THR THR done on right hip, on to recovery!

boricuaterp

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Had my thr done about 4 hours ago. Surgeon went with an anterolateral approach, instead of a direct anterior one (removing hardware from previos hip pinning surgery and degree of hip fracture influenced his decision). No intraoperative complications, fractures, etc. Spinal anesthesia/sedation was used.

Have not walked on new hip just yet. Have not gone to bathroom to pee yet. Tightness/soreness around buttock and side of thigh. Pain around 2-3, tolerable, managing with Tylenol every 6 hours. Slight scratchy throat (I use a CPAP machine at home, and I’m a mouth breather, so I’m chalking it up to that).

Waiting to go to the bathroom to start the discharge process and be sent home. Thanks to all the folks in the forum that have sent me get well wishes!
 
Hello @boricuaterp - and :welome: to recovery.

Here are our recovery guidelines for you - lots of short but informative articles.
Hip Recovery: The Guidelines

People are all different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for YOU.“ Your doctor(s), physiotherapist(s) and BoneSmart are here to help, but YOU are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.

1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary.

2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

5. Try to follow this

6. Access these pages on the website


Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
Drive thru joint replacement. Gotta love it! Congrats…it’s over! :yes!:

Safe travels home. Let us know how the journey home went and how you’re doing once you’re settled in, comfy and feel like sharing an update. Wishing you lots of comfort and a peaceful evening back home. :)
@boricuaterp
 
Sounds good, I know with my pins the OS wanted and needed plenty of room to work to remove them.
 
Hi Bonesmart folks!

I got back home around 3:15pm, after about a 45 minute drive, so I was released around 2:30pm. Total time from surgery to release from surgery center about 6 hrs. The nurses mentioned that I could’ve been released earlier, had I gone to the bathroom earlier! Drive thru joint replacement indeed!

I ate something light, went upstairs using my crutches (managed 16 steps) and then crashed on a recliner chair until about 15 minutes ago.

Before the surgery, I took a cocktail of pills, that included Celebrex, Lyrica, Tylenol and Aspirin. At home, I took more Lyrica (scheduled to take once every 8 hours) and in a couple more hours, I’ll be taking the Tylenol, Celebrex and the Aspirin. I’m trying to manage the pain without the Oxycodone, but if I need to take it, I will.

Pain level is hovering around 2-3, maybe 4, mostly concentrated around the glute area (I’m able to manage it).

I haven’t gotten up the chair yet after my nap, but I will do it soon (I’m trying to pace myself and not join the ‘over do it club’ lol).
 
You sound good but definitely try to stay ahead of the pain, much harder to play catch up. Not sure if you're using ice and elevating but they are both fantastic to help with the pain. Continue to take it slow and easy, welcome to the healing side and being home already!. :yes!:
 
@Elf1, I took your advice and took the Oxycodone at the scheduled time. I gotta assume that once the nerve block is out of my system, the pain level is going to increase, so it is probably better to nip it at the bud.

:thankyou:
 
Taking the pain pills as prescribed is a better idea than waiting until you are in pain and need relief. We think it's some sign of weakness that we take pain pills but they can make the recovery a lot easier. Ice is the big trick, they had ice on me as soon as I was out of recovery and it felt great.
 
Good morning Bonesmart community!

Here’s my latest update. I walked around the house yesterday with my walker, trying to concentrate on stepping heel-to-toe. I was feeling good and motivated, but in the end I think I over did it a little bit. I started to feel swollen and a little bit of pain, and at that point I stopped.

I went upstairs with my crutches, elevated and iced the area. That calmed down the swelling and the pain. I slept through the night with no pain.

My surgeon called me this morning to see how I was doing. He explained that the swelling and bruising is normal, and that the pain should start to come down in the next few days.

I think things are moving along just fine. The doctor told me to hang in there, and just be patient, and that is what I’m planning to do.
 
