Patient Stories

Donna

Hi,
I was born with hip dysplasia in my right hip, which wasn’t picked up until i started walking at 14 months old. I had surgery at 16 months old and had the metal work taken out 12 months later.

Growing up i took part in most sports activities at school, but i have a huge scar down the side of my right leg which i was always conscious about which made me hate wearing shorts. My pain started at the age of 17 when i was carrying my first child. I thought that it was the weight of the pregnancy that was causing the pain.

I went on to have another child at the age of 19 and by this point the pain was unbearable. After i had my baby i went to see a doctor and was sent for an x-ray. The x-ray showed that my hip joint had worn on the inside of the socket and the roof of the hip was shallow. I suffered for another 2 years in excruciating pain, taking a cocktail of pain killers and anti-inflammatory tablets and using a walking stick. This was one of the lowest points in my life.

I had 2 young children and struggled on a daily basis with simple chores and activities. Eventually my consultant decided that a PAO would be the best option and would hopefully give me between 10-20 years before i would need a total hip replacement. I had the surgery in 2000 when i was 21 years old. The surgery took 6 hours and i was in hospital for 10 days.

I don’t remember much of the first couple of days as they gave me morphine for the pain and i was completely out of it. I was told by my consultant that i would take between 12-18 months to fully recover from the surgery. However my recovery was a lot quicker than expected.

The first 3 months i was on crutches and could not bare any weight on my hip. After that i gradually started to put weight on my hip and went down to one crutch. Within 9 months i was fully recovered and totally pain free. The PAO surgery was a success for me and it has given me 12 years without any pain. I am now 35 and i started with pain again around 2 years ago. It has got gradually worse and i have also started getting pain in my knee on the same leg.

I have been back to see a consultant a few weeks ago. He sent me for an arthrogram on my hip which was not a pleasant experience but i got a steroid injection at the same time to help my pain. The injection worked well for a few days and has taken the edge off the pain in my hip but it has not completely gone. I have also started wearing a raise in my shoe as my leg is 3cm shorter than the other.

I am now having a lot of pain and burning sensation in my knee and i am waiting for an appointment for a scan. I think the years of limping has affected my knee, i’m hoping that there will be no serious damage. Has anyone else had problems with there knee as well as their hip?