NurseMonica
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- Indiana
I'm not sure if this is a faulty parts matter, or surgeon negligence. For reference, I am 52 years old, and a busy nurse who can no longer work, because now I can't walk.
In September 2021, I had a total left hip replacement for severe osteoarthritis. 2 weeks post-op, as I stepped with my left foot while walking in my home, the implant in my femur slid down further inside the neck of my femur, causing a split fracture to my femur. The same surgeon performed the initial hip replacement, and the emergency revision surgery for the immediate failure of it. I was on non-weight bearing left side restrictions for 8 weeks after that repair, and in a wheel chair for that 8 weeks.
The following spring, March 2022, the same surgeon performed a total hip replacement to my right hip. No complications thus far regarding the right hip.
Between September 2022 and January 2023, I experienced 3 anterior dislocations of the left hip, requiring EMS response and closed reduction in ER.
On January 31 of this year, the same surgeon performed a second revision to my left hip (third replacement) to swap out the implants for a set with a constraining liner, which prevents dislocation except in the case of component failure.
On May 25 of this year, as I sat in an office chair at the desk at work, (finally able to return after all of this,) I reached over slightly, using my index finger to hold an elderly woman's slipper heel up while she stepped into it, as I sat back up straight my left hip implants became dislocated and broken. The same surgeon performed yet another left hip replacement with constrained liner on me (#4). I was discharged home the next day, and my left hip dislocated 2 hours after I got home when I shifted my weight while sitting in a dining room chair. Again calling 911. Again in the ER having closed reduction.
I had a left hip dislocation and ambulance ride to the ER almost every single day between 5/26 and 6/3, all while seated. On 6/4, a different surgeon from the same practice, performed ANOTHER left total hip replacement. Placement of an incision vac for 7 days post-op over that incision caused a complication in which a stray end of dissolving suture was pulled up through the center of the incision, and 2 staples displaced due to the suction of the incision vac. This prevented the incision from closing. The opening drained tons of clear bloody fluid for 2 months after the surgeon removed the staples from the 6/4 surgery. Yet another surgeon from the same practice performed a closure surgery to the site at the left hip on 8/15 of this year. He left the skin so thin that it opened right back up. The implants/hardware in my left hip started moving and grinding around in there about a month after the 6/4 surgery and now I can't even walk with a walker because THIS left hip replacement is failing as well. I am in terrible pain all the time now. The surgeons have dismissed my concern that this left hip implant has already loosened from the pelvis , so I've sought another opinion from an unrelated orthopaedic practice in hope that they can repair the mess the other guys made.
The research says that immediate failure of hip joint replacement surgery (less than 4 months post-op is considered immediate) is most often caused by surgeon error. And I'm talking about scholarly sources for research. Sources you can site in a case study.
Do I have a case? In 2 short years, South Bend Orthopaedics has sufficiently ruined my career and my life.
In September 2021, I had a total left hip replacement for severe osteoarthritis. 2 weeks post-op, as I stepped with my left foot while walking in my home, the implant in my femur slid down further inside the neck of my femur, causing a split fracture to my femur. The same surgeon performed the initial hip replacement, and the emergency revision surgery for the immediate failure of it. I was on non-weight bearing left side restrictions for 8 weeks after that repair, and in a wheel chair for that 8 weeks.
The following spring, March 2022, the same surgeon performed a total hip replacement to my right hip. No complications thus far regarding the right hip.
Between September 2022 and January 2023, I experienced 3 anterior dislocations of the left hip, requiring EMS response and closed reduction in ER.
On January 31 of this year, the same surgeon performed a second revision to my left hip (third replacement) to swap out the implants for a set with a constraining liner, which prevents dislocation except in the case of component failure.
On May 25 of this year, as I sat in an office chair at the desk at work, (finally able to return after all of this,) I reached over slightly, using my index finger to hold an elderly woman's slipper heel up while she stepped into it, as I sat back up straight my left hip implants became dislocated and broken. The same surgeon performed yet another left hip replacement with constrained liner on me (#4). I was discharged home the next day, and my left hip dislocated 2 hours after I got home when I shifted my weight while sitting in a dining room chair. Again calling 911. Again in the ER having closed reduction.
I had a left hip dislocation and ambulance ride to the ER almost every single day between 5/26 and 6/3, all while seated. On 6/4, a different surgeon from the same practice, performed ANOTHER left total hip replacement. Placement of an incision vac for 7 days post-op over that incision caused a complication in which a stray end of dissolving suture was pulled up through the center of the incision, and 2 staples displaced due to the suction of the incision vac. This prevented the incision from closing. The opening drained tons of clear bloody fluid for 2 months after the surgeon removed the staples from the 6/4 surgery. Yet another surgeon from the same practice performed a closure surgery to the site at the left hip on 8/15 of this year. He left the skin so thin that it opened right back up. The implants/hardware in my left hip started moving and grinding around in there about a month after the 6/4 surgery and now I can't even walk with a walker because THIS left hip replacement is failing as well. I am in terrible pain all the time now. The surgeons have dismissed my concern that this left hip implant has already loosened from the pelvis , so I've sought another opinion from an unrelated orthopaedic practice in hope that they can repair the mess the other guys made.
The research says that immediate failure of hip joint replacement surgery (less than 4 months post-op is considered immediate) is most often caused by surgeon error. And I'm talking about scholarly sources for research. Sources you can site in a case study.
Do I have a case? In 2 short years, South Bend Orthopaedics has sufficiently ruined my career and my life.
