THR Left Hip THR scheduled for June 11th

Kevininnc

junior member
Joined
Jun 5, 2021
Messages
33
Country
United States United States
Gender
Male
Hi there

I found this forum a few weeks ago and there is a ton of useful information on here that I am very thankful for.

So here's to adding to it with my journey.

Thanks

Kevin
 
Has anyone had any experience with the in home Physical therapy some surgeons do as part of the surgery? I have my surgery on Friday June 11th and then have in home therapy 3 times a week for 2 weeks which is considered part of the surgery. Post 2 weeks, I schedule PT at the orthopedic on site location as needed and this is in addition to the surgery cost.

I'm wondering how common this is and do they show up with all of their own equipment, table etc? I have not had the opportunity to talk directly to them yet.

Also, I'm still a bit nervous about the possibility of squeaking post surgery depending on the type of prosthetic used. I do have a question in to my surgeon on that. I want to be able to be active when all of this is done. I can't imagine doing karate kata 6 months from now and squeaks occurring during the kata performance.
 
Hi @Kevininnc and :welome: to BoneSmart, glad you found us. I will leave our recovery guidelines and answer you questions below.


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:
Score Chart: How bad is my arthritic hip?
Choosing a surgeon and a prosthesis
BMI Calculator - What to do if your surgeon says you're too heavy for joint replacement surgery
Longevity of implants and revisions: How long will my new joint last?

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:
Recovery Aids: A comprehensive list for hospital and home
Recliner Chairs: Things you need to know if buying one for your recovery
Pre-Op Interviews: What's involved?

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:
Stories of amazing hip recoveries
 
PT regimens vary greatly, but one of the most important things to remember is all hips really need to recover is walking. Hopefully PT will help you evaluate and improve getting in and out of bed, making sure your walker is adjusted properly etc. What ever you do DON’T let them push you in anyway that causes discomfort. You won’t be rehabbing a sports injury, you will be healing from major surgery, aggressive PT will set you back, not speed your recovery.
 
Hi @Kevininnc

I think the squeaking is pretty rare but can understand your concern! I worked in a school and my hip clicked (pre-surgery). It was embarrassing and distracting when the kids were doing their standardized testing.

(On a lighter note, I gotta say it gave me the giggles thinking about a squeaky hip in a quiet, serious performance. Not funny if is happening to you, of course.)

Talk to your surgeon about it. I bet he or she will reassure you.
 
Hello and welcome! My at-home PT consisted in the therapist checking my mom’s house (where I was recovering) for any safety issues, seeing how I was doing getting out of bed and standing up, checking how I was moving around the house, and making recommendations about what walking aids I needed to be using for safety. Exercises were just things like lifting the leg up, moving it out to the side, or rolling up onto my toes, no more than 10x. After a while, the therapist put a belt around my waist for safety and had me walk into the living room and back to bed. First with the aid, then without. He told me when it was safe to go from the walker to the cane, also. Other than that, he also checked my heart rate and blood pressure every time he came.

That was really it. Good luck with your surgery next week! :)
 
Squeaking occurred with ceramic on ceramic devices. Most people don't get ceramic on ceramic. Most people these days get ceramic on cross-linked polyethylene. The cross-linked polyethylene is the liner to the hip cup (acetabular cup) ... Ceramic on ceramic devices traditionally do not have liners.

So unless you're getting ceramic on ceramic, you can let go of your worry ...

But actually, you really don't need to worry even if you get ceramic on ceramic. There are excellent surgeons who use ceramic on ceramic and my sense is the squeaking was a problem among some patients with an earlier generation of the devices. I think the manufacturers went to work to solve that problem.

I don't sense this is a problem anymore.
 
PT regimens vary greatly, but one of the most important things to remember is all hips really need to recover is walking. Hopefully PT will help you evaluate and improve getting in and out of bed, making sure your walker is adjusted properly etc. What ever you do DON’T let them push you in anyway that causes discomfort. You won’t be rehabbing a sports injury, you will be healing from major surgery, aggressive PT will set you back, not speed your recovery.
Thank you, that's great advice. My Dad had both hips replaced and my younger sister had her left hip replaced. Both in Ireland, not the US. I'm a martial artist and have only been able to put this off this long because of doing PT for a month or two, learning as much as I could from the process and then continuing my own flexibility and strengthening program. Compared to Ireland, the amount of PT they want you to do here post a hip replacement is excessive I think and to a certain extent, I feel it is taking advantage of patients. I'm by no means inferring PT is not worth while, but it should be appropriate. I'll be focusing on getting back walking mostly. It will be so nice to eventually walk without discomfort. :)
 
Hi @Kevininnc

I think the squeaking is pretty rare but can understand your concern! I worked in a school and my hip clicked (pre-surgery). It was embarrassing and distracting when the kids were doing their standardized testing.

