quote:

Originally posted by Amanda:
Heal!

That's great that it's already over.
Curious, did your surgeon approach the replacement from the front or back?

Nosy: Is your other hip in good enough shape you can expect not to need it done down the road? (Hope so)

Happy to explain.

Other hip is fine. They don't know what caused this one to fail.

When I asked about the approach, he said something I don't follow. Like it's a hybrid of lateral and posterior. He refuses to do anterior, as there is more risk of misplacement of the device. He does revisions of surgeries that failed, so I figured he may know something.

Mr. Sphinx said the surgeon said the hip was worse off once he got in there given my activity level.

I went for one last run last Friday for old times sake. It's my favorite route and it usually takes 70 minutes. This time, 1 hour 50 minutes. Sure, there is a marked lack of conditioning, but it's also the hip. I was lamenting the loss of ever running again, but I guess what I was doing on Friday wasn't "running" anyway.

Cindy -- apologizing if she's repeating herself

You’re the bionic woman! Rest up, do the PT, and heal well. You’re on your way!

Best of luck for a quick and uneventful recovery!

Congratulations, Cindy! Replacing my right knee was the smartest thing I've ever done for my body. May you have a swift recovery and be back to your old activities in no time!

Just one little caution I learned the hard way:

After the nerve block wears off, if you are taking pain killers, make sure you NEVER take them on an empty stomach! They will wreak hell on your GI tract. In my case, it took a year to get over the damage from the painkillers to my gut. I was so out of it the first two weeks post op, I only took my meds when my husband gave them to me, and nobody at the hospital warned him about this.

You are going to be better than new! You'll want to replace every joint in your body after this.

Thanks, everyone! I'm home and doing pretty well.

Pique, I noticed that the people who seemed to be experiencing the most discomfort in recovery the knee replacement patients. I wonder why that surgery has still does not have the outcomes that hip replacement has these days. I mean, the people next to me were moaning in pain, and they were getting those pain killer pumps and icing machines to take home. Me, I just got a few cheap prescriptions.

Congratulations on your new hip from another person with a two-year-old hip! Glad it went well!

BTW I think knee replacements can be more problematic partly because the knee is a more complex joint.

Awesome! Glad to hear it.

Bionic Cindysphinx!

Hope you heal quickly and are back on that tennis court soon.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Thanks, everyone! I'm home and doing pretty well.

Pique, I noticed that the people who seemed to be experiencing the most discomfort in recovery the knee replacement patients. I wonder why that surgery has still does not have the outcomes that hip replacement has these days. I mean, the people next to me were moaning in pain, and they were getting those pain killer pumps and icing machines to take home. Me, I just got a few cheap prescriptions.

yes, recovery from knee replacement is much, much tougher than not just hip replacement, but any other surgery at all. it is a very challenging recovery that takes 1-2 years.

however IIRR only one in five knee replacement recipients are unhappy with the outcome. probably not as good an odds as hip replacement people.

the key, as always, is to pick the very best surgeon possible.

oh, and as to why? because the knee is the most complicated joint in the body, and the skill of the surgeon is absolutely critical.

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
yes, recovery from knee replacement is much, much tougher than not just hip replacement, but any other surgery at all. it is a very challenging recovery that takes 1-2 years.

Not to be competitive, but having had both knee joint replacement and complex spinal reconstruction (in my case including a full length fusion with many intermediate ops, laminectomies, bone grafts and other), I can say the knee surgery is not a clear "winner" in the pain race. (Besides which, the level of risk is much higher with complex spinal surgery and if you are a loser, the pain is permanent.)

The acute pain from the knee replacement is rough, alright (especially for the first few weeks when you have to force yourself to work on the flexion so it doesn't scar improperly.).

However, my eight hour spinal op was (warning in advance from other victims) "like getting run over by a truck". (Having them with only two months in-between was daring. As you probably know, though, a fair number of patients have both knees done at the same time. Imagine!)

Every operation (and sometimes series of operations) is different especially if there are complications. Big Al's hellacious saga sounds like as bad as it gets.

Wow, I stay away from WTF for a few days and I miss EVERYTHING!

Congrats on the new hip, Cindy, and it's great news that you're doing so well post-op.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:


Happy to explain.

Other hip is fine. They don't know what caused this one to fail.

I was thinking about this, and I know from experience that a lot of force is placed on the forward hip when serving. I wonder if that could be a contributing factor. Don't know which hip and whether you are right or left handed. Glad you're doing well.

It's the right hip. I'm right-handed, so I land on the left foot when I serve. Assuming I actually do it correctly.

One interesting thing about bones is that they have defenses. Doc explained that when a bone is injured or stressed, it sends out spurs to prevent from moving in that way. So maybe I jammed it at some point, the bone spurs started, and 9 years later here we are.

Congratulations from another satisfied recipient of a new hip 3 years ago. Are you planning to stay with tennis and jogging? At one time, I did a lot of both and decided to opt for walking and weights to preserve the hip. What have your doctors recommended?

My doc says it's up to me. I can stop jogging, limit myself to doubles tennis. The hip would last 20 years or more, to when I'm in my 80s.

Or I can keep jogging until the device starts to wear and loosen. Then I can manage that until I can't take it anymore. Then I can have a second replacement, which will be trickier becausethe okd implant will have to come out, even though it will have fused to the bone. I'll be older, so the second surgery will be riskier. This assumes I am healthy enough to be a candidate for a second surgery. If not, then I'll just have a bad hip until I die.

I'm no dummy. My jogging days are over.

Cindy -- hoping to be ready for Peloton September