We have been to the hip specialist who took some more x-rays and CT-Scans, and after careful review of the CT-Scans said that there is still a chance that the ball joint of Devin's hip will not die and that it made sense to try and save it. The operation is scheduled for May 14, 2009. It would have been sooner (like tomorrow) but the logistics were a bit tricky as there will be 3 head surgeons involved in this operation, each are renowned surgeon in their own right. Finding a date that worked for all three put us out a few weeks beyond what we were hoping for.
The operation will consist of taking out some of the titanium and then filling the rather large hole in the bone that results from its removal using downer bone. Next will be grafting some of his own bone into the rather large gap between the broken bones in his femur. Best case scenario, this will set him back in his recovery several weeks, the more likely scenario is several months. This is great news compared to many other possibilities but none of us are looking forward to another surgery, especially Devin.
Week 31 - The regression of the hip
Yes, it has been 10 weeks since I've updated the blog. Life is far too busy... I think however that I've been a bit hesitant to makes updates until we get some good news regarding the neck bone of the femur, which I think is sometimes referred to as a part of the 'hip joint'. The good news is slow to come, so after many weeks of putting this off I've decided that it is about time for an update...
So, here is the news: Almost 4 months after surgery on his femur, and after we were told that it was healing very well we went to see the doctor that did his many surgeries on his feet and ankles. This doctor decided to do some additional x-rays on his hip area prior to giving him the OK to start doing some 'vertical' therapy (that just means doing stuff in an upright position, in chest deep water). The x-ray technicians cursed his name as they did the x-rays (they specialize in x-rays of feet, not hips), well long story short the bone appeared as though it was not healing - in fact it was a major regression from the x-rays from last October. I have no special training in reading x-rays, in fact I could not tell from looking at an x-ray that my own leg was broken, and it was not only broken but it had twisted 90 degrees... but in looking at Devin's x-ray it was pretty obvious that not only was it not healing, but the two ends of the broken leg were not even connected... In fact, not only were the two ends not connected, but they weren't even close to touching... In fact, it looked to me like you could drive a truck between the two bones. Well, a very small truck. Ok, you couldn’t drive a truck between them at all, but they were still pretty far from being connected (not to get to far from the subject, but a side effect of going through something like this is that the lack of sleep does affect you in much more dramatic ways than you might imagine, for example my becoming more Dave Barry-ish in my writing style, that is with the exception that I don't have a talent for writing, and... well I don't have a sense of humor... but I think that you most likely understand what I'm trying to say..).
To get back to the point, this was a regression that was, for us, totally unexpected given the previous x-rays showed that it had been healing very well. Since then we have been back to the doctor every month to get additional x-rays, CT scans etc only to be told that it was still showing no progress, but didn't appear to be getting better. Given all of the various factors of this particular situation there are no good options, the bone just needs to somehow heal by itself. if not... a bone graft won't help due to the location and type of break. There is already an assortment of titanium holding it together, although not very well. A hip replacement is possible, but given his age he would need multiple replacements in his lifetime and due to where the break is he will run out of bone to connect everything too before his need for additional replacements leaving him with no working leg unless some unforeseen and unimaginable scientific breakthrough occurs before then to give him some type of alternative, however at this point that is less likely than winning the Lotto (and I've never purchased a ticket, which I think reduces my odds of winning, if only slightly).
Two months ago we were told that if it wasn't showing significant improvement by the next month that he would be going into surgery - not sure what exactly they planned to do and neither did they... last month they decided to hold off one more month. Dr 'B' knew a specialist that he regarded, and wanted to confer with him before taking any action. We are going to see this specialist Friday, and are hoping for some long awaited good news.
So, here is the news: Almost 4 months after surgery on his femur, and after we were told that it was healing very well we went to see the doctor that did his many surgeries on his feet and ankles. This doctor decided to do some additional x-rays on his hip area prior to giving him the OK to start doing some 'vertical' therapy (that just means doing stuff in an upright position, in chest deep water). The x-ray technicians cursed his name as they did the x-rays (they specialize in x-rays of feet, not hips), well long story short the bone appeared as though it was not healing - in fact it was a major regression from the x-rays from last October. I have no special training in reading x-rays, in fact I could not tell from looking at an x-ray that my own leg was broken, and it was not only broken but it had twisted 90 degrees... but in looking at Devin's x-ray it was pretty obvious that not only was it not healing, but the two ends of the broken leg were not even connected... In fact, not only were the two ends not connected, but they weren't even close to touching... In fact, it looked to me like you could drive a truck between the two bones. Well, a very small truck. Ok, you couldn’t drive a truck between them at all, but they were still pretty far from being connected (not to get to far from the subject, but a side effect of going through something like this is that the lack of sleep does affect you in much more dramatic ways than you might imagine, for example my becoming more Dave Barry-ish in my writing style, that is with the exception that I don't have a talent for writing, and... well I don't have a sense of humor... but I think that you most likely understand what I'm trying to say..).
To get back to the point, this was a regression that was, for us, totally unexpected given the previous x-rays showed that it had been healing very well. Since then we have been back to the doctor every month to get additional x-rays, CT scans etc only to be told that it was still showing no progress, but didn't appear to be getting better. Given all of the various factors of this particular situation there are no good options, the bone just needs to somehow heal by itself. if not... a bone graft won't help due to the location and type of break. There is already an assortment of titanium holding it together, although not very well. A hip replacement is possible, but given his age he would need multiple replacements in his lifetime and due to where the break is he will run out of bone to connect everything too before his need for additional replacements leaving him with no working leg unless some unforeseen and unimaginable scientific breakthrough occurs before then to give him some type of alternative, however at this point that is less likely than winning the Lotto (and I've never purchased a ticket, which I think reduces my odds of winning, if only slightly).
Two months ago we were told that if it wasn't showing significant improvement by the next month that he would be going into surgery - not sure what exactly they planned to do and neither did they... last month they decided to hold off one more month. Dr 'B' knew a specialist that he regarded, and wanted to confer with him before taking any action. We are going to see this specialist Friday, and are hoping for some long awaited good news.
The first picture shows the x-ray from October and the second shows a more recent x-ray taken in February.
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