Revision THR A new year and new hope: revision for loosened THR

[Mojo333]

Poor hubby..poor prarienut.
I know I'm tougher than my better half, though he did take good care of me when I most needed him.
Glad he didn't need my help at that time.
Very relieved you decided to hold off on the snowblowing!
Maybe next year!?
Hope you have a good Sunday and hubby feels better soon.

 

[Layla]

Congrats on moving to one crutch!
I'm happy to read you weren't >
Sorry hubs is under the weather. Sounds like you two are really helping one another out.
I hope he feels better soon.
Wishing you both a peaceful Sunday and week.
@prairienut

 

[Debru4]

How incredible that so much of your local landscape and homes are still intact---and similar to when Homer painted them. Have you lived in Hurley for a long time and done local history projects? Local history out our way in Colorado typically only dates back less than two hundred years in terms of Europeans..longer for the Spanish/Hispanic people from Mexico, and far longer for the Native Americans, of course. Still much different than back East. I believe that Homer's mentor was NC Wyeth....I love all of the work by the Wyeths as well as Homer----how lucky you are to be right in the midst of their work. If you can pace yourself and do some of your work sitting down, it will be great to get back to the exhibit!

Be sure to make sure you are careful in the bad weather, and that you are sitting and icing as much as possible. Here's hoping you and your hubby both can get well, and stay well.......at the same time;)

 

[Carriemay60]

Very happy to hear you didn't head outside! That was a LOT of snow to clear up for sure. Today here is incredibly cold an icy out and I would assume you are much the same down there.
I hope your hubby gets on the mend very soon! Having both of you down at one time feels like living in an old age home My husband got very sick and was just released from ICU when I had to go for my knee surgery. He was on IV antibiotics for 6 weeks after coming home. Thankfully, our daughter who is a ICU nurse was able to get on a plane and look after both of us. I honestly don't know how we would have coped without her help! We said that will be what our 80's will likely be like, just looking after each other in turns.

 

[prairienut]

Had my first post-op visit today with Dr. Waddell at 2-1/2 weeks after surgery. Everything is as it should be. I am cleared to ditch the compression socks and to start driving. Yay! I have the 90 degree restriction until further notice or at least until I see him at 6 weeks out. He showed me today's X-ray. To my surprise, I have a slender "cable" around the top portion of my femur. This was applied to prevent fracture when "pounding in" (ouch!) the new implant. He said there was no reason to remove it, and it was continuing to protect against fracture while the press fit implant becomes ingrown with bone tissue. Yikes. Sounds scary, but I'm OK with his reasoning. I asked if it was OK to take a Vitamin C supplement. He said that was fine, and in fact, there are recent studies that show Vitamin C helps to reduce scar tissue formation.

I showed him my old X-ray from last April to see if he could see signs of loosening even back then. My local ortho group declared at the time that the prosthesis looked "well-aligned and well-fixed." Dr. Waddell said that 100% of his colleagues at HSS would have declared it a loose prosthesis. Wow. That makes me doubly grateful that I decided to switch to another surgeon for the revision. No wonder I had noticed off-and-on aches and pains for many, many months (years?). I mentioned the pain I felt on sneezing during the long period of shaky hardware. He was mildly amused at the thought of using that as a diagnostic indicator.

Not sure if I mentioned the fun fact that my son uncovered about HSS. It was founded in the 1860s under the name "Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled." Today, my son was with me and noticed the official HSS patch on Dr. Waddell's jacket which includes this historic name. At some point their PR department must have convinced them to switch to a blander name that wouldn't put people off. Frankly, I like the old name better. It tells it like it is!

 

[Layla]

Happy Monday!
Great update to read. Thanks for sharing.
It sounds like you're on your way.
Lots of healing to still take place but it feels so good to be making progress.
Losing the TEDS, driving again and having a good post op visit.
I hope you have a wonderful week
@prairienut

 

[Hippielife]

Prairienut... the wire you describe is common in revisions. The new femoral component in my case is 11” long takes time to stabilize for many years of use. Yes it is quite surprising to see on xrays ,especially when not discussed before surgery. There are many types of cerclage systems. Sometimes the surgeon doesn’t know all the details until the site area is visible during surgery. In many cases the OR is a hardware store stacked with shelves and shelves of parts available for revision surgery and as in many cases the rep from the manufacture co. is also assisting the surgeon for the parts which are available,and innerchangeable for the system and components required. It’s like a puzzle if by any chance your surgeon has the hip components in plain view during the office appts.
In many cases cerclage is used to hold the bone stable until the new revision component is stabilized by new bone growth and allow healing to occur. In my case revision required osteotomy to remove three sections of bone to remove the primary component and cerclage (cable system) is used for added stability holding the bone in place. Reminds me of the cable system on my grapevines.
Today I haven’t a concern in the world back to life as usual. And soon you too will be out tip-toeing thru the tulips with all your buddies.

 

[Debru4]

A red letter day.....graduating from the compression socks! And being able to drive I remember how proud I was early in my recovery to be able to put the compression socks on by myself----haha! Those darn socks sure gave me a run for my money.

 

[Carriemay60]

All such wonderful news! Loosing the compression socks alone will make you feel like a new woman!

