Hip Replacement

[Straight Arrow]

My wife will undergo hip replacement surgery next Thursday. She is looking forward to a better, more active life. Naturally I'm a bit nervous over the whole thing but also very optimistic. Anyone here been through this?

[Squire]

Well Rich, of course surgery is a serious matter but so is the condition that gives rise to it. My attitude was the surgeon is highly skilled and I plan to sleep through it.

[Craig_From_Cincy]

Best wishes for your Wife's speedy recovery Rich!

[JayTrek]

Rich,

Take good care of her, and keep us posted on her progress.

[jww]

Best of luck to you both. Surgery is rarely fun, but my experience is that after recovery, you feel so much better.

[JRTASTER]

Rich,
First, best wishes to your wife and hope for a speedy recovery!
There are apparently two major types of hip replacement surgery. The less invasive alternative is
anterior hip replacement. The surgery goes quicker and the rehab is both easier and quicker. Not
everyone is the right candidate for anterior replacement and your surgeon should explain why he
selected one version vs the other. Apparently the post-op success rate is much higher for the anterior.

I just marked the first anniversary of anterior replacement. I was walking the 2nd day following the
procedure and spent 4 days in the hospital. Following about 10 days of in-home treatment/occupational rehab and such
I underwent two six-week out patient rehab protocols; I might have been able to get away with one term, but we moved
during my rehab and there was a three week gap before I located a suitable center here on Cape Cod. Rehab was basically
three 1 1/2-sessions per week.
Early on I used crutches but abandoned them for a walking stick to help with balance. Walking DOWN stairs was much tougher
than climbing them. During rehab, putting on shoes and socks was difficult and painful. BUT in general the residual pain was
NOTHING like the intense agony experience before surgery. I waited far too long for replacement, in part because my
condition was misdiagnosed for nearly six painful months, during which time I underwent 4 unnecessary epidural pain injections.
My procedure was covered by Medicare A&B, plus personal "gap" insurance; I tell you this because some post-op decisions may
be defined/decided on the basis of your wife's insurance coverage.
Both knees now need replacement, something to which I do NOT look forward. But your wife should be greatly pleased with her
new hip and will certainly never miss her pre-op pain, discomfort and lack of mobility.
Good Luck to you both!
jr/John

[GA Russell]

Best wishes to the missus, Rich!

[fallingwickets]

ditto on sentiments already expressed

clive

[RonCall]

My wife had both hips replaced 10 and 6 years ago. There is this special program here they call "the Joint Care Group" where they operate on 15 people the same day, they go through a very intense week of training and care, they have to walk, do stairs and what not and on the last day they give a dinner for the patients and there partners. Of course when returning home they still have to use two crutches for a little while, then one and then lots of walking without help. Out of the two groups that my wife participated in only one patient didn't do well and that was because he didn't want to exercise and stayed in bed feeling sorry for himself.

The wife should be fine, just be there for here, it's normal that she is nervous about it. Wishing her a speedy recovery!

[Straight Arrow]

Thanks for the messages of support and for sharing your experiences. Much appreciated. This is a great online community.

[jww]

... Out of the two groups that my wife participated in only one patient didn't do well and that was because he didn't want to exercise and stayed in bed feeling sorry for himself ...

Given the technology and procedures used these days, I would say that's the case quite often (although not necessarily always) where joint surgery is concerned. Staying immobile when you have to try to be mobile even through the discomfort is never a good thing. I won't say my ACL reconstruction recovery was a walk in the park -- it wasn't -- and it's a nothing procedure compared to hip replacement. Nothing we can say will be able to remove the sheer terror some people feel about having a piece of their body replaced, as well as the issues with recovery -- but in the end, if the medical practitioners say it's something you should get done, then it generally means that it is something you should get done.

Good luck for both the patient and the caregiver. I am confident that working together you'll do just fine. Chin up.