Second Opinion (A good place to start if you have just joined me on my adventure)

Here is what I wrote in the letter for my second opinion:

Thank you for taking the time to review my films/ reports. Enclosed you will find radiology reports, operative reports and office notes from Dr. Kelly, as well as my MRI’s, x-rays and CT scan on CD. I would like to consult with you regarding my right hip. Below is a brief history of my problem.

I am a 27 year old physical therapist, mother of 2. I began having right hip pain in November 2006. At the time, physical therapy did not help and I decided to consult with Bryan Kelly at HSS in January 2007. I had positive impingement signs and clicking in the hip, as well as pain with resisted hip flexion. Dr. Kelly ordered an MRI which showed cam impingement and a labral tear. An intra-articular injection of marcaine/ kenalog/ cortisone initially relieved all of my pain. We decided to do an arthroscopy to address these issues, on March 5, 2007. The scope addressed pincer impingement and debrided the labral tear.

I was doing very well after that surgery, with the exception of some residual pain at end range hip flexion, and flexion with adduction and internal rotation. Additionally, my left hip began bothering me during the period of time that I was partial weight bearing, and I had identical symptoms on the left as I had pre-op on the right. We decided on another scope, July 2, 2007. Four days before the surgery on the left, I had a twisting injury on the right side, I was weight bearing on the right and turned to the left, at that time, I heard and felt a pop, and had severe pain. The pain persisted for the entire day and subsided slightly over the next few days.

On July 2, I had the left hip scoped. The scope addressed cam and pincer impingement and debrided the labral tear. The left side is doing well. The right side continued to bother me after the left scope, being on crutches exacerbated that side and all of my pre-op symptoms returned.

Towards the end of July, I contacted Dr. Kelly regarding my symptoms as I was extremely concerned that I had possibly re-torn my labrum. He ordered an MRI, followed by an intra-articular injection which gave me complete pain relief. I have been very concerned about the cam impingement remaining in my right hip. He also ordered a CT scan. At this point, Dr. Kelly has suggested a revision arthroscopy to address the cam bump, and possibly address the psoas, as he feels I injured it when I twisted that hip. I will be having the psoas injected in the coming weeks to determine if it truly is an issue or not.

At this point, I am unsure of how to proceed. I am skeptical of having another arthroscopy since the first one was not able to fully address my impingement. I am writing to you to see if you think my impingement would be better treated via an open procedure, and to see whether you think I should make an appointment to see you in person.

Again, thank you for the taking the time to read this and review my file.
If you have any question, please feel free to contact me at (phone #), or via email (email address)

Sincerely,

Susie