Recently I have been contacted by others who have been through or are currently going through a similar thing with their hips and a common question which I have been asked is what about my right hip.. will that need to have the periacetabular osteotomy surgery also? Luckily for me I have never experienced any symptoms on my right side and that is despite favoring the right leg to compensate for my "dodgy" left hip. Scans which were taken to assess the integrity of my left hip also show dysplastic changes on the right side, however these changes are very minor compared to my left side. At the most recent post operative review with Jit he did mention the right hip, confirming that it was outside normal ranges indicating hip dysplasia and therefore using values stated in recent literature I am definitely a candidate for the same PAO surgery on my "good" side also. It is a difficulty thing to get my head around - having surgery on a joint that has never given me trouble but I can understand where my surgeon is coming from. Cartilage has no nerve supply, and therefore it does not transmit pain. Therefore there could be damage within the joint without my knowledge, and once the cartilage is worn the eventuality is a total hip replacement. I discussed my concerns with my surgeon and we decided that we will monitor the right hip with scans every few years and if the deGEMRIC scan shows that the cartilage integrity is at risk then we will reassess.
I have continued to travel along well with my rehabilitation. Being 10 weeks down the track I am at the stage now where I forget that I have even had surgery. The weekend just past I wore high heels for the first time and danced the night away. Much to my delight I had no pain or discomfort from my hip on that night or the following day. My friends told me that by looking at the way I was "busting a move on the dance floor" they would never have known that I had surgery and if it wasn't for my scar they would think I was lying!
I am still working hard at the gym, trying to improve my fitness and overall strength. I have started water aerobics classes where I get to do quicker dynamic exercise. In 2 weeks time I will have another Xray and I am hoping to see lots of bone growth around the osteotomy. If all goes well I may be scheduling my screw removal in the next few months.
