OT- Need Prayer for my Husband's Hip Replacement Surgery

[Fredman]

Only warm, healing, and quiet thoughts of rejuvenation to you Mike and to Shirl, thoughts of calm assurances and strength that all is and will be well.

The unknown is the driver of fear. Lots of prayers, support and energy to you both as you go through this together. You are in good hands it seems professionally and there is alot of experience here to help as well.

Good like Mike and Shirl - work hard at your rehab - sounds like dancing maybe in your future...or golf...or...

[Rosebud]

My husbands uncle had a hip replacement due to a fall when he was 95 or 96. He just turned 100 in Feb. and while he doesn't go out and about, he is still mobile and we are invited to attend a belated party for him at his church. He's also still sharp as a tack, BTW!

[Hawthorne]

I had my left hip replaced 15 years ago and I'm still going strong! I had severe Osteoarthritis in that hip. It was the best thing for that hip!

In those days, the hospital stay was longer - 5 days. It was such a relief to not feel that pain anymore as soon as I woke up. I think it is done a lot with a local now so quicker recovery.

The only pain I had when I woke up was from the 10" or so incision. The joint pain was gone!!! I think it is even done with smaller incisions now.

The therapy is very important so he should be very diligent about that. He also needs patience during the recovery time and to be a little careful. I see you have a raised toilet seat and a tub chair plus a cane so you are good to go! I used a walker for the first few weeks because I had to only put "feather weight on it" for the early part of recovery.

I have not had a problem with mine in the 15 years. I am just as mobile with that artificial hip as I am with my own natural other hip (no problems walking, driving, anything). I am not even aware that it is not my own hip.

I wish your husband the same with his replacement!

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions. It's quite a while ago since I had mine of course and things have changed and improved so much but I may be able to help and would be glad to do that.

[kebsa]

i have not had a hip replacement but i had a knee replacement when i was 38, that was 9 years ago! I am an amputee and my remaining left knee had been grossly over worked over the years! i had gotten to the point i could not even take weight through my remaining leg to transfer from chair to chair, even if i gritted my teeth to get through the pain, the joint had just become so unstable i was likely to end on the floor- after a few falls it was decided that even though i was young for this surgery there was no other option.

like all orthopedica surgery, it can be quite painful for the first 24 to 48 hours- i had the surgery done under spinal anesthesia and they pulled it back to an epidural and left it insitu for the first 24 hours or so- it was a PCA (patient controlled analgesia) set up, i just pressed a button to get a dose of pain med- as an epidural it gave really good pain relief in that tough first day. I did have a pnuematic stocking on my leg to help blood flow to lessen the chance of dvt but that was only for the first day or so. For me it got a bit tough after the 1st 24hours because they get you up and about very early- usually in that first day. usually you would be able to take the bulk of your weight through your sound leg but as an amputee i had to get up on the new joint with full weight from the start- that was tough because the muscles will not work properly with the knee bent- it was quite a challenge to work out the best way to manage things and even the Physiotherapist were having to go by trial and error- the biggest problem was that i was not allowed to twist that leg so doing things like a 90 degree turn to transfer was tough- the first option was to use walking frame and hop but it was too sore to do that with good control- my surgeon contacted a friend who was an engineer with a worksop and he rigged up a metal turntable gizmo so that i could just swivel to do the 90 degree turns- that was proabably the biggest challenge. they had anticipated that i would need to stay in a rehab facility for 6 to 8 weeks as i live alone- i was in hospital for 5 days and went straight home- infact i was back at work by the end of the first week (doing a desk job for half days- i was casual so did not get sick pay)

it is big surgery and the first couple of days are a bit tough but the recovery is quite rapid after that- i think for me, the old knee was functioning so poorly that once the really acute pain of the first 2 days was over, recovery was quite rapid! One of the complaints knee replacement patients make is that the new knee is a abit stiff- i have 140 degree range of motion in the new knee! i had lots of othopedic surgery on my other leg prior to the amputation and did not get good results so i was really apprehensive about the knee replacement but it has been a great success- i was told that as it was my only leg, it would probably need replacement again in less than 8 years but here we are at 9 and still no problems-the only thing i cannot do is kneel!


i know it is a different joint but the principles are similar, hips tend to have better results as there is lots of boney structures to make the joint stable whereas the knee is inherently unstable, relying on a lot of soft tissue for stability- your husband will do well with the surgery and once he gets going as the post op pain settles, he will see the benefits very quickly- after the pain of arthritis often for years, the new joint feels really good

i will keep you both in my thoughts, and wish him a speedy recovery!

