Hip replacement questions?

[Hem]

I say fix it now and dont worry about the life span of the replacement.
Guess you'll have to knock off the " old man" cracks to some of your senior friends.

 

[kansasdad]

“For a man this young, that’s the worst arthritis I’ve ever seen, a lessor man would have had surgery much sooner”….my ortho surgeon to my wife immediately after surgery in 2007. Thus it wasn’t robotically driven surgery. I was instructed to be non weight barring for 6 weeks so I used a walker to get around. I knew it was the right thing to do, but I will say getting out of bed to go to the bathroom took a lot of grit to bear the pain that first week. I returned back to work a full two weeks later.

12 years later the other side was comparatively and literally a walk in the park. Muscle sparring approach, robotically driven, I was wheeled out the next day to the car, and then used a cane for about two days for balance/safety sake, and less than three weeks later I was walking in to a wildlife area with bow in hand for deer archery opener. No narcotics after surgery, and I returned to seeing patients three days after surgery. A couple of half days to start, but it was full blast within a week.

Hip replacement surgeries have the fastest “time to happiness” of all joint replacements. Knees next, then shoulders and finally elbow/ankles.

A good surgeon will need to teach elbow/ankle replacement patients that there is a decent chance that that won’t get any better function than they are currently experiencing, but they should strive to be with much less pain. It is different with hips. The great majority of young-ish patients should expect to have significant gain of function and elimination of pain.

 

[Marshian]

As an anesthesiologist, I see them only the day of but there’s not nearly as much post op pain as a total knee and they have a higher chance of going home the same day too. Spinal anesthesia is preferred by my ortho guys but the generals go home same too and doesn’t seem all much different after 3-4 hours post op. Good luck!! Remember too that someone else is always having way worse surgery at a younger age. I’ve had surgeries myself and that mindset helps ground you and make you appreciative of what health you do have.

 

[Bluffgruff]

I've done hundreds of medical consults on post-op joints. Patients getting elective hip replacements are usually the happiest people I talk to with the least pain relative to before the surgery. If I needed a hip replaced, I'd be upset that I needed it, apprehensive about the PT, but not at all scared of outcome.

 

[noharleyyet]

“For a man this young, that’s the worst arthritis I’ve ever seen, a lessor man would have had surgery much sooner”….my ortho surgeon to my wife immediately after surgery in 2007. Thus it wasn’t robotically driven surgery. I was instructed to be non weight barring for 6 weeks so I used a walker to get around. I knew it was the right thing to do, but I will say getting out of bed to go to the bathroom took a lot of grit to bear the pain that first week. I returned back to work a full two weeks later.

12 years later the other side was comparatively and literally a walk in the park. Muscle sparring approach, robotically driven, I was wheeled out the next day to the car, and then used a cane for about two days for balance/safety sake, and less than three weeks later I was walking in to a wildlife area with bow in hand for deer archery opener. No narcotics after surgery, and I returned to seeing patients three days after surgery. A couple of half days to start, but it was full blast within a week.

Hip replacement surgeries have the fastest “time to happiness” of all joint replacements. Knees next, then shoulders and finally elbow/ankles.

A good surgeon will need to teach elbow/ankle replacement patients that there is a decent chance that that won’t get any better function than they are currently experiencing, but they should strive to be with much less pain. It is different with hips. The great majority of young-ish patients should expect to have significant gain of function and elimination of pain.

I failed to mention the efficacy of robotics and anterior approach.

 

[Hunting Wife]

My mother-in-law had one and the speed of recovery was impressive. She was in her 60’s. She was navigating the stairs from day one and mowing the lawn by week two. She always said the pain during recovery was far less than the pain she had lived with before.

I guess a bonus of having it done young is that you should bounce back very quickly, barring complications. But outcomes from people I’ve talked to are nearly universally excellent. Good luck!

 

[Wildabeest]

As an anesthesiologist, I see them only the day of but there’s not nearly as much post op pain as a total knee and they have a higher chance of going home the same day too. Spinal anesthesia is preferred by my ortho guys but the generals go home same too and doesn’t seem all much different after 3-4 hours post op. Good luck!! Remember too that someone else is always having way worse surgery at a younger age. I’ve had surgeries myself and that mindset helps ground you and make you appreciative of what health you do have.

They did a nerve block when I had my ankle done. Lasted almost a week. Those were happy days. Then it got real from a pain standpoint.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Anyone here had a full replacement? What was the recovery like? How long did it take to regain full strength and mobility?

At age 66 my wife broke her hip playing basketball in flipflops with grandkids. She had a hip replacement, then began walking religiously and hiking within a few months. Within a year we backpacked 76 miles in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
Her strength and mobility has only continued to increase. She doesn't run anymore ... but she can easily walk a 13-minute mile!

 

[Hams42]

They did a nerve block when I had my ankle done. Lasted almost a week. Those were happy days. Then it got real from a pain standpoint.

They gave me one in my hip. It was almost impossible to go to the bathroom for 3 days.

 

[El Jason]

For post op considerations, is it true no more running or martial art stuff? Will it limit me from hunting the steep and technical stuff?

