Your total hip replacement makes a squeaky sound with every step. Will the squeaking eventually go away or are you stuck with it? What about a revision surgery?
Who wants to make squeaking noises every time they walk? Imagine that this is coming from hardware inside your hip bone.
What makes a hip replacement squeak in the first place?
It’s when the ceramic part of the hardware slips against the titanium portion.
It’s believed that the titanium part got deformed when the surgeon inserted it into the patient.
The theory is that the considerable force that’s required to insert the artificial cup into the pelvis deforms the titanium. The result is a squeaking hip replacement.
The resulting slippage between the two surfaces, which is caused by the deformation of the materials, can earn you the nickname “Squeaky.”
Law Firm Took on Cases of Squeaky Hip Replacements
Saiontz & Kirk P.A. was taking on squeaky hip replacement plaintiffs in the past. The firm said that the Stryker Trident hip implant can squeak.
This implant is a ceramic-on-ceramic type, supposedly more durable than other conventional models.
The firm’s site says that “a large number of patients [Stryker Trident] have developed loud squeaking, popping, loosening of the components…”
This is no laughing matter to the patients, even though those around them might say something like, “We can always find Grandma in the store!”
There is the story of a school teacher who had undergone a hip replacement.
His students would know when he was walking down the hall approaching their classroom and would exclaim, “Here comes Squeaky!”
What about a revision surgery?
“The risk of revision surgery is higher than the risk of primary hip replacement, and the potential for a perfect outcome is less,” says Barbara Bergin, MD, board certified orthopedic surgeon at and co-founder of Texas Orthopedics, Sports & Rehabilitation Associates.
“However, in most cases, all that is required for the remedy of this situation is replacement of the ceramic liner with a plastic liner.
“If damage has been done to the metal cup or femoral components, then a more complicated revision would be required.”
