Re: Mom and hip replacement (new to group)

[Guest guest]

This group is a good place for information, but recommend you look to your doctors for advice. I'm a 74 yr old male that put off surgery as long as I could stand it, and am scheduled for May 25th, coming up soon. Not looking forward to surgery, but if it is successfull as it is in a high percentage of cases then I may improve my quality of life, and that is my motivation. It is my choice and whatever your mom does is her choice. There are pluses and minuses to surgery that only your mom can decide what does she want to do. The rest of the family can pray for success and offer support, which may not sound like much but will mean a lot to your mom. In my opinion the best thing you can do for mom is give her love and support in whatever decision she decides. Without surgery the hip pain and the medications to try to calm it or not fun either, and as you increase the dosage your behavior begins to get a little unsettling to your loved ones. Been doing that for a couple years myself now so hopefully my surgery will give us all a better outlook.

ben

Mom and hip replacement (new to group)

Hello group, I am new here and wanted some advice for my mom. My mom is 71 years old and needs a hip replacement. She just went to the doctor and by the looks of the xray, he says her hip is almost fused. She has put off the surgery for a long time. She is now having problems walking. She has used a cane for at least 2 years. Pain meds are no longer helping. She cannot shop anymore, I have to push her in a wheelchair. She is very scared to have this done, fear of complications. I know that any surgery has risks. She just found out this year she has a tiny hole in her heart. They said no need to fix it as she has had it from birth. It is very small but they said she needs antibiotics before any procedure or sugery and to watch out for blood clots. I am sure they will watch for this. My question is what is expected after surgery, will her hip feel better as it won't be fused any longer? Just any general advice would be appreciated.Thank you,Chris

[Guest guest]

Hi

I'm not sure if this will help or not..I am on the other end of the

spectrum..just 39, single mom of 3 and I am not quite 2 weeks out

from having both hips done at once. My quality of life was pretty

much zero thanks to the stiffness and pain in my hips. I would have

done this years earlier if my local doc hadn't been so stubborn on

giving me a referral out of town. I ended up in Boston with a

terrific surgeon. Anyway, because of a syndrome that I have there

were big chances to my heart and lungs during such a long surgery-

almost 6 hours-, but they took wonderful care of me and here I am on

my way to recovery. My roommate in the hospital was an elderly lady

who also put off surgery and she was doing great when she left for

rehab., scooting around with her walker all my herself. I actually

went home the same day she went to rehab, but on crutches. I truly

think the relief that she'll feel will make her a new woman. The

healing is a little difficult the first week, feels like you're

sitting on a bunch of smooth rocks, but with a strong family support

unit I'll bet she'll be great. Hope this helps and best of luck to

you and your mom. Debbie

>

[Guest guest]

You have just described me a couple of years ago. I had advanced

OA. I now have 2 new hips, no limp, no pain, no pain meds. The only

difference is I wasn't in a wheel chair (yet). My NSAIDS weren't

really helping any more, I had hand pain from using a cane, I was a

mess. I also have a heart murmur and take antibiotics before I go to

the dentist. So I had both hips replaced several months apart at age

59.

Of course THR is major surgery with all the risks that go along with

it. And everybody is scared at first. But tell her that THR is

arguably the most successful surgery there is in terms of how it

restores function and eliminates pain. She's not doing her body any

favors by delaying the fix and losing muscle tone because she is so

inactive. It's her life however so the decision needs to be hers.

But you can help her make it an informed decision.

Also, if it's any consolation, hospitals that have lots of these

procedures done have found that it is a routine enough procedure that

they actually prepare a notebook that outlines ahead of time what you

will do each day of your hospitalization. Mine did that and I found

it somehow conforting that they could tell me what each day's

activities would be and actually write it down!

For post-op pain, she will find that they will not " chase the pain "

but will medicate immediately with something like a PCA pump for a

day or two, then oral meds. The arthritis pain is amazingly gone.

The pain that replaces it is nothing like that grinding bone-on-bone

pain that comes with advanced OA. It's a pain from the incision and

some bruised and stretched muscles. And that is a pain that

decreases day by day as things heal.

Sure, complications are possible but they also have figured out ways

to reduce the likelihood of their occurance. For example, to prevent

blood clots, they can do many things. Her particular doctor will

have his own protocol but some of the possibilities are taking a

blood thinner for a few days or weeks (I took warfarin/coumadin),

wearing graduated compression stockings for awhile (I wore TEDS),

doing certain exercises (for me, it was ankle pumps) and just plain

getting out of bed and moving around reduces the chance.

Another complication is infection. Antibiotics are given in an IV.

Operating rooms have systems which cleanse the air and surfaces.

Sometimes surgical personnal wear hooded suits with their own air

supply. Infection is not inevitable. The less time one spends in

the hospital or rehab center the better in terms of early

infections. Home is better. It is likely that she would be told to

premedicate for invasive medical procedures (teeth cleaning & such,

but you say she already does that so nothing new there) for a couple

years or forever. I will do it forever because of my heart murmur.

And attention to future wounds or such things as UTIs is prudent.

