vast majority of my life. Most of the time I was able to

forget there had ever been anything wrong with it.

The bad news: after five years, it had to be revised, because it came

loose. A combination of rotten bones, bad luck, extreme youth and

lots of activity. When you are told " these hips can last 20 years or

more " that doesn't mean your hip will last that long. There are no

guarantees at all in this line.

Luckily, the revision was just as good, if not slightly better than

the first. But again, it was only a short term success. I had it

revised for a second time this may, just a month short of six years

in place. They were extremely good years.

Three hip replacements on one side and where do I stand? Literally,

I'm still a little wonky, and still re-learning to walk because I was

non weight bearing for 2 months, but I'm pain free again.

Metaphorically, I'm still sure that I made the right decision for me.

Am I scared of what might happen in the future? Absolutely. Even if

this new hip lasts me 20 years, that still leaves me in my fifties,

with, hopefully many years left in me. What happens between now and

whenever, after my fourth or fifth replacement? Not sure. I'm lucky

in that I have a surgeon who specialises in the young and the weird.

I'd suggest you find someone similar to talk to, someone who has

worked with patients through their twenties and thirties, with THRs

or alternatives like resurfacing.

Is it ok to have one this young? It was right for me, and I don't

regret my decision at all even though I've not had anything close to

plain sailing, but it's not right for everyone. All I can suggest is

that you gather all the information you can and make a very long list

of pros and cons that address =your= life and =your= situation and

=your= hopes and fears, and be sure you understand what you want.

sorry this is so long, but good luck with your decisions