Overseas trip after Bilateral THR?

[AnnieS]

Hi, My husband has his Bilateral THR on the 18/12/07.
We asked the doctor if it was okay to travel overseas on the 28/01/08 (8 hour flight) post his surgery? He said it was okay as long as his recovery was within the expected/average time period. His first post op doctors visit is on the 26/01/08.
He is doing okay now walking with crutches with no pain. He is staying at a rehab faclity and does physio everyday.
My concern is the time on the plane and what implications are for him? Has anyone done this before and would this overseas travel would be too soon for him?
Any insights would be great.

 

[Josephine]

Hmm - well, I would take the precaution of talking to the airline and making sure it will be possible for him to have a lie down during the flight. Or, if you can possibly afford it, upgrade to club class (or whatever they call it now) so he can use the recliner feature on the seat. An 8hr flight - he's going to need it, in my opinion.

 

[AnnieS]

Hi Josephine,
Thanks for your reply. We will talk to his doctor and see what he thinks and also see his progress during this time.
I hadn't thought about sitting in the plane issue, I was more thinking about medical issues such as blood clotting/circulation, cause of the air pressure, dislocation? But I suppose these are all related to sitting down for such a long period of time.
Have you had any patients travelling long over haul flights in an ordinary seating? I'm not sure if we can make changes as we had already pre booked and paid. But if it will cause an issues then either we will have to upgrade to just cancel the trip all together.

Has anyone done Hydrotheraphy? My husband went to 2 sessions and he loves it. His has made significant progress since attending. After his first session, he changed from the frame walker to crutches. He could only walk a little bit and tired very easily. After the 2nd session, he was able to walk 1kms, no pain and still feel okay.
He says hydrotheraphy enables him to feel more confident and do exercises more easily.
He still goes to the gym and does other exercises, but he feels hydrotheraphy gives him the most improvement.
Annie

 

[Josephine]

The blood clotting is always an issue even for fit or non-post-surgical people! But he could be prescribed some prophylactic medication to reduce that risk. Getting up and moving around a lot and doing quads/calf exercises are a good preventatives too. The best ones, in fact. And a good pair of knee-high compression stockings. I don't think the possibility of dislocation factors into it.


So far as personal experience goes, I had a friend who embarked on a long train journey of around 6 hrs some weeks after a THR (approved by her doctor)and regretted it badly, principally because all the time all she wanted to do was be able to get horizontal and couldn't! It took her days to recover from that and how she dreaded the return journey which wasn't much different. I would take any and all precautions you can. Speak with the airline and explain the problem. Most are very sympathetic and helpful where these situations are concerned. Just explain that you hadn't considered there would be too much of a problem until you enquired around else you would have discussed it before you booked. Doesn't do any harm to play the sympathy vote if it gets you what you need, eh?!