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My husband had surgery on his hip 3.5 years ago. He got a new head and stem, but so far he is still in pain. Treatment with injections, various bone scans and a low-voltage treatment at the pain clinic were also unsuccessful. The hip is well in place and the doctors say the pain is local. He just has to learn to live with it. We become discouraged. Do you have any solution?
Mrs.van Dam
Conny Douw, orthopedic surgeon
Before placing a new hip (or knee, or another joint), the orthopedic surgeon estimates the possibility that the complaints will disappear. Unfortunately, there is no full guarantee that all complaints will actually disappear.
In addition, unfortunately, there are risks associated with any surgery and one of the risks is that the pain will get worse or that the surgery will cause new pain. Yet this is very unusual.
Pain relief
The trouble with pain is that it can have many causes and that medical science does not yet know everything about the origin and control of pain.
From your description I gather that thorough research has already been done into where the pain could come from. It has probably been examined whether the prosthesis is properly secured, whether there is an infection and whether calcium/bone deposits may have formed in the tissue around the prosthesis.
Rehabilitation doctor
And has there already been looked at beyond the hip? For example, the cause of the pain can also be in the back.
When all factors have really been looked at and an attempt has been made to reduce or remedy the pain, it may be useful to ask the opinion of a rehabilitation doctor.
Together with your husband and you, he looks at what your husband can still do. By looking at what is still possible and not focusing on what is no longer possible, the situation can become more bearable for both of you.
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