The surgeon in California, who originally did a hip replacement on my right hip, used a laser to assure that both my legs were the same length. When the liner broke (13 years later), the orthopedic surgeon replaced the ball with a larger ball. This resulted in my right leg (where hip replacement was) being longer than left leg. I now limp because the left leg is approximately 3/4" shorter. When he noticed that the length difference was causing limping, the surgeon responded that: "That won't bother anything." He never suggested having a lift made for my left shoe. As a result, slight scoliosis in my lower spine developed, and my L3, L4, and L5 disks were herniated on the left side as well. A discectomy and laminectomy were then necessary in 2008 (by a different surgeon in a different city).