Hello…thanks for the update! :)
It is good you realized you overdid it, it can be difficult to know our limits, until we’ve already pushed it too far. I’m sorry you were hurting, but thankfully better now after ice and rest. Wow, what an awesome surgeon! Mine never even checked on me after surgery and I didn’t see him until three months post op. It was always his PA.

Something that helped me in the early weeks to use as a rough gauge for activity was The Activity Progression for THR which I’ll leave here -

Wishing you a peaceful Sunday and a good week!
@boricuaterp
 
Sounds like you have a good OS with a good program. It really is sad that many don't even get to talk to their OS at all post-op.
 
I was actually surprised that he called me on Sunday morning to follow up with me. I feel that my OS is just a great human being that wants me to do well and have a nice recovery. I am very grateful to have found him after all the research that I conducted. I was willing to travel anywhere for this treatment. I was very lucky to find him literally next door!

I am also grateful to live in these times where technology has made it so easy for the world to have all this information at hand to make informed decisions, especially when it comes to health matters.
 
Hello Bonesmart community,

It’s been a little over 2 weeks after my surgery, and things are moving in the right direction. I am able to walk inside the house. Yesterday, I took 2 walks, 10 and 25 minutes. After the longer walk, I started getting some pain in my right buttock (not intense), and I switched over to using the cane, rest, ice and elevation for the remainder of the day. Today, I’m going to do less walking and using the cane more.

On a side note, I found this article while I was doing some research prior to having surgery. It looks very promising, especially since there is a scientist involved in this investigation that deals with infections in prosthetic implants. Hopefully, this opens up new roads in the management of infections, without relying so much in antibiotics:

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/new...-weapon-against-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria
 
Hello and Happy Tuesday! :wave: Thanks for updating. Good to read you’re resting and icing after possibly overdoing it. I’m sure you’ll be back on track very soon.

Thanks for sharing the informative article. It is interesting and shows promise in the area of dealing with infection post op.

A great rest of the week to you!
@boricuaterp
 
That is an interesting and promising article! Thanks so much for posting it for us. I've added it to our BoneSmart library.
 
Happy One Month Anniversary!
I hope you’re doing well and enjoying steady progress as you hit this milestone. I remember one month post op. I recall I was feeling pretty good and thinking that all the anxiety I went through leading up to surgery, was worth the result. Hope you’re feeling the same.
Have a great week!
@boricuaterp
 
Hello Bonesmart community!

I stopped going to PT a little over 2 weeks ago. In one of my last PT sessions, the trainer had me doing straight leg raises with weight. I felt pain near my groin after doing 8 reps on the very first set. I stopped the set right there, and let the trainer know that I wasn’t doing any more of those again :bignono:. That night, I was in a world of hurt :censored:. On the final PT session I went to, they had me doing bridges. Again, that left me in a lot of pain, that time on my inner thigh and lower buttock :hissy:. When I cancelled my PT, I let my OS know about it. He didn’t try to stop me, or suggest that I should stick with PT.

I decided to concentrate on just walking to rehab, focusing on heel-to-toe walking. The pain has subsided quite nicely, and I’m walking pretty much without assistance (I use the cane sometimes after I finished a long walk and my leg is fatigued). I’m still taking my prescribed drugs (Celebrex and Pregabalin), and I take Tylenol when I feel my leg is swollen because of the long walks.

I feel that the surgery has been successful and it was definitely worth the result!

Thanks @Layla for following up, and to all the folks that have given me encouraging words throughout my recovery!
 
I had almost identical experience with PT early on @boricuaterp :nah:
I also shared this with my surgeon who also did not try to persuade me to continue.
Listening to our bodies and taking time to heal really is best.
Ice is still a great help after activity:ice:
It keeps getting better, so slow and steady is how you get there.
Good for You!
 
Good Morning! What a nice update.
Thankfully you put a stop to the PT, rather than power through, possibly stalling your recovery for a longer period of time. It’s also helpful when you’re surgeon doesn’t challenge your decision since we often think as the medical professional they know what’s best for us. Your body told you otherwise. Keep up the good work, you’re doing great!
@boricuaterp
 

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