[Dpursi]

I Can't offer any advise but I will offer a prayer. Consider it done.

[rested gal]

I also heard that one other forum Wabmorgan is having Knee Surgery tomorrow so please throw a prayer in for him as well...

ShirL, how nice of you to think of someone else as well thinking about your own husband's upcoming surgery. Hope all goes absolutely great for Mike and best wishes to WABmorgan, too!

[Bonnie corgi lover]

Good wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery. My mom (age 68) has had a knee, a shoulder and a hip replacement, over the last few years. She had less pain and faster recovery from the hip replacement than the other operations. She was up and about fairly quickly. I do remember helping her struggle to get a compression stocking on that leg. I agree that taking some reading material is a good idea, as well as serving as an advocate for your husband while he is in the hospital. Don't be afraid to speak up or ask questions. And it's easy for us to say, but try to relax and not afraid. It will all go well.

[Jeeper]

Sleepynomore,

My father had hip replacement eight years ago when he was 80. Within six weeks he was back on a tractor and feeding his cattle. He hasn't missed a day since. He took us out in the yard last month on his 88th birthday and showed me he could still walk on his stilts! A couple of months ago Dad and I were up on the roof of his house doing some work. He gets around great. His only regret about the hip replacement was that he didn't have it done sooner.

I had a total knee replacement in May of 2007. It does take some determination to do the physical therapy to get back to active status. But the determination will pay off. My advice is definitely do the therapy and the hip will be fine.

Good luck!

Jeeper

[fire-151]

I have had two hip replacements, right hip 12/23/06 at the age of 52 and my left 7/23/08.
Both have done great. Your husband will feel so much better if he is in as much pain as I was before my surgerys. This is what I learned with my hip replacements and I hope it will help you guys... I in the hospital 3 days on both. Physical therapy is key, they will have him up walking the next day, maybe a couple times the next. Do everything the PT tells you. With my first hip Iused a walker for the first 4 weeks and then was released to do what ever I wanted after 6 weeks. One the second everything went even better I could walk without a walker in 4 days, I think I could have walked out of the hospital without one but they said I had to. I did not go to PT on the second one because I knew what to do after the first one.
Now this is what I learned.... They will scare you because they don't want you to put your hip in certain positions because of the weakend muscles and it could pop out of joint. Getting out of bed was the worst. On my second hip I got a hospital bed for the house. I highly recomend this, they are so much easier to get in and out of. I'm not kidding you the worst was going to the bathroom, sitting on the high rise seat trying to do your business. Get as wide of toilet riser you can so you can get to clean yourself. Sorry about the desciption but it is the truth. I just took showers did not need any help. Then I just used a walker. You will do good. The first day that I could put my own socks on was the best both times...
After the six weeks, walk, walk, walk to get the strengh back. You will feel so much better pain free. Good luck and God be with you.. Fire-151

[wabmorgan]

Hi to all.

As Shirl stated above..... I had recent knee surgery.

My knee surgery went very well. I had a hole in the tibia as the result of a cyst/staph infection.

First surgery was about a month ago with IV antibiotics for 4 weeks.

2nd surgery was yesterday..... (2nd surgery had to wait for staph infection to clear.)

Doctor was planning to put in a metal plate, screws and a synthetic bone graft. When he got inside... he said my own bone tissue was already trying to close up the hole that is in my tibia and that the hole was already smaller than when he operated about a month ago.

As a result, he decide to not install the metal plate and screws.

He simply injected the synthetic bone graft material. The synthetic bone graft forms a lattice for the bone tissue to grow into. In time... my own bone tissue will grown into the graft and eventually actually replace it... so that in the end only my bone tissue will be there with no graft.

