Zimmer THR - cracked bone

[Guest guest]

As I've posted before, I had THR using the Zimmer Method (minimally

invasive) on November 1, 2004. I saw my surgeon last week, and he

confirmed that my bone was cracked during the operation. He had told

me the day after the operation, but in my groggy state, I

misunderstood. I thought he found a pre-existing crack and had to

mend it before doing the replacement.

In no way do I regret having the operation. My recovery went really

well, and the only pain I have now is because my muscles aren't 100%

yet. I did have avoid total weight-bearing a little longer because of

the crack, but by two months I was walking unaided. I have no

restrictions of movement, and the X-ray was fine.

The reason I'm posting is to inform those considering THR via Zimmer.

Apparently a crack is a more common occurence with minimal invasion

than the more traditional method. It may be a very small percentage,

but you may want to question your surgeon, and use this info in your

list of pros and cons when making your choice of procedure.

[Guest guest]

Just curious--which bone cracked? My thigh bone (femur) fractured on

one side when they put the rod in, a bit like a clothes peg opening, and

it is not a structural fracture. But I needed a second operation where

they put put in 4 very thin wires to close it. And the rehab is taking

forever--all down to the thigh. Most frustrating.

But it was not Zimmer Method, however. I was told this does happen--is

one of the risks.

Eleanor

Zimmer THR - cracked bone

As I've posted before, I had THR using the Zimmer Method (minimally

invasive) on November 1, 2004. I saw my surgeon last week, and he

confirmed that my bone was cracked during the operation. He had told

me the day after the operation, but in my groggy state, I

misunderstood. I thought he found a pre-existing crack and had to

mend it before doing the replacement.

In no way do I regret having the operation. My recovery went really

well, and the only pain I have now is because my muscles aren't 100%

yet. I did have avoid total weight-bearing a little longer because of

the crack, but by two months I was walking unaided. I have no

restrictions of movement, and the X-ray was fine.

The reason I'm posting is to inform those considering THR via Zimmer.

Apparently a crack is a more common occurence with minimal invasion

than the more traditional method. It may be a very small percentage,

but you may want to question your surgeon, and use this info in your

list of pros and cons when making your choice of procedure.

[Guest guest]

RE: Zimmer THR - cracked bone

Mine was also the femur that fractured. It was repaired with the thin wires during the operation, so another operation wasn't required.

I'm sorry you're having a tough recovery. It must have been hard on your body to have two operations in a short time.

Barbara

curious--which bone cracked? My thigh bone (femur) fractured onone side when they put the rod in, a bit like a clothes peg opening, andit is not a structural fracture. But I needed a second operation wherethey put put in 4 very thin wires to close it. And the rehab is takingforever--all down to the thigh. Most frustrating. But it was not Zimmer Method, however. I was told this does happen--isone of the risks.Eleanor-----Original Message-----From: nella148 [mailto:ba6149@...] Sent: 12 February 2005 19:25Joint Replacement Subject: Zimmer THR - cracked bone

[Guest guest]

Dear Barbara,

It is so good to hear from someone who has

had the same problem as me. Your

repair was the same as mine (thin wires), but unfortunately my fracture wasn’t

picked up until the day after the operation, necessitating the 2nd op,

the next day. Fortunately, I still

had the epidural in, but it was frustrating and difficult emotionally having to

go through yet another operation. They

said that they usually do pick up a fracture during the first op and fix it at

the time, as yours was, but the rod had gone into my thigh so easily, they had

not checked with an x-ray at the time of the op and were surprised to find out

about the fracture.

But the other thing that interests me is

how quickly you seem to have recovered from this. I had my second operation Dec 17th,

and am still struggling with my thigh—my hip seems fine, I think, although

I am not able to use it much to really test it. I was non-weight bearing completely for 6

weeks. Started partial weight

bearing Jan 21st, but find it difficult to bend my operated leg at

the knee very far. I do my physio exercises 3-4 x / day, and I am slowly able to bend at

the knee further and further, but I often seem to ‘feel’ the broken

thigh bone inside, and the thigh muscle can get very tight and sore. My physio has

me doing gentle scar massage which helps a little. When it gets too tight, I go easy on the

exercises. Also when I walk, my

thigh bone stills feel quite fragile and I am very careful with how much weight

I put on it. I am allowed 25 kilos,

but am sure I put a lot less. I

worry about rebreaking it again. I couldn’t bear another operation! My physio said

it takes about 3 months + for fractured bone to heal.

So, at almost 9 weeks post-op, I was

interested to hear how well you are walking. You originally said your thigh bone had

cracked, so perhaps it was not broken as badly as mine, although mine was not a

major structural break? Did you

have special exercises for your thigh muscle and if so, which ones did you

think helped most?

Eleanor

-----Original

Message-----

From: Barbara

[mailto:ba6149@...]

Sent: 16 February 2005 01:16

To:

Joint Replacement

Subject: Re:

Zimmer THR - cracked bone

Zimmer THR -

cracked bone