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Josephine, how long do we usually have to sleep on our back with the abduction pillow between our knees? Better question, how long before I can cross the "midline"? I will wait of course until the doctor tells me it is okay but I just wondered about how long that would be.
 
Requirement for actually using the adbuction pillow varies from surgeon to surgeon, but the restriction on adbuction and flexion - as in bending down or squatting - is usually somewhere around 6 weeks. At that point it is generally accepted that the muscles and other soft tissues surrounding the joint and party to its stability will have regained the tone that was lost by the 'assault' of the surgery and the anaesthetic.
 
Thanks Josephine for such a quick response. I know that surgeons and their staff are busy but I have been pretty disappointed as far as the response to any questions I had. I saw my surgeon only once in the hospital - other days I saw one of his residents who assisted with the surgery. My surgery took 3 to 4 hours rather than the 1 1/2 hours he had estimated and noone bothered to tell my family I was okay until they were able to hunt someone down and find out. I still haven't been told by the surgeon why the surgery took so long other than that some of the cement had broken loose and they had to dig most of it out and they had to replace the top part too because it had a very small cup and the newer parts would not fit it? Shouldn't he have been able to tell that by the xrays he did before surgery and by the fact that that particular part was 18 years old and matched the femoral part that was 25 years old? In any event I think he is probably very good but just doesn't take the time he should with patients. I have an appointment Monday and have a list of questions and do not intend to leave his office until he takes the time to answer them. Again, I have no doubt he is good as I am healing really fast getting stronger every day and my leg is feeling really solid now.
 
I feel for you. The worst thing is to not feel part of the process when it's your own body that's under discussion!

About the length of surgery: first off - when surgeons say "it's going to take me about an hour" he means it's going to take HIM about an hour! Surgeons NEVER include time for being checked into the OR, the anaesthetist checks and preparation, actually giving the anaesthetic - which can take up to ¾ an hour for a general or 1½ hrs for
a spinal - positioning the patient on the table and draping up, removing drapes and cleaning, reversing the anaesthetic plus anything up to 2 hours in recovery.

I can understand your family's anxiety. My sister went through much the same when her son had major surgery for cancerous glands in his neck. Such patients commonly spend 2-3 hours in recovery but the surgeon had told her the op would take 3 hrs. He went down at 1.30pm so as soon as 4.30 came and he wasn't back in the ward, major panic set in! All was well, of course, but it caused her no-end of stress.

Secondly, I would suggest that your surgeon was being overly optimistic in saying it would take him 1½ hrs. I can't ever remember a revision that took less that 2 hrs. The average was 3 hrs
as a minimum, most took 4hrs+. In other words, they were always marathons and any experienced scrub nurse would make double sure they'd had a bite to eat, a drink and a visit to the loo before they scrubbed up!

And I totally agree with your comment about the prostheses though it wouldn't be apparent in a xray - you actually can't tell much
except the outline from an xray - but the age factor should have been enough to tell him the way to go. In fact, in these situations, I always put in my two penn'orth about such things and often the surgeons would come to theatre to discuss them with me as well.

Had one case where a patient had a VERY old plate in his hip that was implanted about 40 years before and required a dedicated instrument to remove it. It took me about a month to track down the original manufacturer and for them to find the instrument in their museum! But we got it and as a result the op went off with no problems.

In your case, I would have recommended that the surgeon ditch the idea of trying to use only new inserts from the get-go as it would be so impractical and the chances of there being a delayed failure would be very real. So I think you got the best in that situation,

Digging out tiny bits of cement from the femoral shaft is always a protracted, frustrating and exhausting process. There are special long thin instruments for this but they are difficult to use as it's a bit like trying to see down a narrow drain pipe whilst manipulating the instrument at the same time.

In the end it is, as you are finding, that he is just a very poor communicator. I hope you get answers when you see him next.
 
I believe you are right about underestimating the time. An assistant is the one that told me 1 1/2 hours and I asked her to double check that which she indicated she had but I agree that a revision should take a minimum of about 3 hours. Despite my issues with his lack of communication I do like the surgeon and his manner he was very positive and confident that he could "fix me" and I would use him again despite the communicaiton issues since the end result with me walking and being active again is so much more important than holding my hand and telling me what is going on. I was spoiled by my last surgeon who retired after my last surgery. He kept me informed every step of the way and always seemed to have time to spend answering my questions. Thanks for your help
 
I am glad things went well. My revision took a long time too, so don't worry about it. I agree, the surgery team should have communicated better. I got prepped around 7:00 am and woke up around 3:00 in the afternoon. Surgery went 5-6 hours they told me. In my case they cut the femur, but it still took a long time to get the old cement out. Everything was replaced just like in your case. A ton of staples and then my wound oozed for a while after they took them out - internal suture spitting they called it. I also had some numbness in my inner thigh, apparently from having a board wedged between my legs for the 5-6 hours while they worked away. It took about three months for the numbness to go away. But everything finally healed up! My surgery was in January, and I went back to work in March ( I am at a desk most of the time). Since the surgery I have taken trips to San Diego, Tampa and New York City and done a lot of walking. Hip is fine now, a little stiffer than the old model - but no pain and I am walking well. Good luck - be patient!
 
Regarding removal of cement: if you can imagine dropping a wine glass onto a carpet and then spending hours picking all the little shards of glass from out of the fibres - that's pretty much what it's like!
 
Linda I am so glad you are doing well. My biggest fear was that the femur would break or that they would have to cut it because my pain was much worse before when the bone was trying to heal and the recovery time they said would be 3 months rather than 6 weeks. I have been feeling a little sorry for myself because my physical therapy has been so painful but I am better now. The pain is still there but I am getting stronger and I can now see the "fruits" of all the hard work. Good luck to you!!
 
Josephine I can see now what you mean and I am very thankful it took as long as it did because hopefully that means they took enough time to get all the loose cement :) Went back for my post op checkup yesterday and Dr answered all my questions and said I am doing fine. I can start back doing things as I feel like it such as driving and working. He said I can start using a cain when I feel comfortable to walk with just the cain rather than walker. There was an amazing difference yesterday as far as the trip to the doctor. It had been just a week since I'd been in a vehicle and it was like a total transformation, I wasn't uncomfortable at all riding and I was strong enough to lift myself up to get into the vehicle (my daughter in law has a truck so I had to pull myself up into the seat). We came back by WalMart and I walked some inside Walmart using my walker. Several employees tried to get me a little cart to ride on but I told them this was part of my physical therapy just making me stronger and stronger. Of course I am pretty sore today from all the walking and moving but it's worth every bit of it.
 
Just an update to let you know how I am getting along. I drove for the first time today and graduated to a cane this weekend. New kinds of pain I guess because I'm using muscles differently walking with the cane. Wednesday will be four weeks and the surgeon says I should do things as I feel I can do them now so although I'm still a little apprehensive I know I am much stronger and on my way to being "free and independent" again!!
 
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