Periacetabular Osteotomy

Are you limping?

I get that question a lot these days. Yes I am limping, and chances are I didn’t know I was until you asked. Very gradually I have begun to limp more and more, first because there was a problem in my hip that I was not fully aware of, then more and more as pain has become more pronounced each week.

As it turns out I have a displaced, or shallow hip, from birth, that until recently has done very little to deter me from being very active. The martial arts and weight training have kept the joint from becoming arthritic, and the muscles around the hip joint have been strong enough to stabilize the joint. Time has caught up to me however, and I am finding my day ending with hip pain more and more.

I always struggled with my flexibility. No matter how hard I tried for a full range of flexibility, I could never press past a certain point. I tried the stretching machines, sitting in the butterfly position and having training partners stand on my legs to force them down toward the floor, and steady consistent periods of intense stretching exercises. Something in my hip always pulled back. I have never been able to sit crossed legged and there was always a great disparity between my right and lift legs when kicking.

There is good news. A new procedure can correct this problem now. The only option in the past has been a full hip replacement, even for a young active person. There are only a few doctors trained in this new procedure, but one of them is in Louisville, and he has agreed to fix my hip.

The surgery is called a periacetabular osteotomy, PAO for short. Peri, or around the Acetabulum, and osteotomy means to cut bone. The hip is cut in two places and shifted in such a manner so that the top of the femur bone is fully covered. Then the hip is bolted into the new position and it heals into the corrected shape. The result is a hip that functions normally, is a stable weight bearing structure, and has the full degree of motion of a normal healthy hip. Best of all, the steady aching pain will be gone, and I can keep all my own parts

Surgery date is Wednesday Oct. 8th
Below is a diagram of the process and my own x rays.

Side view