I'm a 28yo male with hip pain due to dysplasia with impingement and possible labral tear. Osteotomy seems to be all that's talked about on the web for adults with this problem. Anyone know of alternatives to this surgery? Anyone had it done as an adult? how successful?

-- Steven Wolf (sdw00@hotmail.com), August 07, 2003

Answers

I just contributed a very long answer to a related question on this site -- look for the "Periacetabular Osteotomy" thread.

According to my surgeon, if your joint is still in good condition (i.e., the cartilage is intact, and arthritic changes are minimal) this surgery has been very successful. And even when it's less than successful, it often can make a subsequent THR more successful than it would have been with the original dysplastic joint.

I'm currently recovering from an osteotomy at 37 years old. My doctor is confident that I can expect to be 90-100% pain-free once I've healed up. I had some minor arthritic changes beginning, but he says I should be able to walk as long as I want and be fine with a couple occasional Tylenol, at most. Feel free to contact me if I can answer any other questions.

-- Jacqueline Foster (jrfgimp@earthlink.net), September 06, 2003.