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Scared newbie... Hip is shot. What if it doesn't work!!??

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Josephine i need your help because I'm feeling very confused & upset. I have surgery scheduled with Dr. A who will do MAKOplasty using the anterior approach. I liked him a lot & he was well recommended & with an excellent hospital. His staff are equally good & competent. I felt I had made the right choice using the BS criteria here plus my & my husband's gut feelings. I was glad to hear that he was doing it anteriorly. Some time ago I had scheduled a second opinion with Dr B for next week (also a highly recommended OS at same hospital) who I had actually seen a year ago to consult about my knee. I chose someone else for the knee, but that knee guy doesn't do hips, ergo... Anyway, yesterday I happened to come across an article by Dr. B which scared me. The gist is that he no longer does anterior approach and why. I know this is a great imposition, & I understand fully if you can't do it, but I would love to get your input. Many thanks in either case. I will send it in the following post.
 
Butterfly... The second opinion guy is the one who wrote the article. His reasoning sounds valid to me, but what do I know? Maybe it's a matter of preference. You can read the article above; I sent it to Josephine for feedback. Hope I didn't overstep here.

Re the blood in your urine: the same thing happened during my pre-op testing! They gave me an rx for Cipro or Keflex, said it was a minor UTI, & that was the end if it. Don't worry.

The plastic bag on the bed interests me. How big a bag? Should it hang over the SIDE of the mattress? My problem is swinging up, but I'm gonna try it. How is your day going today? Any calmer? I do hope so... You've come so far. Thanks for all the good input. It helps.
 
shrinkette - can you give us the source of the article you posted please? Jo should be along soon to comment. I found the article very interesting. I really don't think you should be concerned. Your surgeon will use the approach and method he is most comfortable with. If you have concerns - discuss them with him. In the end the relationship you have with your surgeon - along with the trust are the most important factors in moving ahead with this surgery.
 
Jaycey. Many thanks for your response. I'm going to try & copy the page giving the source, but if I can't, is there a way to post a link?

broken link removed: https://holycrossleonecenter.com/blog/william-a-leone-m-d-f-a-c-s-named-2013-top-orthopedic-surgeon-by-castle-connolly-medical-ltd/

Oh!! I guess I did it. Wow. Duh!!
 
I really wouldn't read too much into that. Surgeons are individuals each with their own way of doing things, opinions and points of view. I've often - nay, repeatedly - said on here that the approach really doesn't matter as long as the surgeon is comfortable and skilled at using it. This is key to the whole thing. So if he used to do anterior approaches and for whatever reason, decided not to do it any more, that's his choice. Other surgeons remain more comfortable using it and get good results. But he is right in one thing:there really are no advantages one way or the other. And it's only of importance to the patient for about 4-6 weeks after which, the patient having duly recovered and got back to something like normal, they could care less which approach they had. Research has shown that after that period of time ALL THRs are at about the same level of recovery, regardless of the approach.

So the short answer is, his reasons are his reasons. Your surgeon chooses to do anteriors (as very many do) and most get pretty good results. His reasons, by the way are very technical and only of real importance to the surgeon, not very often to the patient. So please don't worry about it.

Also, I had to remove your second post as it is a breach of copyright to copy/paste and entire article. The rules say that we can replicate up to 20% of the original article along with a link. So I've done that. You can see the appropriate rule here as Rule #12.
 
