femur replacement

adams1141@att.net
adams1141@att.net Member Posts: 1
edited November 2023 in Bone Cancers #1
I've had 17 surgeries trying to give or save my hip. I had two surg as a teen.june 2002 to feb 2003 a dr gave me 8 surgeries and my present dr 7. six were total hip replacements & 1 for reconstructure of the fractured femur after their 2nd attempt.My femur has crumbled about 3 inchines & the july surg did not take either. They say femur replacement is the only alternative. My sister has bone marrow cancer but they say I only have arthritis. I have never heard of cutting the bad femur bone away and replacing the femur with a rod. please help with your comments regarding femur replacemetn with metal.

Thanks for your reply's!
Okay, so I've had 3 more surgeries (one was with cadaver 9/09, a box put in a few days later when the hip popped out next day from surgery and #20 with metal 1/2010. I'm about to have another metal hip and femur repacement/reconstruction#21.It's been delayed twice due to breast cancer surgery. I still need the onocologist or radiologist to verify if it's okay to be treated for both. Just wanted you guys to know my surgery did not take but I'm willing to try one more time(looking forward to #21).

Comments

  • luannf
    luannf Member Posts: 2 Member
    #2
    Femur replacement
    Greetings,

    Sorry this is a little late. My daughter, 20, had osteosarcoma in her left distal femur and had a radical resection in 11/07. They replaced part of her femur and knee with a titanium prosthesis. Within a month or 2 she was slowly walking and now walks all over the hilly UC Berkeley campus. She also lost her vastus medealus muscle, which causes her left leg to turn out just a tad, but when she concentrates, she can turn it in. It's been much better then we originally thought it would be. She's very happy she was able to keep her leg. She cannot run and jump, but she wasn't terribly athletic anyway, so she doesn't really miss doing those things that much. I believe that every 7-10 years you will need some parts replaced in the knee, but that is a much smaller surgery. Our ortho surgeon said in the 17 years he has been installing these, they have not had to do a full replacement in general. I have heard of people getting it replaced because of infections or in one case, the prosthesis broke somehow.
  • acnewman
    acnewman Member Posts: 2
    #3
    Femur Bone Replacement
    Not sure of your status as I have just joined the CSN, but wanted to let you know that I had my right femur replaced just about 6 weeks ago due to Chrondrosarcoma in my right femur. They replaced about a foots worth and the margins are excellent. I have been rehabing since then and hope to be back at work just after New Years. I am able to put full weight on my leg, but learning to walk all over again is a challenge!
  • raybone
    raybone Member Posts: 5
    #4
    femur replacement
    I had a total femur,hip,knee replacement done in 7-2-09. I had cancer in my femur and this was my only option vs. amputation. Everything has gone well-operation,rehab and no cancer at present. The bone was all cut-away and all new stainless steel was installed.My knee has limited movement but otherwise am very happy with the outcome and feel blessed to have been able to get this operation. I would gladly talk about this. my email is randlhagan@gmail.com
  • pobl9
    pobl9 Member Posts: 2
    #5
    acnewman said:

    Femur Bone Replacement
    Not sure of your status as I have just joined the CSN, but wanted to let you know that I had my right femur replaced just about 6 weeks ago due to Chrondrosarcoma in my right femur. They replaced about a foots worth and the margins are excellent. I have been rehabing since then and hope to be back at work just after New Years. I am able to put full weight on my leg, but learning to walk all over again is a challenge!

    femur/hip and knee replacment
    Hi I had Ewings sarcoma as a child and although they managed to save my leg and avoid amputation it has always caused me problems since. Now I am 36 and the pain in my "bad" leg has increased and is more frequent and the problem has spread to my left leg and hip joint due to a disparity in leg length. I have travelled throughout the uk visiting different specialists and the only course of action that seemed as though it would help is the femur replacement surgery you guys have been through. Now the problem has spread to my left hip and due to the impact this is having on my mobility I am seriously considering this surgery. I just want to find out more about it from people who have been through it. How does it impact on your mobility? How long to these replacement joints and bones last? Can you return to work after?

