Re: hip belt....what I wore to prevent dislocation

[Guest guest]

Congrats on your recovery! Sounds like you've been through the wringer, but

are doing pretty well.

Out of curiosity, isn't this called an adduction brace? I think there have

been a few other people with these. The idea is still to limit range of

motion rather than holding it in place, as was the original posters

question.

-- J

>Hello,

>

>I had the conserve plus hip resurfacing done by Dr.

>Mont last year (1/17/01). I had complications and Dr.

>Mont feared dislocation so after surgery he had me

>immediately fitted with a brace that limited range of

>motion.

>

>There was an approximately 12 " high hard plastic piece

>that went all the way around my waist/ribs and was

>anchored by velcro in front. A similar piece went

>around my thigh just above the knee. They were

>connected at the side (along my scarline) by a thick

>piece of metal approximately 1.5 " x.5 " . The metal

>hinged in the middle, about in the middle of my scar,

>to enable me to sit. The metal piece stopped my leg

>from going out to the side. My leg was so weak after

>surgery it was like a wet noodle and didn't take much

>for it to go the wrong way on its own. The brace

>stopped it.

>

>I wore this for 8 weeks day and night, not taking it

>off allowed for any reason. OK, I cheated a few times

>to shower but had to be very careful because the

>weakness of my leg and the slipperiness of the shower

>were not a good combination. My mother came to my

>house and stayed for 5 weeks which helped a lot. Then

>my son and I went to stay with my parents if Florida

>for a few weeks.

>

>A PT came to my house but I was limited in what

>exercises I could do. By the time I got out of the

>brace I had lost a lot of muscle in the leg and it was

>very weak. I was on crutches and very careful for the

>next 2.5 months, and I started PT. At first I could

>not lift my leg up off the table at all. I continued

>with PT until the end of August, gradually moving to a

>cane and then nothing.

>

>The complication was, well, complicated. I was born

>with hip dysplasia and had a salter osteotomy (bone

>graft) at age 11. I had a whopping big bone cyst and

>had been bone-on-bone for several years. I have a

>skimpy acetabulum. I didn't really have a proper hip

>socket. My conserve plus was installed more to my

>center than most people's to get a thicker area of my

>acetabullum over it. If I'd had a THR I would always

>have been at risk of dislocating because it would have

>been out too far and my skimpy. I also had a bleeding

>complication. (I always bleed excessively.) I'd

>given 2 units of my own blood in advance and got it

>back via transfusion.

>

>Despite all this, I went back to work full-time 9

>weeks after surgery. I'm a computer programmer so I

>sit most of the time.

>

>Unfortunately, my husband couldn't deal with the

>ordeal and we're in the midst of a divorce but oh

>well...enough said about that!

>

>I benefitted a *lot* from this new technology, and by

>having a super-terrific surgeon -- Dr. Mont at Sinai

>in Baltimore.

>

>I feel great now!

>

>- Peggy -

>congenital hip dysplasia

>salter osteotomy in 1968

>conserve plus by Dr. Mont in Baltimore 1/17/01

>

>

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