Bilateral THR Bilateral THR - Just got my op date & so many questions!

Orel Aquila

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I am having my bilateral THP on the 7th February and I can't imagine what (eventually) being pain-free might feel like! How are you feeling about the operation? Is there an area of this website where I can chat to people who have had this operation? I have so many questions!
 
Hello All!
I'm Joanna, a 45 year old primary school teacher living in Cambridge, England.
I've gone from pain-free to this is less than 3 years, so I am pretty overwhelmed!
My op is going to be on 7th February and my pre-op in next week. I wondered how many people had an epidural for this operation? I can't imagine being 'awake' for 3-4 hours in major surgery like this. My surgeon recommended this as I'm relatively young, but I am quite worried about it, even things like the noise of bone surgery?!
I am new to this forum and I am spending some time trawling the threads and reading about your experiences.
I'm looking forward to chatting to you all!
Jo xx
 
Hi Jo, and welcome! You will not be awake, you will be sedated during the procedure - sound asleep- in addition to the spinal anesthesia. Unless it's a complicated surgery for you, it will likely take far less than 4 hours. Many of us had the spinal + sedation and were very pleased with it, myself included, as I didn't have the post-op grogginess and nausea that I get with general anesthesia. This is a great site, keep reading and you will get some helpful and reassuring info!

Oops I just noticed you are bilateral and that may account for the longer surgery time.
 
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@Orel Aquila Welcome to BoneSmart! I was more concerned about the spinal than the actual op first time around. Worry not - just ask for sedation and tell them you don't want to see or hear anything. They will put you into a nice, comfy sleep and watch you throughout the procedure.
 
:wave:@Orel Aquila
:welome:to Bonesmart and congratulations on having a date to be a Both At Once hippy, like me.:yes:
I had bilateral hip replacement surgery 2 1/2 years ago at the age of 53, and my hips feel like there are 25!

It's great to get rid of that bonecrunching pain and get our lives back.
The forum was a great place for me for getting the scoop from those who know.
We would love to share this journey with you. :) :-) (:
 
I had the spinal with sedation for both of my THR's. It's the trick! I was sedated and never heard or saw anything. I awoke very clear headed with no lingering grogginess. The first one I was sedated before they rolled me into the OR, with the second I was in the OR when I was sedated. The spinal itself is an odd sensation the first time.
 
@Orel Aquila Hello and :welome: to BoneSmart! I hope you find as much information and comfort as many of us have found here in the past.
I'd like to leave you some reading material that will help you with some of your questions. I am another one that was so afraid of the epidural but afterwards I was and still am a huge fan. What a difference to wake up without the nausea and grogginess/confusion.


HIP
If you are at the stage where you have joint pain but don't know for sure if you are ready to have surgery, these links may help:

If you are at the stage where you are planning to have surgery but are looking for information so you can be better prepared for what is to come, take a look at these links:

And if you want to picture what your life might be like with a replaced hip, take a look at the posts and threads from other BoneSmarties provided in this link:

I will start with these but was hoping to find a few more for you..

I hope this helps. :flwrysmile:

 
Here is another great article that was written by a very accomplished orthopedic nurse.. this might help, too. I had hoped to find an article on epidural vs. general anesthetic, but so far I haven't been successful.

 
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I am having my bilateral THP on the 7th February and I can't imagine what (eventually) being pain-free might feel like! How are you feeling about the operation? Is there an area of this website where I can chat to people who have had this operation? I have so many questions!
Hi there jo welcome to bonesmart it’s an amazing site it totally helped me I was so anxious and scared of having THR surgery , I also asked the same question as yours I went for the General anaesthetic which they also did the spinal block I just didn’t want to face Seeing or hearing anything with just a spinal block , but I have to say even tho you fall asleep and wake up and it’s done I felt terrible for 24 hours or so I was sick and my blood pressure was low , it doesn’t last long tho..... I was advised to just have the spinal but I couldn’t do it , I was on my ward with 3 other really lovely ladies who also did the same as me but all I can say is you cope. .. I’m 3 weeks this Monday and it’s worth It ,it’s a different pain a healing one , I’d make sure you get a grabber , Ice packs more than 1 and I get an electric recliner if you can , it’s well worth it as you can sleep in it during the day and sit too Netflix and some good books are good as it’s really boring the recovery..... good luck and focus on being pain free best wishes Karen x
 
