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Dislocation recovery, what is normal?

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agapanthus

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Hi, My father had THR just over a week ago, approx 3 days after it he complained of extreme pain and his leg trembling and hanging loose as he described it. After a night of extreme pain when he couldnt move his leg at all an xray confirmed the hip had dislocated. He was sedated and it was manipulated back into place, now however he is confined to total bed rest for 2 weeks and then needs to go to a convalescent home for a further 2 weeks. Is this normal? It seems strange that he was being pushed to get up and walk every day initially and now he cannot leave the bed for 2 weeks. Just want to have some advance info before we speak to doctor on Monday. Would appreciate anyones experiences. Thanks.
 
Hi, Agapanthus...so glad you found BoneSmart. Our forum nurse, Josephine, will be the best person to comment on your father's problem. Do you know what he was doing when it dislocated?

It seems to me that having 4 weeks of no or limited movement would cause an entirely new set of problems for his body to recover from. It might be a good idea to get a second opinion from another surgeon who is totally independent from the first one - not a member of the same practice or connected in any way.
 
Hello, agapanthus - my favourite flower! You must be a gardener! Welcome to BoneSmart, anyway.

Well, that's a shame about your father's hip. Rotten luck. 2 weeks bedrest sounds a bit odd to me as well. Dislocation healing is more about position and muscle strengthening than rest and being in bed is the best place to get a dislocation in the first place.

I'd certainly ask the doctor some of these questions only be sure it is the surgeon and not one of his juniors you are speaking to

1. how many hip replacements has he done in the past 12 months
2. how many of those have dislocated
3. what are his reasons for ordering 2 weeks of bedrest
4. what are his thoughts on the reason for the dislocation

Answers
1. if he says under 500 per year, he's not a 'full-time' hip replacement surgeon
2. should be under 1%
3. given that the best place to get a dislocation in the early weeks is in bed!!!!
4. number one reason for dislocations is a badly place cup. If he says anything else or if he doesn't include this, it shows his lack of experience

if any of the answers, especially 1 and 4, aren't positive, try to get your father referred to a hip specialist to have his hip reviewed.
 
Hi Welcome Im so sorry about your dad I sure hope he feels better soon............Im a knee but wanted you to know that ..........
 
Welcome Aga!!! So sory about your Dad! I hope you heed Jo's wise advice and that you'll BOTH feel better! Let us know how Dad is feeling!!!((:0)
 
Hi Josephine,

I am indeed a gardener and it was a lovely day today for some gardening.

Thanks for your comments, I have printed it to take to my father when I visit him shortly. As we are in a reasonably small town the surgeon is an orthopaedic surgeon but would not be specialising in hips only, there are 3 surgeons at this hospital who do hips as part of their practice, however none would do them exclusively. We thought this guy was a good bet as we had heard good things about him and he is young so we felt he might be more up to date. By concidence a family member who was training to be a paramedic actually watched two THR ops for his training, one of which was by this doctor and he felt he was definetly the better of the two. However what does he know, he was only training!

Nurses on the ward have said it is extremely unusual and one of the nurses commented that she had only seen one in twelve years.

As to when it happened, he first felt it was not right while he was walking but he has felt since day one that they pushed him too quickly to walk around and that if he had part of this rest at the beginning it wouldnt have happened. Although I do know the walking is as much about clot prevention as exercising the hip.

Anyway will see what the doctor has to say on Monday.

Thanks again.
 
With both knee and hip replacements, they do get you up and moving rapidly after surgery. If your Dad's joint didn't feel "stable" from day one, it sounds to me like there is a placement problem. If so, it will not get better until the joint is implanted properly.

Do you have the ability to get your father to a second opinion at a larger city? That is what you really need to do. If it is, if fact, misaligned, you don't want this same doctor (or any who share his practice) to perform a second operation.
 
I second Jamie's info on getting us up to walk pretty quickly. For me getting up was a challenge (with help of course) once up my hip felt totally normal and pain free.
Good luck with the doctor on monday. Let us know what happens
judy
 
There's far more to surgery than doing the op. There's patient/procedure/implant selection, handling preparation and rehab. Also dealing with complications like this. A seasoned hip replacement surgeon would never suggest immobilisation to treat a dislocation.

Do please get a second opinion somehow. By the time your dad is got out of bed again his hip might be so stiff he'll not be able to walk and the risk of dislocation could still exist. I might be wrong but I don't think I am.
 
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