It is now 5 weeks since I was sliced and diced like a Christmas turkey at university Hospital in Augusta GA, where I received a right sided full hip replacement. Before the details fade,as they do with me,especially those things I am trying to remember, I want to recount all the details with as much thoroughness as possible.
The day of my surgery, Feb 18, I reported, as instructed to the pre-op department at 8am, after a rather sleepless night due to the anxieties of the forthcoming event. My surgery was scheduled for 10:30 but due to unforeseen circumstances (that is their way of telling me to be patient, which I was short on), my surgery did not commence until 12:30pm. My wonderful husband, Rob stuck around and waited, much more patiently than myself, until the moment they wheeled me away. After my arrival, I was led into a room, and given one of the fashionable hospital gowns in a lovely shade of pea green, complete with no back. This is their kind way of removing any semblance of dignity that you may have brought with you for the duration of your stay.I was then put thru IV course 101 where I was poked and prodded not once but 3 times before finally, success!! It seemed that my veins had other ideas than being present for the occasion. The anesthesiologist,who had the bedside manner of a doormat, came by, asked a few questions, such as allergies, etc. and promptly left. The surgeon, Dr Larry Carter, popped in, initialed my hip, and said he'd see me soon. It appeared he was eager to begin the business at hand. As the time got closer, a nurse anethesist dropped by with a cocktail of meds (celebrex, tylenol, oxycontin, and versed).This combo is guaranteed to ease pain and anxiety as well as create amnesia until I find myself in post op---which is exactly how it went. Well sort of. I was determined that I wanted to see the table that allowed the surgeon to do the anterior approach that I desired. After a kiss from my husband, which I still don't recollect, I was wheeled into the OR suite, where I looked to see the table, had an oxygen mask put on my face and slipped into peaceful oblivion.I am going to give an account of what transpired, even though I was totally unaware but learned after the fact.
An incision was made on the front portion of my right thigh roughly 5 inches long. The muscles below were divided and retracted until the joint was in view. The hip was dislocated, the head of the femur was unceremoniously sawed off, inspected and disposed of. The pelvic socket or acetabulum was then reamed to smooth out the area in preparation of the metal liner that would hold the polyethylene liner and any bone spurs were removed. A ceramic ball, attached to the end of a spike was fitted down into the femur, with the aid of hammers and chisels, which made me wonder if I had been in an operating room or a body shop. The ball was inserted into the socket, the capsule reattached, and the skin closed, in my case with stitches instead of staples. A drain tube was left in the wound site to clear out any left over blood. According to my way of looking at it, the surgery was a big, gruesome, bucket of blood type of affair. But I have absolutely no memory of being there.
I woke up in post op after the conclusion wondering if my knees had been hammered on in the process because they felt like they were the ones that had endured the insult of surgery. The incision didn't hurt but it took about an hour and 20 mg of morphine to get the knees settled down. Other than the knee pain, I had little sense of the hammering and sawing that took place. My mouth felt like an entire army with muddy boots had marched through, and ice was gladly welcomed as soon as I was alert. With the pain controlled and some ice in tow,I was on my way to my room at about 5pm.
I had the luxury of having a catheter during the procedure and for the first night so there was no need to worry about having a crisis of needing to "Go" and having to fight with a bedpan. But this was short-lived because it seemed that my bladder was having a crisis of its own. For some reason that I have yet to understand, the bag lost its suction ability, so I had the feeling of discomfort in the bladder region. So for the remainder of the time I had the catheter, someone had to come in and adjust the tubing so it would drain and provide relief to my overextended bladder. The first time this was done, the word relief just didn't serve justice to the feeling.
By this time, hunger had made itself known. I was treated to a lovely dinner of broth, jello and sprite. I chatted with my daughter and son, but have no real recollection of the conversations. But I don't think I got too strange or I would have heard about it at a later time. Once the bladder emergency was over, you would think I would have gone into a narcotic induced slumber, but it wasn't to be. The morphine that I was given caused mouth dryness that made me wonder if I had eaten the remnants of a sheetrock wall. So during the night I drank an obscene amount of water to counteract the effect. This in turn, along with the large amount of IV fluid I was getting, caused my bladder to require intervention numerous times during the night. My wonderful spouse had stayed the night with me but he was in a near comatose state, so with no one to chat with, the TV and I spent the evening entertaining each other.
The first full day wasn't too bad, except for the fact that I wanted desperately to lay on my side, which when I tried, felt like I had been disassembled at the hip, so my back was the position of choice. My surgeon was the first to stop by, just long enough to tell me to hold my breath and expeditiously remove the drain. After breakfast, physical therapy paid me a visit for my first attempt at road testing my new hip. After twenty four hours on my back, I was amazed to be upright, but once I took that first step and realized there was no bone shearing pain, I looked at my husband with amazement and tears in my eyes!! The new joint didn't hurt at all, but the surgical wound felt like a balloon that was stretched to the point of almost bursting. But with each step, the tightness seemed to dissipate. The oddest feeling was that my leg felt like I had gotten a California redwood installed instead of a new hip. I am sure with the way they chopped and sawed while flopping my leg this way and that caused the feeling of a log for a leg. We traveled about 50 feet down the hallway and back. By the time I returned to the room, I felt like I had run a marathon. Another highlight of the day was getting the catheter removed, leaving me with the need to get up every hour or so for a potty run. I say run lightly, because everytime I had to go, it was a major event. I felt like I was training for the Olympics.
Day 2 started with a blood draw, which showed that the one pint of blood I was given immediately post op did the trick and that my count was good. During the night, I had gotten good at getting up and getting back into bed due to the frequent bathroom runs. So from around 7am on, I did so without any help at all, which made me feel a little less helpless. Physical therapy had me walk the entire way around the floor and climb steps in preparation for going home.
During the entire time in the hospital, my pain was successfully managed with ice and medication so I never experienced any real severe pain. My bandage was changed and replaced with one that was waterproof and looked like a large bandaid, enabling me to shower once I got home. To end my hospital stay, the IV was removed and I was sent home in the custody of my husband.
I am now stationed on the couch or in the recliner in our living room with pillows and ice packs. The first few days I puttered around with the walker, but once my in home physical therapist visited, I ditched the walker for a cane. My stitches will come out on day 13. The surgical site is still swollen,but I take my meds by the clock and keep ice close at hand. Overall the pain has been quite manageable even though I am amazingly weak and tire quickly. I realized how important daytime naps are, they aren't a luxury but a necessity. Each day the exercises are getting easier and I see improvements daily.
I am now 5 weeks past my surgery and feel that I am well on my way into recovery, although I still have quite a while before I will be able to do the things I love.But I know I have come a long way since my journey began.
Bonesmart has been a critical part of my getting to the surgery date and beyond. In fact, I don't even want to think of what this would have been like without the knowledge that I gleaned from being a member. I recommend that anyone who has a joint replacement surgery in their future or has recently been through it become a member and get all the information you can from this site. I found out things about my surgery and recovery that I wouldn't have known had it not been for them. Thanks Bonesmart and its members for being there for me and allowing me to be a part of your online family!!
United States
Once you get on the recovery side and regain your strength maybe you can try again. It was energizing to be able to do something I love besides walking and PT. I haven't had
