Time to recover.

RinTinTin

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So grateful to find this forum… lots of support, comfort and great informations here. I am scheduled for the right THR on Sept 10 and then left one on Dec 3.
Since both hips are in pretty much the same bad shape my worries are that my recovery after the first hip replacement will be jeopardized because the next one is scheduled too soon. Should I be worried or in fact happy to have the second one that soon?
 
Hi RinTinTin! I am in the exact same boat as you as I have severe osteoarthritis in both hips. I had my right THR on 7/15 and have the left THR tentatively scheduled for 9/9. My surgeries are 8 weeks apart. When I say tentative I mean that the OS has penciled me in on 9/9 and the space is saved for me, but he wants to be absolutely sure that my right hip is well recovered before tackling the left one. I suspect that your OS likely has the same mindset and will be watching your right hip recovery very closely.

My OS will actually do consecutive surgeries as early as six weeks apart if recovery is going well with the prior hip. Your surgeries are 11 weeks apart, so if your right hip is faring well on the recovery track, you should have no issues with the consecutive surgery timeframe. Also, when you go into Surgery #2, you will know exactly what to expect the second time around and can go into Surgery #2 with complete confidence. You were smart and should be happy to have Surgery #2 scheduled right away.

As of this writing I am 19 days post recovery on the right hip, which is feeling pretty great overall considering how recent my surgery was. However, the non-operated left hip is starting to act up and I definitely notice the difference; the left knee locks up and the entire left leg moves very tightly compared to the right one. The right hip has some pain in the incision area and intermittent pain in the groin area, but I was told that is to be expected since I have gained more mobility since the surgery. However, the right hip pain I've been having is fairly minimal and nowhere near what I had pre-surgery.

I have had no complaints about my right THR thus far and am hoping and praying my 9/9 left THR will be a go. I have the feeling that once you get the right one done, you will be like me and want the left one done ASAP once you experience the results. Let's face it; the sooner we take care of this, the sooner we reclaim our lives back!

Keep us informed on your progress, and good luck!
 
If you know the second will have to be done in the near future anyway, the sooner the better. At the time I had mine, bilateral surgery was just beginning to be more in the norm; but if that's not an option, 11 weeks later is pretty darn good too. Your recovery from the first surgery may feel hampered because you are still impaired from the pain in your waiting hip. It will be hard to get a normal gait until both hips are done. Then....I can only tell you that the ability to walk with a normal gait is an amazing gift, and not something I ever take for granted.

At the time I scheduled my first hip, both hips showed equal deterioration. My OS asked me which one I wanted to do first, and since only one was causing pain at the time, the squeaky wheel got the attention. When I went in for my 6 week checkup, he asked if I wanted to schedule the second hip yet, but since it wasn't painful, I reluctantly said I'd wait. We both knew it was only a matter of time before the other hip would be a problem. He estimated one to two years, and he was right on the money. A year later I felt the first ominous twinge, and that was that.

I would have loved to do them both in the same calendar year just to take advantage of having already met my insurance deductible and max co-pays with the first surgery. That may not matter to you, @RinTinTin, but regardless, you'll be glad to be a double hippy when it's all done and settled.
 
My OS is a 3 mos guy. I'd say at that point I could have handled having the other side done. Actually I'd say it will help your 1st hip as it will stop you from over doing it at that point. Your actual problem will be with rushing the 2nd hip because you will be frustrated with the added recovery time.
 
Hi RinTinTin! I am in the exact same boat as you as I have severe osteoarthritis in both hips. I had my right THR on 7/15 and have the left THR tentatively scheduled for 9/9. My surgeries are 8 weeks apart. When I say tentative I mean that the OS has penciled me in on 9/9 and the space is saved for me, but he wants to be absolutely sure that my right hip is well recovered before tackling the left one. I suspect that your OS likely has the same mindset and will be watching your right hip recovery very closely.

Hi Hipster64... and thanks for your encouraging words. I found out about my second THR date from my surgeon secretary. I still need to meet with him later this month. I assume the second date is tentative as well as it will depend on my recovery.
Another concern I had is being knocked down with general anesthesia twice in such short period, but I guess this should be okay.
 
If you know the second will have to be done in the near future anyway, the sooner the better. At the time I had mine, bilateral surgery was just beginning to be more in the norm; but if that's not an option, 11 weeks later is pretty darn good too. Your recovery from the first surgery may feel hampered because you are still impaired from the pain in your waiting hip. It will be hard to get a normal gait until both hips are done. Then....I can only tell you that the ability to walk with a normal gait is an amazing gift, and not something I ever take for granted.