Have you been told you will be having spinal vs GA?
This was left up to my surgeon who opted for GA but many here who have had surgeries and experienced both have expressed they prefer spinal.
Here is some information about the types.
 
That's the one I was searching for! Thank you Mojo333 :wave:
 
I had the spinal + sedation combo for my THR in Oct. After the spinal was done, the anaesthetist told me I’d be drifting off to sleep soon. I remember thinking, “well, nothing much seems to be happening here...” - then I woke up in recovery. Voila!
 
Hi Joanna, I hope I can be of some help to you. I had a Left THR in Nov last under sedation and epidural. You can't possibly imagine how nervous I was prior to the procedure ( I even delayed and cancelled it a number of times). However, II am being totally truthful when I say it went remarkably well, and literally I didn't see, hear or feel a single thing. I told both the anesthetist and the orthopedic surgeon before hand I was very nervous, they were very understanding and helpful. I felt the pinch at the insertion of the epidural, and my legs went "dead" within two minutes. I literally remember nothing else until the surgeon voice woke me to tell me I had a new hip now and all went as planned.
 
Hi Jo :wave: and welcome to Bone Smart! Great folks with lots of great info and support to share.

I am one of the folks that had general anesthesia. My anesthesiologist and I talked the morning of surgery. Due to having had a spinal fusion which in turn had some scar tissue built up and having Spina Bifida Occulta it was decided that it would be better to use GA. Would h have preferred spinal but went with what the doc thought was best. If you know you have nausea issues they can add some anti nausea meds to help.
 
Hi Joanna,

I just had a spinal on Monday. It worked great! It took a little bit of time to find the right place for the needle but once they injected the spinal and took the needle out it wasn't long until it had fully numbed my lower half. The team made sure I was comfortable and numb before the sedative was let loose into the iv.

Once the sedative (Propofol) fully took affect I was out. I came to on the way to recovery. It was that quick.
 
Thank you so much for your replies, everyone!
I had my pre-op this week and I think I'm going to have the GA. The nurse mentioned ‘bloody instruments’ and after that I think my mind was made up...!
I haven’t been given any pre-op exercises and everything I can find online is geared towards a single hip replacement. Can anyone please signpost any good websites for post and pre-op exercises for BTHR? Everything I’ve found talks about bearing weight on the ‘good leg’...I won’t have one of those!
 
I think I'm going to have the GA. The nurse mentioned ‘bloody instruments’ and after that I think my mind was made up...!
Why on earth would she do that?

Even if you have a spinal, your are unlikely to see the surgical instruments in use. As well as the spinal, you will be given sedation, so you're likely to sleep through the entire procedure - unless you specifically ask to be kept awake.

Did you read the article about anaesthetics that Mojo333 left you?
 
Hi Jo , you’ve got to go with how you feel ,I was exactly the same as you I totally feared knowing and possibly hearing with the spinal .... I don’t think you do to be fair If you did go for the spinal and sedation , they normally give you the spinal block aswell because it gives you a few hours pain relief,make sure you ask them for some anti sickness while you’re out as it’s not nice when you wake.... but it doesn’t last long tho when you wake it’s all over and done which ever you decide I know how you’re feeling you can’t sleep worried about what to expect after , I’ve got to say my biggest problem was my back because I wasn’t used to lying for long periods of time my back was a big issue I asked to a muscle relaxer ...... it’s still the same now if I can do it you can if you need any advice just ask we are all here to help sending calming vibes k
 

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