Question
I had a THR on the right side fifteen months ago. Four or five months after the surgery, I started to get a popping sensation . When I asked my doctor, he said it was a ligament, based on past experience, but not really confirmed through examination.  He indicated I could probably feel it snapping on the side of my hip, but it seems to be more toward the front and in the direction of the joint. but it is hard to tell. Currently, I almost always have some low level of pain, certainly bearable, but is this "normal" fifteen months postop? I walk regularly, am 61, reasonably fit and don't do impact sports. I certainly could not even lightly jog on the hip. It always feels sort of "delicate or fragile" psychologically to me.

Finally what would be the symptoms if the socket never properly healed into the bone? The implant was made by Zimmer, but is not the Durom model. The PA says they have not had problems with my model. Thanks, dc

Answer
Hello David

I have not personally heard that the Zimmer implants had any problems, but you can certainly research it on the internet.

The ligament problem of snapping over the prosthesis, can happen at any time and it's very scary at first if you don't know that it's happening.  I had this happen over six years out of surgery and it scared the heck out of me.  

It does eventually stop popping, but it's a fairly common incident that many THR patients have.  It's not dangerous from my understanding of it, although it can be a little frightening at first.  Most times the snapping occurs on the side of the hip and you can actually feel the ligament snap over the prosthesis, but it can certainly happen in other areas of the hip.

Even after years of a THR surgery, people can feel pain on and off.  The problem is that most aches and pains are really normal and because we expect no pain at all after surgery, we can become a bit upset when we have pain.  But even people who have not had any surgery, get pain in the joints as they age, so a little pain on and off is definitely normal.

Regardless, I would never suggest that anyone with a THR run or jog on the hip.  Although I have heard that with the newer replacements, people are skiing with a hip replacement.  But you do need to ask your surgeon what activities are appropriate for you based on the type of replacement used in your surgery.  

It takes a long time before you can feel as if you are not fragile anymore.  And I tend to baby my hips because I have had so many revision surgeries.  I do a little swimming and cycling and of course walking, but as you do, I stay away from contact sports and repetitive stress on the hips.

Hope this answers your questions. If not, let me know.

Sharon