CHARLESTON – A Montgomery woman blames an orthopedic surgeon for causing lifelong issues following an unnecessary hip replacement surgery at age 30.
Katherine Blackburn filed her complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against Dr. Freddie Persinger, Thomas Health System Inc. and Orthoclinic PC Inc. doing business as Thomas Health Orthopedics on Chestnut Street.
According to the complaint, Blackburn was referred to Persinger in early 2020 because she was experiencing right hip pain. Persinger ordered an x-ray, concluded she had severe degenerative changes and diagnosed her with right hip osteoarthritis.
But, Blackburn says the x-ray did not show such changes. She also says Persinger did not conduct an MRI or an arthroscopy to eliminate other causes, and she says he didn’t rule out soft tissue etiology such as IT band tendonitis.
She says Persinger placed her on naproxen, gave her a steroid injection and told her weight loss also would help. He did not instruct her to have physical therapy, she says.
Six weeks later, she says she told Persinger the injection helped a little, but she still couldn’t move her hip and had pain. Persinger then recommended a right hip replacement for Blackburn, who was 30 years old at the time. She says the doctor didn’t try less drastic treatment options.
“Most hip replacement procedures are performed for individuals between the ages of 60 and 80,” the complaint states. “A hip replacement prosthesis typically lasts between 10 and 20 years.”
Persinger performed the hip replacement June 8, 2020, at Thomas Memorial Hospital. Even with post-operative physical therapy, Blackburn says the hip pain intensified and worsened after surgery. She also says her right leg and knee were noticeably turned inward.
More than two months after the surgery, Blackburn got a second opinion from orthopedic surgeon Andrew Landis, who referred her to orthopedic surgeon Alexander Coughran at Marshall Health. He found a leg length discrepancy, showing her right leg was almost a half-inch longer than her left.
After Caughran tried unsuccessfully to relieve the pain with conservative measures, he recommended a revision hip arthroplasty to try to correct the issues. That surgery was March 1, 2022, but it only could correct part of the length discrepancy and rotational abnormalities.
Blackburn says the pain has been reduced some, but she still suffers unavoidable side effects such as unbalanced gait and leg weakness. She also says she can expect to have several more hip revision procedures throughout her life.
She accuses the defendants of medical negligence. She seeks compensatory damages, attorney fees, court costs, expenses and other relief.
Blackburn is being represented by Brian J. Headley of the Headley Law Firm in Daniel Island, S.C. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 22-C-966