Three (and a bit) month report

[mvo]

Well, three months out from a left THR and I feel great and very very lucky. The only downside is that now the left hip has been dealt to, the right one is starting to hurt a bit more.

My sister, Kris, had the same surgery (we are both in our 40s and have hip dysplasia), same leg on the same day (but in Perth, Australia) and she had a THR on her right hip last week. Unfortunately, there was a resulting leg length discrepancy of over 1 cm that her surgeon wasn’t happy with so she will go into surgery again this morning to try and correct that. I fly out there on Friday to help out for a while – she has two young children (a nearly-six year old and an 18 month old).

I am really looking forward to seeing my sister for the first time in three years. I am not looking forward to the 7.5 hour flight in sardine class.
So the next time I post here it will probably be with an Aussie accent rather than a Kiwi one ;)

Cheers,
Monica

 

[Shamrocker]

Your poor sis - she was probably just beginning to feel really great after the 1st THR, only to have to go through two more surgeries. That's a lot to endure in such a short period of time. I'm glad she will have you there for moral support (and chasing of small humans).

Wishing you safe travels.

 

[JudyS]

Have a safe trip and have fun meeting your new little nephew or neice!!!
Judy

Wish I had a sister!!!

 

[mvo]

Hi Shamrocker and Judy,

Yes, I do feel for Kris, the whole surgery thing suddenly became urgent for her and it was a bit of a shock. She has always kept in good spirits with only a few tears over this early “revision”.

I am not awfully experienced in the “chasing of small humans” department, but Miss “nearly-six” and I have previously bonded over Barbies so we should be fine. My little nephew is apparently not fond of strangers so not sure what will happen there. Hoping that my cooking, cleaning and looking-after-sister skills will make up for any deficiencies in the child-care area

Thanks for your good wishes.

Monica

 

[jaz]

Your sister must be so frustrated at having the surgery repeated especially with two littlies to care for. Better to have it sorted out now though. My son was 13 months when I had my LHR done and 15.5 months when it was repeated 10 weeks later. It's pretty challenging being out of action for so long with a toddler. I'm sure your sister will be looking forward to someone taking over the cooking and cleaning while she is recouping.

 

[Josephine]

That's such rotten bad luck, mvo. I shall be holding your sister up in my prayers that this will be sorted properly this time. But glad you've had a good outcome.

 

[mvo]

Hi everyone,

A quick update – the two weeks in Australia went by very quickly. It certainly was a change from my usual day job, but it was great to be there. My neice and nephew are just lovely – time consuming, but in a good way. Jaz, I hope you had some home help with your toddler during your recovery. I can’t imagine coping otherwise – a “challenge” would be an understatement!

My sister Kristine is recovering well, the second surgery on her right leg seems to have fixed the leg length discrepancy. It is a little difficult to tell as the whole leg is quite swollen, but my eye tells me that it is only a few mm out at most and Sis says it feels “pretty right”. Kris came home with a Big paper bag of medications which were doled out at appropriate intervals.

She has lost a lot of weight that she couldn’t afford to lose but had a very hearty appetite which is a good sign. She does tire easily and tends to try to do too much, but the latter seems to be a feature of many on this forum! Many a time I had to say in a “big sister” voice, “Now, Nurse Josephine says....”

Our mother (a former nurse) arrived the day I left, so the patient will Really have to behave ;)

Interestingly, her surgeon added (unprompted) a “no trampolining” (spelling?) edict to the lifetime restriction of "no running", and he was not keen on her returning to yoga. I would have thought that jumping on a trampoline was relatively low impact, but perhaps not.

Cheers,
Monica

 

[mvo]

And I forgot to say, the 7.5 hour flight was a breeze, I was in much, much more discomfort on long flights and from standing around in queues pre-surgery. I wore those post surgery stockings on the flight “just in case” much to the amusement of my aunt who came to collect me from the airport.

Also, the hip prosthesis did not set off the metal/security detectors at either Auckland or Perth airports.

Monica

 

[Josephine]

Sounds like you had a good time. Glad your sister is ok.

 

[JudyS]

Glad your back home safely. Very glad your sis has your mom coming right after you. I being a mom of 4 can't imagine going through hip replacements with little ones. Mine are much older, they should be lots of help , but their new name is "the lazies".
Judy

 

[mvo]

Hi Judy,

Yes, Mum went over straight after Kristine’s first surgery as well, I don’t know how they would have coped without her. We don’t have children and I was very lucky in that my husband works from home and was very supportive both before and after my hip replacement – plus I had an easy recovery – still counting my blessings for that.

I hope your children soon come to terms with the reality of your situation and become a bit more helpful.

