Hip Replacement Surgery

Are you considering Total Hip Replacement Surgery?  Deteriorated hip joints can be very painful and can limit mobility.  Many doctors recommend Hip Replacement operations to solve this problem.  If you have been told that you need Hip Replacement surgery, you'll want to find out all that you can about the operation and its aftermath.  This web page is a resource for learning about Total Hip Replacement Surgery.  Further down on this page, we present an article called, "Hip Replacement".  The article is written by a man who has had Hip Replacement Surgery on both of his hip joints.  He describes his experiences with recovery from the first surgery in 2001 and contrasts it with his second surgery in 2005.  Read the article and learn about this common operation and the post-op obstacles you will have to deal with.  After you read our article, follow the Related Links we provide to other informative and interesting web sites about Hip Replacement.  Also, be sure to buy a few of the Books we recommend below, to learn even more about Total Hip Replacement Surgery.  Although this operation is common today, it is still major surgery.  Learn all that you can about the procedure and the problems you may face during recovery.  That is the best way to create the best possible outcome!  Related Links: Hip Replacement Q & A  An informative article that answers common questions about Hip Replacement.  This page is made by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.  MedlinePlus, Hip Replacement  A portal site on Hip Replacement with links to articles in several categories including Overview, Rehabilitation/Recovery and Related Issues.  Contains 8 links to one-hour video programs.  MedlinePlus is a service of the world's largest medical library, the National Library of Medicine, and the National Institutes of Health.  ehealthMD.com, What Is Hip Replacement  An easy to navigate 15-page article Hip Replacement.  MayoClinic.com, Hip Replacement  An article on Total Hip Replacement surgery, from the well-known Mayo Clinic."  Ben Goldfarb's Hip Replacement page This set of web pages describes the experiences of a man who had Hip Replacement surgery in 2001.  Includes photos, a free book and links to relevant sites.    Read These Books: Patient's Guide to Knee and Hip Replacement: Everything You Need to Know Written by a patient for other patients, this book takes readers through the complete joint-replacement process, from the initial diagnosis and the decision whether to have surgery, the hospital stay, and the full recovery period. Heal Your Hips: How to Prevent Hip Surgery-- and What to Do if You Need It The first comprehensive hip guide --avoiding injury, preventing deterioration, working out on land and in water, and considering the entire range of surgery options. The innovative, practical, and long-overdue guidance in Heal Your Hips will be a revelation for the millions of North Americans enduring the pain of hip deterioration and injury. Exploring an unprecedented range of preventive options-including wonderful land and water exercises, low-impact weight training, water rehabilitation, and intensive stretching--this book is the first to cover several little-known, minimally invasive forms of surgery alongside straightforward information about traditional replacement surgery. Whether readers or their loved ones are considering hip surgery or have yet to seek medical help, turn first to the indispensable expertise in this optimistic and accessible resource. The authors bring a rare diversity of expertise to the book: Klapper is a veteran orthopedic surgeon and a consultant for NBC's "ER"; Huey is a former world-class athlete and leader in the field of water rehabilitation. What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery: Everything You Need to Know to Make the Right Decisions If you are like hundreds of thousands of Americans who suffer from painful, deteriorating joints, your doctor may have recommended surgery as the only option for relief. Now noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ronald P. Grelsamer gives you the information you need to determine if a hip or knee replacement is the right choice for you. This comprehensive guide enables you to take control, ask the right questions, and improve the quality of your life! All about Hip Replacement: A Patient's Guide Every year more than half a million people around the world have a hip replaced. It is one of the most successful of modern operations. This book records the experiences of fourteen such patients. They talk about their troubles with their old hips, the process of deciding to replace them and of finding surgeons and hospitals, and the preparations for the operation. We learn about their experiences in hospital before and after the operation. Richard Trahair - an author and psychologist who has himself recently had a hip replacement - weaves together their hopes and concerns with advice from surgeons, rheumatologists, physiotherapists, nurses, and occupational therapists. All about Hip Replacement will equip those thinking about having the operation with the information they need to make sensible decisions, and will help recent patients to make a full recovery.

