Health knowledge made personal
Pain is a personal battle. No physician can look at his/her patient and determine the level of pain from which the patient is suffering. Therefore, the decision to operate to relieve pain is typically made from the patient's perspective. Decisions to operate based upon function & damage are typically made from the surgeon's perspective. Aside from delaying a surgery that's already scheduled, there's nothing wrong about getting a 2nd or even a 3rd opinion.
Just remember however that if you ask enough people, you'll eventually hear what you want to hear. Don't forget that you want to get your 2nd & 3rd opinions from a reputable source. Granted it may not be easy to determine who's good & who's not, but you can always start w/your local academic practice since it's their job to train everyone else.
One last thought: if your pain is a 2 on a scale from 0-10 where 0 is no pain and 10 is the worst pain imaginable, then 2 is pretty low. In this situation, you might want to avoid higher risk operations and wait it out a bit longer. Good luck!
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Posted by keycha
I am 64 yrs old , in good health. No osteoporosis. My recovery has been slow.
I was told by my present Dr. that i should be farther along and that my discomfort is from the ball rubbing on my acetabulum. I have surgery pending on Dec 7th for a THR. He says i will need this in order to recover to my previous activity level. He also states that Partials usually need to be redone in 5 years per his experience. My concern is : Is it too soon to have any surgery. I am just getting my mobility back. My major problem is that when i walk i have a limp because it hurts when i put my weight on the left leg. Not sure if this will go away with time , as it still hasn't at 5 mos post op.
Should i have a 2nd opinion, or should i wait to see if this will resolve My pain level is about a 2 when i walk. I do exercises daily and my muscle stregth has recovered alot. I find it hard to find anybody talking about a partial hip.
Thanks Dianne