Patient won't have Zimmer Hip Replaced Again

Willaimsport, MDHaving one hip replacement can be tough, having two can be an ordeal. Having both hips replaced with Zimmer hips and then learning you may have to have both surgeries redone can be absolutely devastating. Trish M. (not her real name) is concerned that the hips she was given during her surgeries are defective and says she does not want to go through that surgery again.

Trish had her right hip replaced in 2004 and says that she had no problems with the hip at the time. However, she was told that she would have to have her left hip replaced because arthritis was setting in. On August 25, 2008, Trish had her left hip replaced. It was after this hip replacement that Trish started having difficulty with her right hip. She also says her left hip has been giving out on her.

"Since the surgery, the right leg is giving me more of a fit than the left let was in August before the surgery," Trish says. "Sometimes, I have to push myself up to get off the couch. They [the doctors] want me to keep on using my cane and walker and I think I should be over that, since the second surgery was done on August 25. I'm still on medication—I take a pain pill when I need it but I don't like pain pills so I try to take Tylenol. I don't like getting caught up on pain pills.

"I can't really explain the feeling in my right leg. It just feels funny. It feels like something is burning and sticking at the same time. It happens every day. I have to prop up my right leg at night when I go to bed, because of how the leg feels. It has to be propped against something hard.

In addition to pain in her right hip, Trish says she is having problems with her left hip. "My left hip gives out on me. I can be walking and it will just give out. It hurts. There is definitely pain in my left hip. I continuously do my exercises. I've been doing them for four years now. Sometimes they hurt a lot, but I keep on doing them because I have to.

"I know they are both Zimmer total hip replacements because they gave me a card I have to carry with me at all times in case I get on an airplane or anything."

Trish is concerned about what might happen with her Zimmer hips if there is a problem with the devices. "They won't want the hips back, will the? I have no intention of having that surgery again. It's a lot to go through. When I was in there for the surgery, there were 2 other women also in there. One of the women had her hip come out of place twice and they had to redo her surgery. The other woman had it come out of place once."

Trish says she is seeing her doctor next week and will let him know about her recent hip problems. Until that time, she is left to wonder and worry about whether her hips are defective and whether or not she will be told she must go through hip replacement surgery yet again.