Hip Replacement by John Lindell   3/16/06 With total hip replacement surgery becoming less invasive, many people are making the decision to have their pain alleviated by having this operation. I doubt that many people are as much of an expert as I am on this subject, having just undergone my second total hip replacement this past December. This article will focus on what you will face at home, after you have left the hospital or the convalescent home. First, I want to give you some background on my unique situation. In 2001, after years of playing sports and a job that had me on my feet most of the day, I was in unbearable pain in my right hip from osteoarthritis. I had no cushion at all between where my leg bone met the hip socket. After going to a specialist, I was told that I needed a total hip replacement. At age 44, I thought my active life would come to a grinding halt, but the severe discomfort made my decision for me. I had my hip replaced on November 6th, 2001. I returned to work on December 27th, 2001. I played basketball again on January 18th, 2002! I am here to tell you that this operation will allow you to live a normal, pain-free life. As time passed, I was as good, if not better, a ballplayer as I had ever been. I could not run as well as I could before or leap as high, but I learned to jump off my left leg and played on. Only when my left hip began to bother me did I stop playing, in June of 2005. What I had going for me that many of you do not is that I was 44 and 48 at the time of my surgeries, very young for total hips. Being in good shape, I was able to bounce back quickly. However, whatever your age, there are still many obstacles to deal with when you come home from this operation. Here they are, in no particular order. Take into account the layout of your home or apartment. Picture yourself trying to navigate your surroundings on a pair of crutches, a pair of canes or just one cane. In 2001, I went into a convalescent home for five days after leaving the hospital and then came home. I had 29 staples in my right side to close the incision from the surgery. I was unable to support myself, even at age 44, without the use of crutches. In 2005, advancements in medical technology were such for this procedure that it took only 15 to close the opening and I went right home after 4 days. There was lesser trauma to tissue and muscle, and I was able to use 2 canes to move about. In both cases however, it was important for me to identify the problem areas in my home. These included 12 stairs to my upstairs level, 2 as I entered the house through the mudroom, and 2 as I went down into my living room. Each had to be taken with extreme care, so as to avoid falls that would cause possible dislocation of the replacement hip. The first 6 to 8 weeks after the operation, especially for older folks, is when you have to take the utmost care in your environment. Make sure that you have room to maneuver in tight places such as bedrooms, hallways and your bathroom. Be aware that pets can get underfoot and cause you to stumble. Loose rugs can be a hazard for someone on crutches or a cane. For me, it was hard to go up the 2 stairs from my living room, because of the absence of something to hold onto. Prior to the operation, go through the house and look for the places that will be troublesome and have a plan on how to conquer them. You can discuss with your physical therapist how to solve these problems while you are in the hospital following surgery. You will need a commode. To be able to go the bathroom without hurting yourself, you will need a commode, most likely placed over your existing toilet. A normal toilet is too low for you to sit on for the first couple months following surgery. One of the precautions that you cannot break is the 90 degree rule. Sitting normally, with your back straight, your legs and back meet at a 90 degree angle. People with new hip replacements can suffer a dislocation if they make that angle less than 90 degrees. Sitting on a low toilet seat risks this. For your convenience, the commode can be in the room where you will spend the most time. Mine was in the bathroom, but my young age again allowed me the ability to get to it more easily than an older person might. I was able to sit on the commode and use the toilet normally; I was just higher over it. There are various devices to help you get dressed. Putting on socks and shoes, pulling up pants and underwear, and taking these things off are all problematic for people with new hip replacements. Therapists will show you how to get your socks on with a device that resembles a hardened glove on 2 straps. The sock goes over it, and then you pull the sock over your foot with it without having to bend. You will have a long shoehorn that helps you get shoes or sneakers on. The laces in your shoes will be replaced with special stretching laces so that they will remain tied all the time. You will have a stick with hooks on the end to help you pull up your pants and underwear. Therapists will show you how these helpful tools are used prior to surgery. You will receive injections in