THR I am now bionic

[Softtail]

@Softtail good to see you're doing so well. Happy the PT session went well and seems to be on the right track. It's great that you keep popping in with updates, it will really help others trying to make that decision to have the surgery and the ones that are wondering if what they're experiencing is normal.

Elf1, That’s my hope too. Kind of a win win situation.

 

[Softtail]

Ok day 13,4 days before I see the doctor. My wife looked at my incision which looks good but was disturbed by the humped swelling right over it. While my leg itself is not excessively swollen , the hump under the incision looks like you took an empty toilet paper core , put it under skin and pulled the incision tight over it. She wanted me to call the doctor just in case so I did. We have a setup at our hospital that’s called “My Care” where I can message him and send pictures of the incision. After doing so ,the doctor replied that all is normal ,with a small hematoma possible under skin. He told me it was nothing to worry about if there was no seepage,unusual pain, or redness which there is not. I will attempt to add the pictures As they are worth a thousand words , here in hopes that another member may benefit from the information.
Aside from swelling, everything is going great. Enough so that My wife and I picked up a load of firewood which was previouslycut from our daughters, split some older wood and stacked outside door. Yes my wife was the real workhorse here, but I was awesome on the hydraulic splitter lol.

 

[Jaycey]

Sorry you are dealing with this but it should be absorbed eventually. It's good you could call your surgeon. Just keep an eye on this. Ice if needed. Just a bump in the recovery road.

 

[Ozinthedesert]

I’m glad you got the incision checked out and that all was ok. You sound like you are traveling really well! That’s great.

 

[Mojo333]

My biggest “pain” so to speak is once I have been sitting for awhile , it takes me a minute to get fully erect when I stand up. Trying to describe the sensation it’s like my new hip leg is tight and needs to be stretched in groin and incision area for short time standing still till I can get fully erect

Things after still healing and I referred to my first steps upon rising as "stutter steps"
Was very normal for me at the point you are at...tightness at this stage is normal.
Some may be from the sitting, some may be forom some overactivity prior to.
Figuring it out can be a bit tricky...but all sounds very normal.
Ice is still nice so hope you are chilling.

 

[Softtail]

Thanks everyone. Mojo , I figured those stutter steps were pretty normal early on , but always nice to hear someone else has gone thru it. Watching some recorded golf, just finished icing my swollen area below incision. For most part I am able to get around good, but it’s always those differences you experience from one proceedure to next that keeps that “is this normal” question in the front of your mind thru the healing process. Once I get to see the doctor in person this coming Monday, is when I will likely really relax .

 

[Layla]

Once I get to see the doctor in person this coming Monday, is when I will likely really relax .

There is nothing like reassurance from the surgeon that all appears as it should and you’re progressing normally.
Try not to waste too much time worrying though because it seems you are doing very well.
I hope you have a nice weekend!

 

[Softtail]

Well after flying along , my trip to the surgeon was not as good as hoped. He said I have a hematoma under the incision and he has to open it up and clean it out.. Guess it was too much to hope for to have 4 perfect recoveries. For anyone that has to go thru this proceedure I will follow up on Wednesday once it is complete. I am told it is a minor surgery that does not involve disturbing the insert or lower tissues, just a clean out and possible cauterization if there is a leaky vessel involved. In and out under general anesthesia. Minor setback but it still sucks

 

[Hip4life]

Follow up procedures can be discouraging but it should help get recovery back on track. I had this develop with a non joint incision. It was good to get that incision back to normal. It might be a bit uncomfortable afterward but nothing you can’t deal with. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[leejaa]

Sorry you have to have this procedure but the good part is that it is not involving the joint itself. Sounds like you will be able to get back to the recovery journey without issues. Sending healing vibes your way.

 

[Softtail]

Hip and Leejay thanks for the encouragement. Was definitely bummed out when he told me I would have to check back in to hospital to reopen incision to clean out. I was hoping it would be a simple stick in a needle and pull out the junk. Apparently not that simple. Also ,as he said , if their is a vessel leaking ,he will cauterize it. Crazy the things that can happen along the way ,especially since at two week mark I am walking around with no pain just some soreness and numbness around the hip area.

 

[Layla]

Aww, I’m so sorry. Being discouraged is understandable. We’ll be thinking of you on Wednesday. Wishing you only the best and perfect healing as a result of the
procedure.
Will look forward to an update when you’re feeling up to it.
@Softtail

 

[leejaa]

Sending positive vibes for tomorrow.

 

[Mojo333]

I'm sorry this has put a link in your recovery chain, @Softtail
Sending good mojo your way as you get this resolved tomorrow.

 

[Softtail]

From my hospital room. What was supposed to be an ambulatory proceedure turned into over niter.
originally I was thought it o have a hematoma , but it turned out I had a seroma instead. Apparently a seroma is a collection of fluid that can collect after a surgery and under normal circumstances if small can resolve itself. If you have seen the pictures I posted earlier, mine was anything but small , hence the decision to go in and remove. Sitting here in hospital room I have a small drain in the incision which I am told will stay in for a couple of days.
Pain wise it’s very mild as the incision , as I was told presurgery , would not get into the deep layers. If I find out different I will update on additional post.
Oddly enough I was more anxious prior to this surgery than I was for any of my hip replacements. Reason being , I knew what they were doing prior to hip replacement , go in take out old, put in new, recover, heal , and enjoy new knee. With this , I had no idea what they would find , hematoma, clot , or worse. Will follow up with more tomorrow after discussion with surgeon on expected outcome

 

[leejaa]

The unknown is more stressful for sure. Now it is done so you can get more answers and proceed. Have a peaceful night.

 

[Layla]

Hello there, I hope you’re resting comfortably and feeling confident that you’re on the way to perfect healing with this procedure behind you. I‘m including an explanation of a seroma as a better understanding for those stopping by your thread.

The definition of a seroma is "a pocket of clear serous fluid that sometimes develops in the body after surgery. This fluid is composed of blood plasma that has seeped out of ruptured small blood vessels and inflammatory fluid produced by the injured and dying cells." which pretty much describes a bursa!

Take advantage of the attention and care you’ll receive in the hospital. You’ll be home before you know it. Wishing you a night of peaceful relaxation and restorative rest. You’re on your way to brighter days.
@Softtail

 

[Ozinthedesert]

Oh @Softtail I am sorry to hear about your setback. I am glad they could get you in and get it taken care of and I hope you remain comfortable. Hopefully this is just a little bump in the road and you can get back to your recovery journey in no time.

 

[Woodstockhip]

Sorry to hear about your seroma but now you can get back to healing!

 

[Softtail]

Thanks Ozinthedesert and Woodstockhip for incouragement. Llaya that’s exactly what it was. Doctor stopped in and said everything went well and I have a drain that he will remove this coming Monday. When he opened the outside incision he told me he was able to remove all the serous fluid, and the underneath layer looked great. Just to make sure there was going to be no further leakage I believe he said he put in a few more stitches there. Since he had to open up the full length of my origina incision , he put stitches in instead of glue ,explaining to me he could get tighter closure of incision with stitches. After spending night ,I left for home the following day at noon with my incision drain in place. Hip itself feels great with less tightness than felt before surgery which is not surprising since the big lump is removed.
No longer need any support when walking, so pretty much fully ambulatory now. Can’t wait to get drain removed and get on with longer walks to build leg strength back up.