Interestingly, my surgeon never suggested bilateral surgery.
X-Rays showed the right hip is in worse shape than the left one but my left one was more painful at that time. He said he is not fixing the X-ray and we agreed to go with left THR first. Few days later I got cortisone shot in the left one and a week later in the right one. I felt pretty good, for a month but since the injections wore off the right one has been much worse than the left one so I changed my mind and going with the right THR first.
 
My OS is a 3 mos guy. I'd say at that point I could have handled having the other side done. Actually I'd say it will help your 1st hip as it will stop you from over doing it at that point. Your actual problem will be with rushing the 2nd hip because you will be frustrated with the added recovery time.

You are probably right Eman85... I am sure they would not schedule the surgeries to put me in more misery :)
 
:wave: and :welome:to the forum
The member who is beyond brave in my book is @cornishgal who had her surgeries one week apart.:flabber:
I did mine simultaneously but you couldn't have melted me down and poured me back into the OR one week after one was done.:umm:
Check out her recovery thread if you'd like. She's been amazing.

https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/one-woman-two-hips-one-week.54512/
We've also had many members who have achieved double hippy status within a 6 month period.
This forum was a great recovery tool for me and I am ever so happy I have new hips to be able to get on with my busy life.:thumb:
 
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Oops..:heehee: Don't know how I posted then thought I hadn't and I had...must need more coffee:mcoffee:
 
When it comes to bilateral THR... how different... longer... recovery is compared to one only THR.
Short term certainly a bit slower, but in my case, I think I was on par with the singles...
It was definitely not a walk in the park the first month...but glad to be done for sure.
 
Hi RinTinTin: I had the same concerns as you about anesthesia as well. My OS uses spinal anesthesia blocks and heavily sedates his patients. When I came to in recovery I was fairly alert, but my legs felt numb. That wore off in a matter of hours. From what I have read in this forum, it's much better than general anesthesia in that regard. Hopefully your OS can give you that option.
 
Hi RinTinTin: I had the same concerns as you about anesthesia as well. My OS uses spinal anesthesia blocks and heavily sedates his patients. When I came to in recovery I was fairly alert, but my legs felt numb. That wore off in a matter of hours. From what I have read in this forum, it's much better than general anesthesia in that regard. Hopefully your OS can give you that option.

Hi Hipster64... good to know you prefer the spinal anesthesia. Here, where I live I will have a separate meeting with the anesthesiologist a week later than the last appointment with my OS. I am curious to what he/she will suggest.
:)
 
@RinTinTin I would have the same concerns about GA. It really wipes me out for weeks. But I had spinal and sedation with both THR and it was magic. No groggy feeling, nausea or dizziness. You are alert while they are wheeling you into recovery and sitting up eating a snack or light meal within a very short space of time.

Many surgeons are using spinals on their joint replacement patients these days. Do have a good discussion with the anaesthetist.
 
Short term certainly a bit slower, but in my case, I think I was on par with the singles...
It was definitely not a walk in the park the first month...but glad to be done for sure.

Hats down to you and anyone who had or is going to have the bilateral THR.
At the moment I am looking forward to have my first replacement but anxious as well... so many questions going through my head :)
 
@RinTinTin I would have the same concerns about GA. It really wipes me out for weeks. But I had spinal and sedation with both THR and it was magic. No groggy feeling, nausea or dizziness. You are alert while they are wheeling you into recovery and sitting up eating a snack or light meal within a very short space of time.

Many surgeons are using spinals on their joint replacement patients these days. Do have a good discussion with the anaesthetist.

Good to know Jaycey. I wonder if the choice of using the right type of anesthesia depends on the OS or the patient overall health.
 
The choice is usually the surgeon's. But your own health will be taken into consideration. For instance, someone who has had spinal surgery might not be a candidate for a spinal.
 
My OS prefers general
If yours does be not afraid. There are anti nausea meds
I have had general twice and both times woke up ravenous and feeling well
 
Welcome to the forum. Great to be asking the question you're asking.

You're the patient, and if you don't feel ready at the time the second surgery is scheduled (you don't feel recovered enough from your first surgery), you simply tell that to your surgeon's staff ... You'l be priority at that point and can probably get an appointment a month later or two months later if you want.

It's a process. You are not locked into the second surgery date. You can adjust. And I really think the surgeon's office will prioritize you if you want to delay the second surgery ... so you don't have to go back to the "beginning of the line."

Good luck.
 

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