How big a discrepancy in leg length is acceptable after hip replacement surgery?
I recently had total hip replacement. After four months of recovery I find that one leg is obviously much longer than the other, 1 inch more or less. When sitting, there a substantial difference in how far my knees jut out. When I asked my surgeon about it he gave me a little foam insert for the heel of my shoe and said it would be fine. But it hasn’t been fine- lots of pain in the knee of the unaffected leg. Has anyone else experienced this. No chance of a bi-lateral hip replacement (which I am told could even things out) as my one hip replacement was the result of damage to the hip, the other hip is fine.
You may benefit from these links on the subject, from a website created by an ortho surgeon as a service to patients. It appears in [slightly fractured] English translation and is free of commercial content.
http://totaljoints.info/Long_leg_TH.htm
http://totaljoints.info/THPconstruction.htm#3
I’ve had both hips replaced and have a small LLD (about 3/8″) which I treat successfully with an insert in my walking shoes. As has been mentioned by another answer, large discrepancies may need to be addressed by building up the shoe on the outside instead of inserts. Unfortunately building up the shoe is expensive.
Of course no one would consider replacing the opposite hip for no reason except to make the legs even! As mentioned in the links I’ve given you above, some discrepancies are “apparent” and others are “real”. I would refrain from drawing conclusions about your LLD so soon after surgery. It takes time for the muscles that hold everything together to regain tone. Wait a few months before you go to the expense of having your shoes built up. If you’ve been given a script for PT, by all means do the exercises religiously.
I’ll also point out that there is only so much a surgeon can do to insure equal LL. It is vital that there be enough tension on the muscles to hold the new ball and socket together, but not too much tension. The surgeon’s goal is a stable hip joint.