Getting Hip need scoop

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Pie - 06 Oct 2005 05:08 GMT

I am 48, male have OA in left hip, no more putting it off. Can someone
tell me about time.

Time in hospital, time I can walk,drive and daily functions? tia

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spodosaurus - 06 Oct 2005 06:20 GMT

> I am 48, male have OA in left hip, no more putting it off. Can someone
> tell me about time.
>
> Time in hospital,

That depends on the procedure (there's more than one) and your recovery.
I was in for 8 days for both ops.

> time I can walk,

I was standing within 48 hours on my uncemented hip replacements, and
walking with crutches the next day for longer and longer distances.

>drive

Do you drive a manual or an automatic, and which hip are you having
done? If you drive an auto and it's the opposite hip than the one you
need to operate the accelerator and brake pedals, then you can return to
driving sooner. When I had my pedal hip done I waited three months. Your
surgeon will let you know this. Indeed, these are all questions you
should be posing to your surgeon who knows your particular medical
history and the details of how your procedure will be done.

> and daily functions?

You'll need a raised toilet seat, a higher chair, gripper to pick things
up, foam wedge to sit on to keep your hip above your knee at all times
during recovery (for at LEAST 3 months), a foam wedge to keep your legs
from crossing while you sleep (unless you enjoy dislocations and trips
to hospital) etc etc etc. It takes a while for everything to get back in
working order. I'd say you're looking at 3 months of focussed recovery,
with progressively more and more function. That's based on my experiences.

Cheers,

Ari

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spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

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Splodge - 06 Oct 2005 08:15 GMT

> You'll need a raised toilet seat, a higher chair, gripper to pick things
> up, foam wedge to sit on to keep your hip above your knee at all times
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Ari

And make sure your bed is high - or raise it on bricks. The general guide
for toilets, beds, chairs, etc is do not sit on anything that comes below
the crease at the back of the knee. (Learn from my mistakes lol)
Splodge

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Pie - 09 Oct 2005 05:48 GMT

Yikes, I hear all these damn stories about a 76 year old man playing
golf the next week, somelse in and out in 48 hours back to work in a
week.
Not good to hear about 3 months, but I trust your feedback more than
others . Good luck to you I look into the bone marrow donation when
things clear.

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spodosaurus - 09 Oct 2005 08:06 GMT

> Yikes, I hear all these damn stories about a 76 year old man playing
> golf the next week, somelse in and out in 48 hours back to work in a
> week.
> Not good to hear about 3 months, but I trust your feedback more than
> others . Good luck to you I look into the bone marrow donation when
> things clear.

Three months is the total time for a younger person because they use the
uncemented procedure (this would be used for you). Instead of using a
type of permanent adhesive to bind the artifical hip to the bone almost
immediately they allow the bone to grow around the artificial joints.
Full bone healing takes about a year, and if you try and play golf
within the first 3 months you'll twist the shaft of the femoral
component of the prosthesis (my surgeon had a guy in his late 30s who
recovered amazingly fast do this...he had to have it redone and have it
cemented).

The stories you're hearing omit the real facts of the matter, and those
facts involve the ligaments that must hold the artificial joint in place
because it doesn't stay as well as a real joint. These ligaments have to
be cut through to get the real (damaged) joint out and put the new joint
in, even with the so called 'keyhole' versions of this surgery (which
have an increased rate of certain complications). If you cross your legs
while those ligaments are healing during the first three months, you'll
probably dislocate. If you bring your knee above your hip while those
ligaments are healing during those first three months, you'll probably
dislocate.

I have never dislocated. It's not too hard to follow the rules for three
months. I came through my two hip replacements very well despite being
at very high risk of infection, bleeding, etc due to the Aplastic
Anaemia. If you need a hip replacement, well, then you need one! Get
your quality of life back. Three months now for 20 or more years
thereafter.

I had to have my wife drive me for the three months after my right hip
replacement. I *could* have driven on my own (sitting on the foam wedge
to keep my hip above my knee) and been safe...but what if I'd been in an
accident that was totally unrelated to the hip replacement? I could've
been found guilty of negligence because I'd jumped back in too soon,
regardless of whether I was recovered enough before the three month
window was up. So, I learned to be the worst back seat driver imaginable :-)

Ari

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RoseB - 09 Oct 2005 08:56 GMT

Good advice, Ari.
Rose @}>->--
Being educated means that rather than fearing the unknown, one seeks to understand it. RB

Please remove "Ima" to reply.

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