Had My Artificial Hip Assessed At My Local Hospital
[ Wednesday October 12th 2022 at 9:30 pm ]
I have experienced a one-off event with my artificial left hip that concerned me. I've just arrived home from the hospital having this assessed. I had a warm spot just a bit larger than the size of a quarter. What precipitated this was the sensation that my artificial hip had slipped inside of me. I am use to all the skin above my hips being warm but not a small area. I really didn't know what to think.
I have an infra red thermometer. I took some photos to show the hospital staff what my concern was before leaving my home. I've ran into the situation where if a doctor doesn't see something occur they don't believe you. I didn't have any resistance during this visit. I was glad I had a photograph to show the doctor besides describing the symptoms.
I am comfortable talking about what is wrong causing me to heavily rely upon a power wheelchair. On the way to the examination room I asked the nurse if she knew what Legg Perthes was. She responded "no". I cracked a zinger of a joke. My witty response was that this is named after 2 doctors who needed their egos stroked. She was laughing really hard. Then I gave an explanation that was understandable and relatable.
When I was first brought into a room at the emergency department examination room they made me feel like $1,000,000. They remembered me from when I was there in spring 2020. Some of the same staff were working today as when I was there before. They noted how I have more motion in my hips than 2 years. This has come from months of working at it. This hasn't really translated into more mobility. It has made things like unloading my dishwasher, physically getting to the toilet and washing myself easier. It really meant a lot to me that someone had realized this and took the time to acknowledge it.
My artificial hip x-rays look fantastic. I am glad they checked. Technically I am at the threshold where a small percentage of artificial hips would begin to fail. This is unlikely because my hip replacement surgery didn't restore my mobility. But then consideration needed to be given to understand what caused me the sensation that the hip had shifted. There is also the concern that I started hearing grinding noises in spring 2022. I don't why this started or what I've done differently to cause this. Bending forward 10 inches, standing up while straightening a curtain, taking a step or climbing a stair (followed by a break) shouldn't cause this to occur.
The diagnosis is a strained ligament. I am happy to accept this as a legitimate explanation. The doctor was exhaustive in ordering x-rays as well as a thorough physical examination. They expect I'll need to use anti inflammatory medication for about a week for the ligament to calm down. Separately I've already been working on getting appointments to address the other issues. I am satisfied that I have an answer and direction for my pain control in the short term. Overall I am pleased with this visit to the emergency department.