Dr. Downer, the surgeon, was able to create a really good angle, so that the femur is covered and capped by the hip socket. They estimated that the previous angle had been about 50 degrees with my dysplasic hip, and my new hip is about 70 degrees. Twenty degree improvement!
This should keep my leg properly in my hip socket so I won't have the joint and muscle pain I was having before.
Close up on the right side: It is possible to see where the pelvic bone was cut in 3 places to move the joint to a better angle. The screws are holding it in place while the bone fuses and grows back, and will be removed in about a year when the bone is solid.
This winter I will have the same surgery on the other side. Comparing the joints it is possible to see that the other side has a much shallower socket than the new-and-improved joint. Later this year I will be good to go on both sides.
The surgeon says that even after this surgery my hips will not be perfect, but if indeed both surgeries are successful they should prevent pain and joint degeneration during my most active adult years. I'm not planning on having kids, but with my new hips I would be able to. It is possible I will never need to have another round of hip surgery after this.
...Or, in 15-30 years, I might need to have hip replacements or even a series of hip replacements. Most people with hip dysplasia do get hip replacements eventually. Because I would be getting the first hip replacement when I'm older, though, I would have plenty of bone left to do the multiple replacements I might need without running out of opportunities. The PAO surgery means that I will not end up in a wheelchair at any point in my life from hip dysplasia. It was super important to get it and I'm so glad I did.
This concludes this round of blogging about my surgery!
I'll blog again through my next one.
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