All the best,
Monica

 

[szarak2000]

Guys, I haven't even gotten thru this entire thread and my hair is already standing straight up on my head. Repeated surgeries to correct this stuff???? I am 10 weeks out today from a LTHR. I was in a great physical shape before my surgery (I'm a biker and swimmer) but walked with a limp (and a cane) due to muscle weakness on one side (short muscle).
As of yesterday when my PT had me stand barefoot on the floor with some wooden pieces under my operated leg, I am at about 2.5 cm discrepancy. That is a lot (in my opinion) after a surgery that was supposed to fix this stuff once and for all (I've had about 6 surgeries trying to fix my hip). I walk with a cane now, but due to the discrepancy, walking is very uncomfortable and painful and is killing my back. My PT thinks if this was only due to muscle lengthening/weakness - I should be walking much better by now. So we think the limp is caused by some mechanics inside. I also have a little one (22 month old) and a lovely and very supporting husband.
BUT I am getting seriously depressed here, reading that you guys had to go back and get this fixed, even as soon as 10 weeks out!!! :(
Going back to the doctor this coming Monday.
Hope you are all healing well. Now I have to go back and read the rest of this thread.

Lidia

 

[szarak2000]

Your sister must be so frustrated at having the surgery repeated especially with two littlies to care for. Better to have it sorted out now though. My son was 13 months when I had my LHR done and 15.5 months when it was repeated 10 weeks later. It's pretty challenging being out of action for so long with a toddler. I'm sure your sister will be looking forward to someone taking over the cooking and cleaning while she is recouping.

Jaz, what did they have to do 10 weeks later? was it so bad they didn't want to wait and excercise it out?

 

[Josephine]

Lidia, sometimes you have to make a song and dance about these things (pun unintentional!). Sometimes if the surgeon perceives you are prepared to put up with it, he'll leave it be. Sometimes there are (to him) obvious reasons why there is a discrepancy which he hasn't shared with you. Be a bit of a bully with him - it's the only way!

 

[szarak2000]

Thanks Josephine. I hope to get all the answers on Monday. I don't think I can live with it the way it is now. Big question is if he will want to fix it, or will continue with PT to "see what happens". I feel like my life is on hold and not getting much better right now.

 

[Josephine]

Well, if he comes out with that line just say no right out. Your treatment should be collaborative thing. He should offer you options not his dictate.

 

[jaz]

MVO - fortunately DP is a stay-at-home Dad so he could look after our little boy and me during the day while I was off work and my daughter was home from school when he left for work so between the three of us we muddled through it. The hardest part was learning 10 weeks on that I had to go through it all over again so was looking at a 4-5 month recouperation process rather than 3 months. Almost three months on I can carry him around, change him, shower him, lift him onto a swing etc. He is 18 months now so he will usually walk with me holding my hand, except for a few days ago at an ice cream parlour in Mission Bay when he had a screaming tantrum and threw himself on the floor when it was time to leave.

Szarak - the stem that sits in the thigh bone rotated around. My OS wanted to get it out quickly before it set in place, replace it, and cement it into place. He was able to go through the same scar and muscles and we were still well set up at home for me being out of action for another 6-12 weeks. No amount of PT or exercise would have changed things.

 

[mvo]

Hi Lidia,
Just to clarify, my sister had her first hip replacement (left hip, same as me) on 9 September. After that surgery she had a leg length discrepancy of about an inch, ie 2.5 cm. This was intentional; her right hip was replaced on Dec 4. At first they thought the new discrepancy was only 2mm or so, but as she started walking about more she felt it wasn’t right and a re-measure showed it was about 1cm.

The surgeon offered to revise it, she accepted immediately, rang me, and we made up a list of questions for him. He likes a written list of questions and he writes up the answers in the spaces provided So, in she went for a revision of the right hip on Dec 10. I haven’t talked to her for a couple of days, but I think she still feels things are “pretty right”. So, in the end, hopefully a good outcome. I haven’t seen her surgical report but I think most aspects of the prosthesis and installation were “tweaked”.

The first thing my surgeon said after the op when I was still in recovery was “It went very well and your legs are the same length.” At the time I thought, “Well, duh, of course they should be.” I hadn’t realised the implications of uneven leg lengths, or quite how common they are.

All the best Lidia, I hope you and your surgeon can come up with some options,
Monica

 

[mvo]

Hi Jaz, sounds as though you are doing well My little nephew screamed at the sight of me for three days, but after that my presence was tolerated. Better than when my Mum helped out the first time, the screaming went on for three weeks! On this current visit I think things are better. My sister’s husband is at home for this recovery period, but he is not used to being the primary childcare-giver and is not the most patient person.

I found that my day-job skills of dealing with academic staff and students came in quite useful in the home environment

Monica

 

[jaz]

mvo - the main reason for not getting home help and muddling along as a family was that my little lad was screaming at the sight of anyone new for quite some period so I didn't think having someone in to do housework would work out, let alone having someone to help care for him. He's either outgrown it now or gotten used to new people being around, like your nephew by the sound of things.

It must've been nice for your sister to have someone to cook - four months of eating chicken pieces, baked potatoes and frozen veg or toasted sandwhiches has certainly worn thin!