Hi Cindy,
Well you asked what would I do, so I'm going to tell you what I would do. OK, lets take my hips for example. I got them replaced 6 weeks apart. On the second operation, when they attached my femur to the prosthesis, they did not align it up with the other leg. I didn't catch on to that until way after the pain went away, because I was sleeping with a foam brace to keep my legs spread apart. Anyways, my left leg pointed inward and my right leg pointed outward. I adapted to that, and trained my legs to walk together in sync. BUT, a cat scan showed a crack in my hip about 3mm wide that run from one screw to the other where they put the bearing in. I don't know if this happened during the operation or afterwards, but I realize I that need to protect this hip. It's a big deal but I didn't make a big deal out of it, because I didn't want to be taken apart and be put back together again, if it may not even work the second time. If that crack gets worse, I could need another operation, and if it gets too bad, it may not hold for the next replacement. If that were to happen, I don't think I could adapt to a hip replacement that could get worse after each replacement. So far my hips are doing fine, but I am prepared to go to all lengths to keep walking, as long as I still have my insurance. So my answer would be yes, I would see a doctor that I don't know, even if he's a few thousand miles away. Of course it would take major planning, and time off from what I do now (which isn't much), but I would definitely be calling the doctor up to see if I could talk to him in person or in writing to see he can fix the problem. Then I would send my medical reports and I would try to mail my xrays to him, so that he is well aware of my problem before I even get there. I would rather have him examine me by far than go all the way over there for nothing.
There you have it, a vote for yes. I only had each hip replaced once, but I have been thinking about this for a long time. For now I learned to adapt,
(because my hips have been holding up), but I can't imagine myself learning to adapt to not ever walking again.
Now don't forget... this is not advice
, it's only something I would plan to do.
Take care,
James.