Jaycey and Josephine... You two women really made my day! I feel so much better after reading your comments. Josephine, you speak from a world of hands-on experience and apparent wisdom, and Jaycey, you made a lot of sense. Oh, the relief!! I almost choked on my bagel when I came upon this just because I'm so darn curious. (What do they say about killing the cat?!). Anyway, glad you could shorten it and sorry for breaking that rule. Much appreciation for putting my mind at ease all the way across the pond. BS RULES! xo
 
shrinkette, I am not on here very often so I have been reading your thread. I had both my hips done. RTHR Dec 2012 and LTHR April 2013. I was in a bad way by the time I had my surgery. I could barely move. Everything hurt so much. Sleep was impossible. Depression was a constant companion. Reading through your thread I was nodding in agreement I was there too. I can honestly say the worst thing about surgery was the waiting for it. It is very much a roller coaster journey. I had so much support from the people on this forum. I do not regret the surgery at all. I can get up and walk when I want to.I don't have to plan everything in advance with a bag full of medication and lots of rest stops. You are not alone. Any questions you have someone will have an answer either by experiencing it themselves or in a professional capacity.
 
Elosarabrab... Aren't you so kind to write! While I don't wish this on anybody, it's always good to know you're not alone. BS is the embodiment of true universality... This common thread. You speak from experience and I can mentally check off everything you mentioned. I'm just so tired, disgusted, and depressed. I think I can truly say I -- almost-- can't wait. For years it was my knee and before I could say, "ooh, nice to walk around without pain!" my hip started to kick in. Well: you've been there and done that and lived to tell and encourage others. I do appreciate the moral support tremendously. Thanks for giving back.
 
shrinkette I didn't use a plastic bag for getting in and out of bed but rather one of the excess doggie pee pads we had...sort of gave me a bigger area to land on! I just put it on the edge of the bed, not hanging over and when I sat on it I could slide around better. Oh and keep a large garbage bag in the car, that does wonders for getting in and out.

I see you have a kitty, got a dog leash laying around by any chance? I was going to buy one of those 'leg lifter' thingies prior to hip one but never did. So glad I didn't the one on the hospital was so thin and flimsy I was afraid I was going to decapitate my foot! Somewhere on here someone mentioned using a dog leash...so much better. I had a nylon leash about an inch wide and the standard 6 foot length. Since I am short I could hold both ends of the leash, swing it over my foot and lift...make sense? Then when boredom set it I would make a lasso and attempt to lasso my foot, pull up the slack and lift! I only used the leash for about a week...one day I just got back into bed without it!!!! Sort of how my recovery from hip one went, couldn't do something one day and the next day I could do it with ease...

I know how you feel right now...I was there and visiting there again...all will be better :console2:
 
flowergirl and Butterfly... Both of you have discussed the use of leg lifters. I was plannimg on ordering one online; nope, don't have a leash. My question is this: surgery will be on LEFT hip. With the headboard at my back, I get into bed on the left side of the bed looking forward. Therefore my RIGHT leg goes up first. Soooooo.... Do I use the lifter on right leg and then left leg? I've been trying to use my upper body to swing legs up, but it's tough. Also, thanks for the plastic bag tips. Will try it out. I find the leather seats in my car make for easier swiveling, too. And there are all kinds of contraptions made for this purpose, but so far I'm managing as long as seat is pushed back and reclined. Flowergirl... You gearing up? Soon, kiddo. And Fluttering One... then you. Did you see those nice responses to my call for help? I feel so much better now. (Until the next crisis/question/anxiety attack)! You both have gotta be so antsy. Yikes! xoxo
 
shrinkette I just use a regular Wal-Mart plastic bag. I just sit on it and then half recline and it is so much easier to swing my legs up on the bed.

I don't have a UTI -- t he culture came back negative, so I have been scaring the heck out of myself on the internet. My GP isn't in the office today, so I left a message and they should call me tomorrow so I can ask him if I should be freaking out or not -- well, I always freak out. The internet can be a very good thing -- like here -- or a very bad thing when you start looking of miscellaneous sites and scaring yourself half to death. I have convinced myself I have bladder cancer and will die of it. I am having a lousy day.

OS office called today and moved my surgery from November 4 to October 28. I guess that is good -- get it over with.

Hope you are having an OK day.

Peace and love.
 
Butterfly... Can't wait to try the plastic bag trick!