    Thanks for your time.
  • raybone
    raybone Member Posts: 5
    #6
    femur replacement
    hello, 4 years ago I had horrible pain in my right leg, right above my knee. An xray showed that cancer had almost eaten thru the femur as to the point ofbreaking. The doctor drilled out the enter of my femur and put in a titanium rod. This lasted about 2 years and a screw broke and the rod had to be replaced. The situation worsened and I now have a knee,femur,hip of stainless steel and doing pretty good. feel free to contact me randlhagan@gmail.com
  • stressedspouse
    stressedspouse Member Posts: 3
    #7
    raybone said:

    femur replacement
    hello, 4 years ago I had horrible pain in my right leg, right above my knee. An xray showed that cancer had almost eaten thru the femur as to the point ofbreaking. The doctor drilled out the enter of my femur and put in a titanium rod. This lasted about 2 years and a screw broke and the rod had to be replaced. The situation worsened and I now have a knee,femur,hip of stainless steel and doing pretty good. feel free to contact me randlhagan@gmail.com

    Femur replacement
    Where did you have the surgery?
  • pobl9
    pobl9 Member Posts: 2
    #8
    pobl9 said:

    femur/hip and knee replacment
    Hi I had Ewings sarcoma as a child and although they managed to save my leg and avoid amputation it has always caused me problems since. Now I am 36 and the pain in my "bad" leg has increased and is more frequent and the problem has spread to my left leg and hip joint due to a disparity in leg length. I have travelled throughout the uk visiting different specialists and the only course of action that seemed as though it would help is the femur replacement surgery you guys have been through. Now the problem has spread to my left hip and due to the impact this is having on my mobility I am seriously considering this surgery. I just want to find out more about it from people who have been through it. How does it impact on your mobility? How long to these replacement joints and bones last? Can you return to work after?

    Thanks for your time.

    femur/hip maybe knee replacement

    It has been almost three years and I have kept going for as long as I can, with my own limbs but the problems caused by my shorter, weakened, unbending right leg have exacerbated so it's time to try some surgery.  The left hip is wearing away and causes me more pain than my original problematic right leg.  It makes mobility difficult and painful and now walks are restricted to half an hour before pain kicks in and I am popping pills and groaning in pain.  I am going back to see the Oncological specialist in Birmingham UK next month and despite the risks that have been underlined I think that it is time to try some new limbs.  Does anyone else have anything they can share, or advice they can give to me prior to this meeting?

     

    Thanks

     

    Paul

  • deeemike
    deeemike Member Posts: 3 Member
    #9

    My name is Mike D,- I had bone cancer in 2019. had 4 major operations on my left femur. They were all done at the Mnpls VA by Doctor Luna and his residents from the U of Mn. The residents do the operations at the VA and the staff supervise. That is the way that VA operates, even in the ENT clinic. 1st put a rod inside my femur, i fell a few times and broke the distal screws. Could not get admitted in 2020 (covid). 2021 had 3 operations within 3 months. Put a plate outside femur to reenforce the rod inside the femur, i rehabbed 2 months. The femur split at the proximal part. They were planning on putting wires around the rod, plate and femur to " pull it all together", the Radiation Oncologist came to my room on the surgical ward and told me that he had been reviewing cases and he thought they had killed the femur, I told the surgical resident that and he blew me off. Right there is should have asked to see the staff Doctor , the 3rd operation they put the wires in and it displaced the rod and the femur in half. They then removed the proximal part of the femur and left 10 inches (my estimate from the X-rays) or my distal femur and put a titanium rod and hip in my leg that used surgical " cement" inside the distal 10 inches of my remaining femur. Each one was very painful because they have stopped using a proper amount of pain meds because of the opioid crisis. They let me yell in pain for hours, i had to apologize to my other 3 roommates because i was yelling so much , they understood. They sent a CNA in to tell me to stop yelling so much because i was upsetting some of the patients that could hear me in the rooms down the hallway. My blood pressure was 210/110. They did not care, the surgical resident was responsible for prescribing meds, he did not. I rehabbed at the St Cloud , MN VA nursing home in about 2 months , that was in 2021. It took me a while to get off of the walker and onto a cane , i can walk without a cane now in 2023. I am just glad that i have my mobility back and that they did not have to amputate my left leg. They had me sign a consent to amputate my leg if they could not get the rod correct. I signed it because i was in so much pain that i was willing to do anything to stop the pain. Just keep trying different procedures and i think God finally smiled on me and let me walk agin for a few more years. I am 67 now and jut grateful to be home again and not have to live out my years in a nursing home. Mike D ; if you have any pressing questions my E-mail is deee_mike@yahoo.com ty and God Bless 2023

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