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Preparing for Pemberton & Femoral Osteotomies ~ The continuing fight against hip dysplasia

By Michelle Marine

on Dec 12, 2013, Updated Jan 13, 2022

29 Comments

In the ongoing fight against hip dysplasia we are now preparing for Pemberton & Femoral Osteotomies for our three year old. Here’s how we’re getting ready.

Preparing for Pemberton & Femoral Osteotomies ~ The continuing fight against hip dysplasia

We found out last month that our 3 1/2 year old daughter, Sara, will need more hip surgery and she’s scheduled to have a Pemberton and a Femoral Osteotomy next Tuesday. Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the hospital with her surgeon and his team and the child life specialist on the ward where she’ll be staying after her surgery. For three hours yesterday we talked about her surgery, the cast she’ll wear, toured the rooms we’ll be staying in, and met with some of the after care nurses. It was a hard day.

If you’ve been a long time reader of my blog, you might remember that we’ve been through this before because I blogged quite a lot about our struggles with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip the first time we went through this. Two years ago, she had an open reduction surgery to put her dislocated left hip in the hip socket and she spent 12 weeks and 5 days in a nasty, nasty Spica cast. Our surgeon told us from day one that another surgery would likely be in her future, but he always said it would happen shortly before kindergarten. We were mentally prepared for surgery next year. Not next week.

This marks the third year that our Sara will have some sort of medical problem at Christmas time. She was hospitalized for a week with a nasty case of pneumonia three years ago at her first Christmas when she was six months old – and released on Christmas Day. Last year, we enjoyed a non-eventful Christmas with our family, but the year before she was in the Spica cast and will be this year too. I’m done with the dramatic holiday celebrations and look forward to the day when we don’t have to worry about this any more.

So yesterday we put on Sara’s special x-ray shirt – a tradition we started with her first surgery {we have to keep a sense of humor some how and the hospital staff always thinks it hilarious that she shows up with her bones on the outside} and prepared her for surgery. We knew she needed a pemberton osteotomy to shape her hip socket, but we found out yesterday that she will need a femoral osteotomy, too. In a nut shell, the surgeon will cut an incision on the side of her leg so he can sever the femur from the femoral head. Then he will position the femur at a better angle and will screw on a metal plate to reconnect it to the femoral head. He’ll also cut an incision at her bikini line and shave her pelvis a bit to create a better, more rounded socket. To keep the femur in place, he plans to take a sliver of bone off her hip {or maybe a cadaver} and wedge everything back in together. I asked what happens if that bone sliver slips and he said, it’s not likely but it is a concern. 🙁

We didn’t tell her about her surgery until yesterday. How do you tell your baby that she will have surgery and be stuck in a cast for another 6 weeks? And not an easy cast. We’re talking a cast from her belly button to her ankle on her left leg. And from her belly button to her knee on her right. With a hole for the pottying. And, lest you think that doesn’t sound bad enough, she will be stuck at reclining angle and won’t be able to sit up right for 6 weeks. We have a “special” harness she’ll have to wear to secure her in our van. She will lie down on the back seat in this harness and be secured with THREE seat belts. So most likely, we won’t be going many places until the cast comes off at 8 am on January 27. And yes, I’m already counting down the days. I’m not sure how this is all going to play out, but I will blog about it for sure – in part to let of steam but also to help other parents who are also facing this nightmare.
Sara picked out a pink and purple cast and we are headed to Menards for Duck Tape to soften and brighten up the cast as well. I was really worried about how she would take the news, but she honestly, she took it in stride. I hope I can take it stride.

So, next week my husband, Sara and I will move to the hospital for a week. I’ve been lucky to connect with the most awesome group of bloggers who have sent me posts to use while I’m gone. I’m really excited to share some great posts with you from Iowa bloggers and non-Iowa bloggers as well. It’s hard for me to ask for help but I really am going to need all the help I can get next week. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank you.