Lift and separate?

[Guest guest]

Dear people

I'm confused about something and I'm getting different answers over

here. (2 physios who both deal with post-op hip resurfacings have

told me different answers). Any knowledgable input would help.

It's about access to the hip joint during surgery. Currently, my

thinking is this:

Step 1) big slice down the back of my right cheek. No problem there.

Step 2) The gluteus maximus is then " separated " or " divided " . My

understanding is that this may or may not involve making a vertical

cut or two to begin with but that it mainly concerns pulling or

teasing apart the muscle down its " grain " (the direction the muscle

fibres travel). One physio told me this, and it makes sense to me,

given the size of the muscle in question and where it is. Another

physio told me that the whole muscle is kept intact and pulled out of

the way while the surgery occurs. (Maybe a decision is made on a

case by case basis in the OR?)

Step 3) The ligaments that surround the hip capsule are also cut so

that the hip can be dislocated and away you go.

I'm sure if a surgeon has to cut, he/she will try and do as neat a

job as possible, but can anyone confirm what actually happens?

Especially with Step 2?

(BTW - I'm getting a BHR and I don't think my surgeon has any special

techniques in mind).

(The reason I ask is that the physio who told me that the muscle is

just moved and not cut told me that I couldn't do any damage post-op

if I exceeded my allowable range of motion and that the limitation is

simply to help me avoid pain, yet if I have stitches holding together

my muscles and ligaments, then too much movement could certainly do

some damage, I would think).

I suspect I won't really know until I see my surgeon pre-op and ask

him.

Thanks

Tony