Is all your groin pain gone? I find that pain really miserable and can hardly wait to see it gone.

 

[prairienut]

@Carriemay60, I never had groin pain after my original THR. The pain caused by the loosening femoral stem was on the outside of my hip and along my quad muscle. That pain is definitely gone. What I feel now is some aching in the surgical area which I assume is temporary. I see you are scheduled for a THR on April 4. I wish you all the best with your surgery and recovery.

@Debru4, I'm impressed you could get those compression socks on yourself. With the 90 degree restriction, I don't think I ever would have been able to do that myself on the operated side.

 

[Jaycey]

Great update @prairienut !

To my surprise, I have a slender "cable" around the top portion of my femur. This was applied to prevent fracture when "pounding in" (ouch!) the new implant. He said there was no reason to remove it, and it was continuing to protect against fracture while the press fit implant becomes ingrown with bone tissue. Yikes. Sounds scary, but I'm OK with his reasoning.

Sounds like a very careful surgeon. These wires are used if there is a fracture during any THR. It does happen sometimes but the break usually does not impact recovery.

Glad everything is going your way finally!

 

[Going4fun]

@prairie, glad to hear of the good update and your checkup with Dr. Waddell ... There is something really frightening about your doctor misreading the earlier X-Rays. Makes me wonder if surgeons really know how to read X-Rays and notice when the implant didn't take to the bone.

Also makes me know that if I ever have serious problems and my surgeon is looking at the X-Ray and saying all is fine, I'm getting myself up to HSS for a second opinion from their revision unit. Kudos to you for going to HSS for a second opinion!!!!!!!

 

[sansabosa]

@prairienut
I just red your post about your visit to your OS
Yay! So glad on behalf of you, it seems all is on track
Will you be continuing physioterapy and when is uour next visit to OS?

 

[prairienut]

@sansabosa Yes, I will continue physiotherapy but not until the first week in February. That is the first slot I could get with a very highly recommended therapist in my home town. In the meantime, I am happy to stick with the exercises the hospital gave me, all very gentle, plus walking quite a bit around the house and on shopping trips. I haven't started walking the dogs yet as I am afraid they could pull me over if they saw a deer (we have two hound mixes). We live next to a forested area and have plenty of wildlife roaming around. Next OS appointment is Feb. 20 at the 6-week mark. I hope to have some of the hip precautions removed at that time, although he said he would be allowing me to do only one specific additional move at a time and would be spacing them out. He is very conservative with recovery from hip revisions. I respect that approach! I want this one to last a long time so don't want to do anything that compromises my long-term recovery.

Sleep well tonight.

 

[Carriemay60]

Hi! I was wondering if any of our latest snowfall swung down your way? We got a good 12-15 inches yesterday. Digging out has not been fun, only to have the plow come along and bury the driveway again!

 

[prairienut]

Hi @Carriemay60 We are getting snow as I type, predicted to be 3 to 6 inches followed by a friendly visit from the Polar Vortex. My sister lives in northern Wisconsin, and they are heading down to -29F Wednesday night! Needless to say, I'm staying close to home today. I don't have crampons to fit my crutches. My hubby and son will be digging out tomorrow. I'm back in the kitchen cooking, but shoveling snow is not in the cards yet.

 

[Carriemay60]

I know!! This Polar Vortex is going to hit here too! I did manage to sweep off the porch but had to leave the shovelling until hubby got home. I also will staying in this week; these cold temperatures cause too much ice for me! I will be so happy when winter is over but apparently we are in for it in February too

 

[prairienut]

Today is 4 weeks post-op. I am still mostly using one crutch to quickly and smoothly get around the house. I have been out shopping a few times but mostly staying home due to the cold, snow, and ice. Today was the first time I "forgot" where I left my crutch. Turns out it was in the other room! Now that is progress! I am back doing a lot of cooking and a modest amount of laundry and floor mopping, always mindful of my hip precautions. I take only the occasional Tylenol at night for achiness around the incision. I have even resumed my historical research and planning for my Winslow Homer exhibit in May. I have to hustle now so all the pieces are done by then. I have enough energy left over to pamper my poor hubby who is still suffering from some autoimmune issues and has a ways to go before his treatment plan resolves his symptoms. I'm happy to return the favors he did for me when I was in the early days of recovery. We got him over to Boston to a specialist so he is getting better advice now on how to proceed. Tonight, we just celebrated my son's brand-new BA in Mathematics summa cum laude. How did we celebrate? With a grand Chinese take out dinner, of course! I still am not quite eager to go out to a restaurant and neither is hubby.

 

[Carriemay60]

Big Congratulations to your son and of course to you & the hubby for your part in raising a fine young man! From my experience with our kids, I know how proud you are!
I could eat asian (especially chinese) 7 days a week!

I have stayed in all week with the cold & ice. I have a nail & pedicure appt tomorrow but taking a taxi so I am ensured door to door. I haven't minded being in too much, had some lovely phone calls with friends and have been moving toward a final decision on a quilt pattern for my 8th grandchild due mid March!

Just keep putzing, nothing more we can do in this weather

 

[Layla]

Happy Four Week Anniversary!
It sounds as though you're progressing nicely.
Continue to balance activity with rest and you're on your way!
A great weekend to you
@prairienut