Resolved question:
My husband experienced severe leg cramps on his right leg on the 31st of Oct. and was taken to the emergency room at the hospital. He has had 2 doppler tests, 1 ct scan, d-dimer and all came back negative for blood clots. His whole leg is swollen and has bruised and now his foot is turning black. He has seen 4 doctors here and none can help him. His whole leg is swollen from hip to foot. He had hip replacement surgery in May and had no complications. His leg looks like it is going to pop and we are both extremely worried. What could the problem be that is causing this? Could he have metal toxicity from the hip replacement, and if so what are the symptoms? The one doctor had him stop taking his HCTZ and has him on Lasix twice a day. No change in swelling.
Submitted:
4 Days
Category:
Orthopedic Surgeon
Hello,
Thank you for your query at DoctorSpring.com
I understand your concern.
Can you kindly upload a high resolution picture of his leg for me to review? Also can you give me a detailed medical history? When was the hip replacement done? Does he have any history of hypertension or diabetes?What about his serum electrolytes?
Yes metal hip replacement does have a lot of side effects, because in certain cases due to constant friction, small metal particles are broken and get released in the blood stream leading to metallosis. It is not very common, however possible. Mostly the surrounding area will have a lot of infection, there are chances of osteolysis, local soft tissue destruction, deterioration of bone around the implants, severe joint pain. Though it's not a common feature to have such swelling of the legs, however it is better you get your physician to run a series of x rays to check if the implant is in proper order. A simple x ray will be able to detect if there is any surrounding destruction.
Regards.