And the verdict is....
Total Hip Replacement!
The one surgical option I was absolutely convinced wouldn't be recommended.
*shrugs*
Guess it's a good thing I'm not a doctor.
Long story short: there's too much arthritis in my hip* to bother trying to save the joint, so the surgeon is heading to the parts store to order replacement equipment. I go under the knife on March 29th and am irrationally excited to have some resolution in sight, even if I have to go through a rather ugly procedure to get there. (That last link is to a fairly non-explicit animation of the procedure in case you're curious, like I was. While I'm not squeamish, I'm not ready to look at any footage of real bodies having this done.)
* gross but accurate detail: while not visible on any of the many x-rays, the arthrogram made it look like someone had globbed shaving cream all over the head of the femur. Needless to say, it's not supposed to look like that.
The one surgical option I was absolutely convinced wouldn't be recommended.
*shrugs*
Guess it's a good thing I'm not a doctor.
Long story short: there's too much arthritis in my hip* to bother trying to save the joint, so the surgeon is heading to the parts store to order replacement equipment. I go under the knife on March 29th and am irrationally excited to have some resolution in sight, even if I have to go through a rather ugly procedure to get there. (That last link is to a fairly non-explicit animation of the procedure in case you're curious, like I was. While I'm not squeamish, I'm not ready to look at any footage of real bodies having this done.)
* gross but accurate detail: while not visible on any of the many x-rays, the arthrogram made it look like someone had globbed shaving cream all over the head of the femur. Needless to say, it's not supposed to look like that.