I am in some pain... mainly from the incision... but I am already back at home.

I still have some recovery time coming... and it may wind up being longer than originally thought.... but there should not be any further surgery needed... unless something else goes wrong. (Fingers crossed.)

Out come is expected to be a complete recovery. (Hopefully.)

[SleepyNoMore]

"Congrats", Wabmorgan on your knee surgery, I'm glad it's over and done and that you are back home so soon, and the speedy recovery sounds great, take it slow and keep us posted!

Also glad to hear that they didn't have to put all that metal in your knee...

SleepyNoMore

[SleepyNoMore]

To EVERYONE that has replied and offered advice, support, and prayers, thank you we really appreciate as it has made us feel much better about going into this thing and I think it's going to make it much easier to deal with once we land in Arroyo Grande.

Just for a future reference, I am adding the link to Mike's Doctor's website for anyone thinking about Hip or Knee Surgery in the future.

His name is Thomas Ferro, MD, he's a specialist and teacher of the brand new knee replacement!!!

Web address is: http://www.BoneJointCenter.com , You can click on the Video link and watch his video where he talks about the Hip and Knee Replacements, I think he's going to be the PERFECT Doctor for Mike and anyone else...

I'll post when we get home.

HUGGERS TO ALL,

ShirL & Mike

[SleepyNoMore]

Hello All,
This Tuesday, April 28th. will be week 4 POST-OP for Mike's New Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Surgery!
They chose not to do a total hip-replacement, maybe because his Bones we're to soft, I'm not quite clear on that yet but Mike did great, just as all of you said he would, they released him from the hospital one day after surgery... ! They gave him a sleepy epouradural (I know I misspelled that) , They said they had a very hard time getting the meds in his spine because he was so little/thin. He was numb from the waist down and he was asleep to but when he woke up, he wasn't sick AT ALL, he was smiling , they said that his blood pressure dropped very low and that gave them a scare but they got it right back up.
He was walking the next morning, he came out of surgery at 6pm. on Tuesday March 31st. and was released Thursday, April 2nd. at 10am, and we put him in the front seat of my Mom's Toyota, and reclined the seat back and drove him home (120 miles), that was hard on him but overall he did great! He's still on the blood thinner Warfarin generic for Coumadin , I noticed yesterday that he is starting to look pale or something, his skin looks different, I think I'll put a call into the Doctor Monday he is only in town twice a month but at least his office can let him know, I just hope it's nothing serious and nothing to do with the blood thinning med he's on, he still has about 5 or 6 pills left...
The Doctor also said that when he was doing the surgery, he only had to hit on the hammer one time and the CUP went to far back ( because Mike's Bones are so soft from Osteoporosis ), that he had to pull the cup back out some, WOW, that's scarry, the Doc also said he almost always has to hammer several times on most patients to get the cup in because their bones are so hard...
He's still on the walker and will be for at least 4-6 weeks, I really am wondering HOW he will be able to go back and do the work he does, he's a Cabinet Maker and he is up and down, and in and out of cabinets all day long...
We had a In-Home Nurse, a Physical Therapist (1 visit only as he worked Mike so hard that he pulled a muscle in his leg that he had surgery on) , and the Doctor had to stop all physical therapy and told Mike just to rest that leg rather than exercising it, no more therapy EVER, the Doc said., we also had the Lab coming out 2 times a week to do the blood draws, we released all of the above on Monday the 20th. of April so I'll be taking him twice a week to the lab to get his blood work, I'm very tired from all of this but of course, Mike is worth it, plus more
Thanks to everyone again for all your help, prayers, and support
HUGGERS & more HUGGERS,

Shirley & Mike

[Pad A Cheek]

I am so glad the surgery is behind you both. I wish Mike a speedy recovery. Perhaps this is time for him to read all those wood working books and magazines out there and enjoy the beauty of what he does in the cabinet making business.
Enjoy the time together and take care.

Karen

[deerslayer]

sounds like your hubby is getting with the program & progressing nicely except for the pulled muscle. continued positive thoughts your way. tim