He told me that there are ONLY two places I should be going to for information on the internet re joint replacement: the Mayo Clinic and the Board of Orthopedic Surgeons.
Well, I'm sure you can get good information there. But there's NOTHING like picking the brains of the people who've been there. That would be us.
He also told me he ONLY does posterior. I'm a newbie to all of this. However, several friends of mine who have had THR have had it done anteriorly. And I had read (various sites, hah!) on the internet that recovery was quicker when an anterior procedure is done because muscles are not cut. He dispelled that, stating that muscles are cut in both procedures--and that the recovery is the same in both procedures. ???
This is interesting. I had what they call postero-lateral. That's basically going in through the side of your butt. Muscles were "teased apart" rather than cut. Interestingly, my surgeon was an early adapter of the anterior method but found that, for him, he got better visuals with the posterior method and he preferred the tools used in posterior. I guess he found that there was a greater likelihood (but still very low) that the special table used for anterior surgery resulted in the occasional (I think) ankle dislocation. So he's back to posterior. But his partner swears by anterior. Go figure. My understanding is that there are fewer restrictions after anterior surgery but despite my fear of breaking the "hip precautions," most of the things you aren't supposed to do after posterior you wouldn't want to do anyway 'cos they'd hurt! Bottom line, your surgeon doesn't want to screw up any more than you want him to, so if you trust him and feel confident, it's all good.
I also have to have a dental clearance. They won't put me on the surgical schedule until they have it in hand. I have an appt in October but have asked to be called if there's a cancellation. I've had the labwork done and completed the interview with the nurse.
I needed cardiac clearance, lab work and GP clearance. I guess dental clearance is pretty common.
He told me that it would be in/out the same day. Yikes!!! Boy howdy, have things changed in the medical world. I have to say that made me swallow hard, it was said so matter-of-factly. Phew! And there's a sterility procedure to follow with bathing, starting a week or two prior to surgery. I guess it's putting the risk of infection onto the patient's shoulders rather than onto the hospital, where it would have been in the past?
There appear to be a number of reasons why this same-day-surgery is preferred. First, there are sick people in the hospital and the quicker you're out of there, the less likely you are to catch some yucky bug. It's thought that people heal better in the comfort of their own surroundings, so home is good. They will schedule nursing and PT visits to your home. Also, anesthesia and surgery have improved so much that what used to mean a 5 day stay in the hospital has been cut back to less than a day. I had my first hip done in a hospital -- they called it a 23 hour stay. I got to eat a lousy dinner and spend the night, then was booted out the next morning. My next one, same doc, will be done in an outpatient surgery center. Same 23 hour stay. Hopefully the food will be better.
Lots of great information here on bonesmart and more moral support than you can imagine!