your stomach for a time after you return home. The greatest danger following a surgery of this type is from blood clots forming in your legs. To lessen this, you will be administered blood thinners in your lower abdomen twice a day for about 2 weeks after you get home. You can even give yourself the shots. They are not very painful, but can cause some bruising at the injection site. Again, if you are to give the shots to yourself, you will be shown how. The fact that this is a blood thinning drug means you do not want to cut yourself. I purchased an electric razor to avoid this problem while shaving. You will receive physical therapy at home. I had a physical therapist come to my house for 2 weeks after each of my surgeries, for 10 visits each time. They will give you specific exercises to perform that are designed to increase your strength, stamina and balance. You will do these exercises 2 or 3 times during the day after the therapist leaves. Do not underestimate the importance of these exercises. By doing them properly, they will help you to recover faster. A physical therapist will work with you during your stay in the hospital, showing you what you can and cannot do, such as crossing your legs. They will show you the proper way to sit and stand from a chair. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them. If you have pets, have a plan in place for when the physical therapist shows up. You will go to outpatient therapy. Your physical therapist will graduate you to outpatient therapy after their visits have run out. I was able to drive to my most recent outpatient sessions, but you may not be sufficiently recovered to drive by this time. You need to know who will be able to take you if you cannot drive yourself to these sessions, preferably before you even have the surgery. Once there, you will be put through the paces on various machines such as treadmills and stair climbers. I had 12 visits scheduled for myself this last time, but had made enough progress that I only needed 9 of them. They are hard work, do not take them lightly. You will be coming off of some serious narcotic painkillers. Immediately after surgery, you will be on some form of intravenous morphine for the pain you will be in. Your doctor will send you home with some pretty good stuff for pain, and you will be glad they did. Most of the pain will be from the incision, where muscles are cut and reattached and tissue is sliced open. The staples will come out after a couple of weeks. You will have pain in other areas; remember, to perform this operation, your doctor has to dislocate your hip! Follow your doctor's direction when it comes to these painkillers. Here is a word of warning. In 2001, I became extremely depressed when I came off of these drugs. I did not realize what caused this then, but found out later that this is a side effect for some people. I was very emotional and did not know why. In 2005, I was prepared for it, and it happened again. At least I understood it and knew why it was happening. Discuss this aspect with your doctor. You cannot lift even moderately heavy objects for quite some time. Do not attempt to lift things such as chairs, boxes, vacuum cleaners, or any object with even moderate weight. Your hip is not stable enough and you will feel the pain right away. Give yourself time. Bathing is going to be a chore. Getting in and out of the bathtub for a shower may not be possible at first. I was able to get in the tub and stand, but only with the help of my wife for two weeks after surgery. You may have to bathe with a facecloth until you can get in the shower. Ask your therapist to evaluate your ability to do this when you feel ready. Be very, very careful once in the tub, especially when getting out. Make sure you have someone there to help you in and out. Don't be modest and don't try to be a hero and do it yourself. It is too risky. You have to sleep on your back Because you cannot afford to cross your legs while asleep and risk dislocation, you will sleep with a large, wedge shaped, foam pillow velcroed to your legs when you come home. It will be there when you wake up from surgery, and you will take it home with you. If you do not sleep on your back, like me, this will be difficult. As a matter of fact, this was the single hardest thing for me to deal with after my second surgery. I am a sporadic sleeper to begin with and this made it much worse. Eventually, you will heal enough so that you may lie on your side or stomach, but only with a pillow between your legs to keep you from crossing them. You may need a sleep aid such as Ambien or Lunesta to help you sleep. I hope this article has been informative for those considering a total hip replacement. It might be hard when you first come home, but if you are prepared for the challenges then you have a head start. I heartily recommend the operation for anyone in pain; it certainly improved the quality of my life. With the advancements in this field, recovery from surgery will be easier and less painful in years to come. Good luck and God bless you.

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