Now, about you: as I've told you, I'm a worrier and a "what-if-er" just like you. Does us no good because whatever's going to happen, will happen whether we drive ourselves nuts or not. Yes, the internet's a wonderful thing. I don't know how we lived without it (we went to libraries and had encyclopedias at home!). However, as you also know it can make us nuts. We learn far more than we need to know when we investigate a symptom. Yes -- could be Bubonic Plague or Beri Beri or Condumption, but chances are it's NOT. Sometimes
 
Butterfly... Oops, accidentally posted before I finished sentence. Anyway, often a symptom is self-limiting or, at worst, nothing serious. I sincerely doubt your GP would allow you to undergo surgery if he thought this was concerning. I know that nothing I say now will stop you from torturing yourself. You will stop when you feel adequately reassured. I just wanted you to know that I understand your concern and would suggest only that you STOP THE RESEARCH!!! ;-). Do you think Josephine might be able to make you feel better?

Anyway -- surgery is next Monday now, right? Ok, that means less time for angst. Try to relax. Thinking about you and hoping you find some peace.
 
OK same bed set up and if I could get my short pudgy body into bed so can you! I sat on the edge of the bed (which was 28" off the floor - there was a little step involved), slid back as far as I could on the plastic, Then wiggled (I was shocked how much I was allowed to wiggle) back a bit more. By then my knees were on the bed or at least at the edge. I could sling (OK really it was a slow drag) my right leg onto the bed and then use the leash to lift the left side up. Then I could pull myself around a bit using my arms and lay back onto stack one of the princess pillows.

Now a funny...after all of that I would pull a big fluffy pillow up against my right side to prevent me from rolling over. Then I would wrangle both legs up onto the elevation pile of pillows. And as instructed I would then shove a pillow between my knees...wait there is more...then I placed another pillow up against my left side to hold ice and to keep my right arm straight (that was another problem...). Now cover all of this with a blanket because I froze and am still freezing after surgery. A friend dropped by on the 4th day I was home and when he looked at me in bed all he could say was "can you get out of there yourself?" Yes I could...I just had to plan for things like bathroom runs...
 
shrinkette So the latest in the saga of "Milli scares herself to death" (soon to be a major motion picture) is that my MRSA swab came back positive for colonization in my nose. OS called in some goop to put in my nose twice a day. Anyway I once again made the fatal mistake of looking on the net, and once again scared the you know what out of myself. OS says it will be fine -- not an infection, just some bugs I probably got in hospital last time. They'll also give me some extra antibiotics at surgery. I'm still scared -- gotta quit looking up scary stuff on the internet. Maybe once I can actually DO something else, I'll quit doing that. Right now it is either the internet or Netflix or basically staring at the walls. It is crazy-making!

About the leglifter -- I bet a good dog leash (not too thin) would be cheaper than a fancy-schmancy official leg lifter, and would work the same. I didn't use one with the first hip, dunno why, just didn't. The one thing I CANNOT live without is a grabber. Actually you need at least two -- one for picking up the other one that you dropped or that just fell on the floor, or to use when you can't figure out where you left the first one. And one of those dressing stick things is extremely handy, too, for pulling up your pants or to help hold them while you get the other leg in. Amazing the things you suddenly cannot do when your hips go to pot.

I did finally break down and order one of those fancy pillows for leg elevation. I got really tired of them slipping off the bed or coming unstacked or whatever you can think of and just decided to spring for the leg elevator. Kind of pricey, but I need it, esp. since I'm having the next surgery on Monday. I'm going to try it out tonight if I ever get to bed.

I hope you are doing well (well, well as can be expected with a wrecked hip) and it looks like you are almost looking forward to your hip replacement. Believe me, you will be AMAZED at how much better you feel pretty much right away -- after the drug induced haze wears off and you can remember who you are, that is. I pretty much had the drug induced haze the whole time I was in the hospital, for which, by the way, I was very grateful.

Peace and love to you
 
I started long replies twice & lost them both -- too frustrating!! I'll be back. xxx
 
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