Still another possible complication is dislocation. While it won't

kill you, it is a painful and annoying event. It is not inevitable.

The most important preventatives of dislocation are the surgeon's

skill (so you want a surgeon who has done LOTS of hips just like your

mom's and has a low dislocation rate) and the patient's adherence to

whatever movement and positional restrictions or precautions are

prescribed. Typically she would have a walker for awhile, and/or

crutches, then graduate to a single crutch or a cane,

then...Nothing!

She should also expect to have some PT and OT, in hospital and after

she goes home. Medicare pays for that stuff as well as home nurse

visits for a period of time while she is considered " Home-bound " .

She will be taught safe ways to do things using tools such as a

reacher, dressing stick, long handled shoe horn, sock-donning tool,

long-handled sponge for bathing, raised toilet seat. They will teach

her how to do steps and curbs safely. Then some day she won't need

any of this stuff and will be out walking miles and astounding you

all!

For convalescing at home it needs to be made safe for someone with a

walker (no throw rugs, clutter, dogs and kids to trip over, etc.) and

accessible (needed items at a level where she can reach without

bending over too far and violating a " 90-degree " rule.

> Hello group,

> I am new here and wanted some advice for my mom. My mom is 71

> years old and needs a hip replacement. She just went to the doctor

> and by the looks of the xray, he says her hip is almost fused. She

> has put off the surgery for a long time. She is now having problems

> walking. She has used a cane for at least 2 years. Pain meds are no

> longer helping. She cannot shop anymore, I have to push her in a

> wheelchair.

> She is very scared to have this done, fear of complications. I

> know that any surgery has risks. She just found out this year she

has

> a tiny hole in her heart. They said no need to fix it as she has

had

> it from birth. It is very small but they said she needs antibiotics

> before any procedure or sugery and to watch out for blood clots. I

am

> sure they will watch for this.

> My question is what is expected after surgery, will her hip

feel

> better as it won't be fused any longer? Just any general advice

would

> be appreciated.

>

> Thank you,

> Chris

[Guest guest]

Dear Debbie,

Thanks for writing. I read your post last night and told my mom

about your hip replacements. It sounds like you are feeling much

better and that is great. My mom is not getting around very well, and

I think that is making her depressed. I will update the group when I

know more. I just pray for no complications. Did you have any

problems? How do you avoid infections?

Take care and good luck to you.

Chris

> Hi

>

> I'm not sure if this will help or not..I am on the other end of the

> spectrum..just 39, single mom of 3 and I am not quite 2 weeks out

> from having both hips done at once. My quality of life was pretty

> much zero thanks to the stiffness and pain in my hips. I would have

> done this years earlier if my local doc hadn't been so stubborn on

> giving me a referral out of town. I ended up in Boston with a

> terrific surgeon. Anyway, because of a syndrome that I have there

> were big chances to my heart and lungs during such a long surgery-

> almost 6 hours-, but they took wonderful care of me and here I am

on

> my way to recovery. My roommate in the hospital was an elderly

lady

> who also put off surgery and she was doing great when she left for

> rehab., scooting around with her walker all my herself. I actually

> went home the same day she went to rehab, but on crutches. I truly

> think the relief that she'll feel will make her a new woman. The

> healing is a little difficult the first week, feels like you're

> sitting on a bunch of smooth rocks, but with a strong family

support

> unit I'll bet she'll be great. Hope this helps and best of luck to

> you and your mom. Debbie

> >

[Guest guest]

Thank you very much for all the information. I am printing this out

and giving it to her. It sounds like your surgery went well and I am

glad you are feeling better. It sure sounds like alot of things to

think about, but all in all it helps so many people. I enjoyed

reading your email and thanks for writing.

Chris

> You have just described me a couple of years ago. I had advanced

> OA. I now have 2 new hips, no limp, no pain, no pain meds. The

only

> difference is I wasn't in a wheel chair (yet). My NSAIDS weren't

> really helping any more, I had hand pain from using a cane, I was a

> mess. I also have a heart murmur and take antibiotics before I go

to

> the dentist. So I had both hips replaced several months apart at

age

> 59.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/18/2004 9:16:34 AM Central Standard Time, treprice2000@... writes:

Sometimes surgical personnal wear hooded suits with their own air supply. Infection is not inevitable

____

My surgeon has said he does this. The MDs in Florida are way concerned about liability issues, particularly with medicare patients, which are here aplenty, but who don't pay the full price for the total joint surgery. My hand picked surgeon, picked because I had treated a lot of his knees and they were all successful rehab people, has quit doing total joints partly because of the liability. I'm going with my second choice, who was recommended by all the therapists I called in the area. an added bonus is that he is drop dead gorgeous....I almost wish I could stay awake for the surgery just to watch him.

y

[Guest guest]

I too am in Florida. May I ask who your surgeon is?

Thanks.

Betty

[Guest guest]

On 5/26/04 7:20 PM, " BJJupiter@... " <BJJupiter@...> wrote:

I too am in Florida. May I ask who your surgeon is?

Thanks.

Betty

Where are you in FL, Betty? I am South. My surgeon was Jeffery Rich and he was VERY good.

Vera