An unusual cause of thigh pain after total hip arthroplasty

Polypropylene Mesh Repair of Traumatic Hernia of the Vastus Lateralis

Myofascial herniations of the lower limb are a rare cause of chronic nerve compression and pain. They may have congenital or traumatic origin, and the tibialis anterior muscle is the most frequent localization. A few cases will require operative management. An unusual case of symptomatic, acquired hernia of the vastus lateralis muscle in a young male basketball player is reported. After drainage of a compressive hematoma, the patient developed chronic pain and myositis of the vastus lateralis by friction against the edge of tensor fascia lata muscle. Secondary surgical reconstruction involved a polypropylene mesh repair 4 years after the initial trauma. This procedure has been described in a very small number of patients after iatrogenic lesions in total hip arthroplasty and on anterolateral thigh perforator flap donor site. Instead of denial and stoicism, this simple intervention could be proposed to patients as a therapeutic option.

Tendon Disorders After Total Hip Arthroplasty: Evaluation and Management

BACKGROUND

Most patients who undergo total hip arthroplasty are very satisfied with their outcomes. However, there is a small subset of patients who have persistent pain after surgery. The etiology of pain after total hip arthroplasty varies widely; however, tendon disorders are a major cause of debilitating pain that often go unrecognized.

METHODS

We performed a literature review to identify the most common tendon pathologies after total hip arthroplasty which include iliopsoas tendinitis, greater trochanteric pain syndrome, snapping hip syndrome, and abductor tendinopathy.

RESULTS

We present a simplified approach highlighting the presentation and management of patients with suspected tendinopathies after total hip arthroplasty. These tendinopathies are treatable, and management begins with nonoperative modalities; however, in cases not responsive to conservative management, operative intervention may be necessary.

CONCLUSION

Tendinopathies after total hip arthroplasty sometimes go unrecognized but when treated can result in higher surgeon and patient satisfaction.

The painful total hip replacement: diagnosis and deliverance

Total hip replacement (THR) is a very common procedure undertaken in up to 285 000 Americans each year. Patient satisfaction with THR is very high, with improvements in general health, quality of life, and function while at the same time very cost effective. Although the majority of patients have a high degree of satisfaction with their THR, 27% experience some discomfort, and up to 6% experience severe chronic pain. Although it can be difficult to diagnose the cause of the pain in these patients, this clinical issue should be approached systematically and thoroughly. A detailed history and clinical examination can often provide the correct diagnosis and guide the appropriate selection of investigations, which will then serve to confirm the clinical diagnosis made.

[Iliopsoas tendinitis--rare cause of pain following implantation of a total hip endoprosthesis]

Pain following implantation of a total hip endoprosthesis is described in the literature with an incidence of 1-17.6%, depending on the type of prosthesis. The underlying causes are numerous; the primary reasons for such pain are septic and nonseptic loosening of the prosthesis, periarticular heterotopic ossifications, or trochanteric bursitis. Less common reasons are muscular hernia, squeezing of the joint capsule, distal nerve lesions, stress fractures, compartment syndromes, or neoplasia.One can find only a few reports about tendinitis of the iliopsoas muscle as a cause for pain following implantation of an endoprosthesis in total hip arthroplasty. We now report about a female patient with therapy-resistant pain after total hip replacement, caused by tendinitis of the iliopsoas muscle. We introduce the transpositioning of this tendon from the lesser trochanter to the proximal anterior femur and bony refixation with a PDS cord as a new operative treatment.

Evaluation of pain in patients with apparently solidly fixed total hip arthroplasty components

The cause of pain in a patient with an apparently solidly fixed total hip arthroplasty can be difficult to elucidate. A detailed history, careful examination, and plain radiographs provide the most useful information, especially in excluding causes not primarily related to the hip. Determining whether the pain is related to the implant, to soft tissue, or to bone can require laboratory tests, radiographic and fluoroscopic imaging, and contrast arthrography and local anesthetic injections. Particularly when pain is caused by occult infection, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein level, hip aspiration, advanced radiologic imaging, and nuclear medicine scans can help determine the diagnosis.

A large lumbar hernia presenting as a flank mass after total hip arthroplasty

Soft tissue swelling occasionally can be seen about the incision after a total hip arthroplasty. We report a case of a lateral wall hernia occurring immediately after a total hip arthroplasty that presented as a mass over the proximal aspect of the hip incision.