Posted by Roy on February 13, 2004 at 12:29:38:
In Reply to: 24 yo in the Army, Diagnosed with Legg Perthes, AVN posted by David E. Hines on February 02, 2004 at 10:24:55:
Hi David,
I saw your message. I can tell you that I am a 35 year old male who was diagnosed with perthes at 28 years old. I was in so much pain in both hips that after about 1 year I put up the red flag and had my hip replaced. My right one was done in June, 1999. Left was done in December 2001. Yes it is almost unheard of that someone my age has hip replacements, however, only you know how much pain you can continue to take. It was so bad, I honestly could not continue taking it. I have had no problems with my left hip replacement, however, I can tell you that I have had problems with my right to the point the the original surgeon(who did not replace my left one) did not put it in properly and it had to be revised this past summer. Please note that there are dangers with hip replacements one of which is the risk of fracturing your femur, which I did this past labor day weekend. Again, I caution you do make sure that you do research and get opinions from more than one orthopedic surgeon and make sure that the surgeon has experience with perthes. My first surgeon did not, however, the one I have now does and has done wonders for me. I am limited on what I can and can not do, however, the hip pain for the most part is gone other than arthritis. And for those who are asking if it can be passed on to children, all the research I have seen says yes. I have relatives on both sides of my family that have had it. It was caught early enough for them so hopefully they do not experience problems later. Go with what your body is telling you. Only you know. I would say if you can try sticking it out with the pain as long as you can and avoid the surgeries, do it.
If I can help you out or anyone else out there in any way I want to. Nobody should have to experience this alone. Everyone who has had perthes or has experienced it through family memebrs need to stick together and we need to make people in the general public aware that this is going on. Take from someone who has it, it sucks! But, it could be much much worse. And I am so lucky I have family and friends that have stuck by my side, plus I am very lucky that I have an orthopedic surgeon who knows perthes and has experience in it. THAT IS KEY! Shriners has been helpful as far as research of the disease, however, they only see children but may be able to refer you to a surgeon they deal with that see's adults with perthes.
Best of luck and again, if you have any additional questions I can help with, please let me know.
All the best
Roy