 

[kansasdad]

For post op considerations, is it true no more running or martial art stuff? Will it limit me from hunting the steep and technical stuff?

Some (cray cray) docs tell the bullriders to have at it again. I know I am more cautious about jumping down from anything higher than a couple of feet.

 

[Caseknife]

My sister has had both replaced, both anterior procedures. Up and walking within hours. The second was around Thanksgiving last year and she is joining me on a hike around the Seven Devils in two weeks. She turns 70 in a little over a week. She had to teach herself how to walk correctly after the first hip because it was so bad for so long it changed her gait. Don't think there are really any restrictions with the anterior procedure, posterior, yes, but don't think that is the preferred method any longer. Good luck and do the PT.

 

[Potsie]

There goes your post retirement dream career as a Rockette.

 

[antlerradar]

Some (cray cray) docs tell the bullriders to have at it again. I know I am more cautious about jumping down from anything higher than a couple of feet.

I am cautious about jumping down more than a few feet with my stranded issue hips and knees at this point in my life.

 

[Hertervillian]

Had a new one installed May 6. Everything went as planned as far as I know. I was back working July 8.

I was not at what I’d call full capacity, but I was somewhat better than I was on May 5th. Somewhere around August 15 I tried tripping up some stairs, pretty sure I had undone the whole mess. As was explained to me I’d loosened some scar tissue. That healed very fast.

I was elk hunting horseback into a drop camp in October. I was weaker than I thought but better than I was 2 years prior. The horseback ride was far better, something that had persuaded me to fix myself or stop hunting.

If your a freaking animal about training and following the workouts 5 months will be a very attainable goal even without horses. I did what needed done, but didn’t have any dead elk involved.

2 summers later I hardly think about it. It comes up if I’m contemplating something stupid like jumping out of a truck. Hell, the rest of me isn’t ready for that either.

 

[44hunter45]

Watching this closely.

 

[GigiBobert]

I had both mine done the same week. Bilateral. The first on Monday, 2nd on Wednesday. Had the resurfacing done by Dr. Gross in Columbia, South Carolina. A little different joint hardware, but still a total hip replacement. Both were done with spinals. Went a couple of days early and donated blood so the doc could do "platelet packing", which I guess was relatively new for hip replacements Then flew cross country home 2 days later. The 1st one was a breeze, but combined with the 2nd surgery two days later, it was brutal. My butt looked like Kim Kraptrashians, except purple and maybe not quite as big.

I would have never made it home without my wife. The doc wouldn't have done both if I was older or not in good shape. I wasn't even 50 yet, so this method spares some bone so if it wears out, I can get it re-done a little easier. Also, I heard too many dislocation stories from active people with regular hip replacement. Ive been thrown off horses and had mountain bike and ski wrecks since with no dislocations. No PT, just lots of walking, biking, mountain hiking, and joint stretching after 6 months.

I went to South Carolina because there were only about 4 docs in the US doing it at the time. None here in Colorado. The resurfacing worked out well for me.

I've killed a few elk since and packed them out on a pack frame. Kifaru Duplex and Mystery Ranch for you gear heads. 7 mag, .280, .25/06, .350 Rem. mag and .54 Knight muzzy. No 6.5 Manbuns allowed. I'm 70 now and had the surgery in 2004.

 

[Hem]

I had both mine done the same week. Bilateral. The first on Monday, 2nd on Wednesday. Had the resurfacing done by Dr. Gross in Columbia, South Carolina. A little different joint hardware, but still a total hip replacement. Both were done with spinals. Went a couple of days early and donated blood so the doc could do "platelet packing", which I guess was relatively new for hip replacements Then flew cross country home 2 days later. The 1st one was a breeze, but combined with the 2nd surgery two days later, it was brutal. My butt looked like Kim Kraptrashians, except purple and maybe not quite as big.

I would have never made it home without my wife. The doc wouldn't have done both if I was older or not in good shape. I wasn't even 50 yet, so this method spares some bone so if it wears out, I can get it re-done a little easier. Also, I heard too many dislocation stories from active people with regular hip replacement. Ive been thrown off horses and had mountain bike and ski wrecks since with no dislocations. No PT, just lots of walking, biking, mountain hiking, and joint stretching after 6 months.

I went to South Carolina because there were only about 4 docs in the US doing it at the time. None here in Colorado. The resurfacing worked out well for me.

I've killed a few elk since and packed them out on a pack frame. Kifaru Duplex and Mystery Ranch for you gear heads. 7 mag, .280, .25/06, .350 Rem. mag and .54 Knight muzzy. No 6.5 Manbuns allowed. I'm 70 now and had the surgery in 2004.

This is what @El Jason needs to hear.
Good post @GigiBobert

 

[El Jason]

This is what @El Jason needs to hear.
Good post @GigiBobert

Except the part about the 6.5 MB.

 

[Bigjay73]

For post op considerations, is it true no more running or martial art stuff? Will it limit me from hunting the steep and technical stuff?

I switched to straight boxing from muay thai. I cant imagine jiu jitsu would be bad for a new hip