(On a lighter note, I gotta say it gave me the giggles thinking about a squeaky hip in a quiet, serious performance. Not funny if is happening to you, of course.)

Talk to your surgeon about it. I bet he or she will reassure you.
:heehee: That's funny.

Yes, the reason I was a little concerned is that I tend to hyper focus on sounds that annoy me and the idea of a squeak I can't get away from because it is coming from my body is not something I'd look forward to.
 
Hello and welcome! My at-home PT consisted in the therapist checking my mom’s house (where I was recovering) for any safety issues, seeing how I was doing getting out of bed and standing up, checking how I was moving around the house, and making recommendations about what walking aids I needed to be using for safety. Exercises were just things like lifting the leg up, moving it out to the side, or rolling up onto my toes, no more than 10x. After a while, the therapist put a belt around my waist for safety and had me walk into the living room and back to bed. First with the aid, then without. He told me when it was safe to go from the walker to the cane, also. Other than that, he also checked my heart rate and blood pressure every time he came.

That was really it. Good luck with your surgery next week! :)

Thanks for the info. It will be interesting to see the extent of in home PT in my case. I have a ridiculously high pain threshold and have recovered stupidly fast from surgery in the past but I'm being ultra conservative about this one because I know that hip surgery is no joke on the body. The high pain threshold may sound like a good thing but it so isn't. Pain is your body's warning system and mine is only half working basically.

Thank you for the best wishes :)
 
Squeaking occurred with ceramic on ceramic devices. Most people don't get ceramic on ceramic. Most people these days get ceramic on cross-linked polyethylene. The cross-linked polyethylene is the liner to the hip cup (acetabular cup) ... Ceramic on ceramic devices traditionally do not have liners.

So unless you're getting ceramic on ceramic, you can let go of your worry ...

But actually, you really don't need to worry even if you get ceramic on ceramic. There are excellent surgeons who use ceramic on ceramic and my sense is the squeaking was a problem among some patients with an earlier generation of the devices. I think the manufacturers went to work to solve that problem.

I don't sense this is a problem anymore.
Thank you, thank you. Good info here that I have not been able to find. My surgeon is supposed to respond to my questions tomorrow so this is perfect timing already having this knowledge in hand. :thankyou:
 
At this point, I'm getting more comfortable with the idea that I am ready for this. I'm a planner if its not already apparent ;)

I still have some stuff to do to make sure that my family don't have to worry about taking care of things I usually would have to do in the time period of 2-3 weeks post surgery.

Walker - check
Cane - check
Flexigold gel ice packs - check
5 inch toilet seat riser - check
Adjustable toilet rail grab bar - check
Sock aid - check
Elevation pillow - check
Leg lifter - check
Loose pants/shorts and slide on sneakers - check.
Already have my prescriptions filled and laxative on the ready.
Lazy boy recliner is upstairs but I'm debating bring that downstairs. I'm hoping to be able to climb stairs post surgery even if slowly.

Can any one see anything obvious I have missed. I don't live alone so I have help for getting stuff or reaching stuff. We have 300 lbs of dogs so that's going to be interesting getting them used to staying away from Dad and no dog walking for a bit of course.
 
I have a ridiculously high pain threshold and have recovered stupidly fast from surgery in the past but I'm being ultra conservative about this one because I know that hip surgery is no joke on the body.
Sounds like you have a good plan @Kevininnc. Being an active guy with a high pain threshold, letting your body rest enough to heal will be your biggest challenge. The fact that you are aware of that is a big step in the right direction. Recovery isn’t quick, but I think you will be pleased with the results.
 
You have a good list going there! I found a long scrub brush for the shower to be necessary for the first couple of weeks. I’m also glad I got an ice machine from Amazon and wish I had ordered it before the surgery. Calling my mom to get up and change out the ice packs a couple of times a night was hard on both of us. Waiting until morning was not an option for me. It was about $200, but I’m still using it. There was a time that I thought I was done with needed the ice enough to justify having it around, but I see now that the ice is going to be a long-term thing! I’m still glad I made the investment.
 
The one I got on Amazon is called the “Ossur Cold Rush Therapy Machine System.” They have several different brands, but I liked this one because I was able to select a left hip pad for it, which I’m finding is also a fine shape for the right hip. I’m happy with it, it is very good quality and it doesn’t make any noise.

It is basically just a smaller version of the one they had me using in the hospital, though I find it to be just as effective. It’s a little cooler that you put a bit of water in, then fill up with ice. When it is turned on, the water is circulated through some tubes and into the hip pad continuously so it stays cold for about 6 hours or so. It really works!
 
Best Wishes tomorrow, Kevin. Will be watching for you on the healing side.
See you there soon! :wave:
@Kevininnc
 

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Staff online

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,180
Messages
1,597,061
BoneSmarties
39,364
Latest member
All2Gd88
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom