MRI not in yet but...vindication!!

[Seshat]

Metal and bone don't fuse perfectly, and thus you can get issues with that.

Unfortunately, between my father in law and my mother, I can provide information about two of the things that can go badly wrong with this sort of surgery.

If anyone wants to know, PM me. LL will be getting the warnings from her surgeon, doesn't need them in this thread!

[Sapphire Silk]

May I suggest contacting a lawyer? You lived in pain for all these years and those dr's missed something BIG.

Relieved is DEFINATELY good

DIDN'T take follow up x-rays to verify the hip was actually formed correctly/had healed correctly way back then. If he had, this could all have been so easily fixed when I was still a baby. Instead it basically went 'her hip clicks, double her diapers' **couple months later, follow up exam** 'her hip doesn't click any more, she's fine'.

And I actually have the medical records to prove it. Thank God Mom's a pack-rat.

Let me just give you fair warning (with the caveat IANAL): you can't sue military doctors (can't sue the government, generally). Even when you can sue for things that happened as a kid, you have 7 years after you turn 18, so you are probably too old.

Finally, to prevail in court you will have to prove there is a deviation of the standard of care. Medicine is not an exact science. Missing something on x ray is probably not enough to sue.

I'm glad your new doctor has identified the problem. Sounds like she's thought through your options; this is good. Get as much information as you can, and consider surgical options carefully as all surgeries have risks. Only you can decide what is best for you because only you know what you have to live with.

Keep us in the loop and let us know how things go! I hope you get a solution you're satisfied with soon.

[Merriweather]

Let me just give you fair warning (with the caveat IANAL): you can't sue military doctors (can't sue the government, generally). Even when you can sue for things that happened as a kid, you have 7 years after you turn 18, so you are probably too old.

Same here, IANAL either, but yes, you can under some circumstances sue military doctors. I recall one lawsuit back in the 70's, where someone sued both the doctor and hospital itself - it was a Navy hospital in CA. I've no idea why in this instance they could, but they did, and I'm pretty sure they finally won their case.

Not sure how well I recall the details, but it was parents of a child who went in for a very minor surgery, and he died. Don't recall details of what went wrong, but it really was a case of the hospital being at fault, in fact, it came out that there were several instances of similar cases (fault came down to the anesthesiologist, I believe).

I recall the case because of two things. One, the base my husband (now ex) was stationed at only had a clinic, so often used that hospital ; and two, I recall how horrible the defense attorneys were - since in a civil suit it's for money, even if you're doing it to point out wrongdoing and stop it, they had the audacity to say the couple did not need the settlement, as they now did not have all the expenses of raising the child who died

I almost had to use that hospital to have my daughter, but fortunately timing was good and I got to go to a civilian hospital. At that time (no idea how it is now) if a base had no hospital, if there was a military hospital less than 50 miles away, you had to use that, but if not, you could go civilian and have all costs covered. This hospital was more than a 50 mile drive, but less than 50 miles as the crow flies. So they would require that women go there to have a baby, until a few babies were born in cars stuck in traffic and a fuss was made, then they'd allow civilian care for a while til things died down, then change it back again.

[Sparky]

Relieved is DEFINATELY good

Option three, most likely: I have a full hip replacement done. This is if the joint is too damaged, too deformed, or too ravaged by osteoarthritis. If I have this done it's a significant surgery with an extended recovery period, and I will have to get the surgery repeated every 10-15 years. Considering I'm in my mid-thirties, that's AT LEAST two more hip replacements in my life time, and that's if I end up kicking it young.

Consider how far this treatment has progressed in the last 20 years. If you have a replacement now, you'll probably need another one in 10-15 years, true. But by then maybe they'll have one that'll last longer. 20-30 years? And by then, who knows?

Let's hope, anyway.

[Teskeria]

"Option three, most likely: I have a full hip replacement done. This is if the joint is too damaged, too deformed, or too ravaged by osteoarthritis. If I have this done it's a significant surgery with an extended recovery period, and I will have to get the surgery repeated every 10-15 years. Considering I'm in my mid-thirties, that's AT LEAST two more hip replacements in my life time, and that's if I end up kicking it young."

Don't believe it as definate. I had my hip replaced April 13, 1991 (traumatic car accident the previous 9/22/90). They gave me an 5-8 year estimate on replacement. The hip is just now beginning to show signs of wear and I probably have at least 5 more years in it. Now if you are a very active person, 10-15 may be accurate. BTW that accident Sept 22? exactly 22 days after my 30th birthday.

[Captain Trips]

Don't take the 10-15 years as carved in stone. There is a chance it could last much longer, or much shorter.

Unfortunately, a friend of mine falls into the "much shorter." She had her hip replaced a year ago - and that had to be replaced a few MONTHS later. (Seems she couldn't take the stainless-steel one, they replaced it with titanium.)

Let's hope it's not that severe for you.

[LewisLegion]

Well, I'm certainly hoping if it does go the route of full hip replacement, that I WON'T have to get it redone every 10-15 years! Wouldn't that be nice? *ROFL*

MRI is today. Gotta report to the ER at 11:45 to get my contrast injected, then the actual MRI is at 2:15. Keep your fingers crossed (though I won't know results for a few days yet).