New hip coming on Sept 18th

[Sue J]

I'm getting a total hip replacement done on Wed. Sept 18th. This is not my first one, I had the other side done in 2014. My previous surgery was done through the side (lateral approach) and my recovery included the restriction about bending past the 90 degree point. This was one of the toughest parts of the recovery last time as bending was so restricted that it made it hard to do so many things.

This time I'm having the surgery done with the anterior approach, through the front. I've been to the hip class and they told us that this type of surgery does not have the bending restriction like my last surgery. I'm expecting to stay for one overnight, last time it was two overnights, so it sounds like this method has nice benefits over my last surgery.

I've done all my pre-op stuff, all my clearances and insurance pre-authorization. I still have my equipment from last time, the walker, the raised toilet seat, the tub seat, the leg lifter thingy, etc. This time they said to get a walker with wheels on the front, my old one didn't have wheels so I ordered a set and changed out the legs for the wheels.

The plan is for me to come home for the recovery. We have a bedroom and bath on the main floor. DH took excellent care of me last time! We both know what to expect. The first 2 weeks were very homebound and I needed a lot of help, once I was able to use a cane to get around things eased up a bit.

I've been dealing with difficulty with stairs and walking for quite a while and I've been using a cane to get around. Dr thought it was sacroiliac joint and I tried PT and had some improvement. Earlier xrays showed that the hip joint was not too bad. Then I started having hip pain near the end of PT and xrays in June showed much more deterioration. I knew what was coming when I saw the xrays. So I saw the surgeon in July and they were scheduling 2 months out. So here we are in Sept!

I'm starting Medicare on Feb 1st, 2020. I thought about trying to make it to Medicare for this, but it's just not worth it to be this debilitated for 5 more months. My ACA bronze (with HSA) plan deductible is $5200 with a Max Out Of Pocket of $6650. I've had enough other medical crap happen this year that I'm already over $4100 in deductible so I have only about $2500 left for the year. The HSA for both of us is fully funded. The cost of this is not an issue, I just want to get better!

I've been following all the knee replacement recovery topics and how everyone is progressing. I know many here have had a hip replacement, I'd like to know how it was if you had one done with the anterior approach.

 

[splitwdw]

Sue J, Good luck with your upcoming surgery and please post as you are recovering. I've not had any replacement surgeries so I'm reading in case these surgeries are something I need in the future.
Does recovery take as long as total knee replacement? Is it as painful? Do you have to ice the hip?
Speedy recovery!!

 

[MissMolly]

Good luck. Now there are 2 posters with upcoming anterior hip replacements. If I was that close to my MOOP I would not think twice about having the surgery now as opposed to waiting another 5 months.

 

[frayne]

Good luck Sue and keep us updated.

 

[braumeister]

I know many here have had a hip replacement, I'd like to know how it was if you had one done with the anterior approach.

Not me, but a good friend had that nearly two years ago and he often forgets he had it. As you said, only one night in the hospital. Early morning surgery and they had him up and walking on it that afternoon.

My neighbor also had it just over a year ago at the age of 79, and he was walking all over the neighborhood without even a cane within the week.

Hope that gives you some more confidence!

 

[aja8888]

I know many here have had a hip replacement, I'd like to know how it was if you had one done with the anterior approach.

Sue, I'm having my second hip replacement with the anterior procedure on 11/18 (Dr. Stefan Kreuzer, Houston). First one was done by him 11 years ago (anterior also).

Easy/peasy with this procedure. I was home in two days walking around the neighborhood and driving in 10 days (not because of the hip, but a time restriction by the Dr.). I was back to work (working at that time) in two weeks.

PT is not recommended after the anterior procedure unless the Dr. recommends it. I didn't have PT the last time.

Osteoarthritis got my second hip and that's the reason for this replacement (pain, what else?).

This is so much easier than a total knee replacement, especially if you have it done using the anterior procedure and no muscle is cut.

Age wise, I will be 76 when this hip is replaced (in great health, otherwise).

 

[Moemg]

Sue , Good Luck ! I took care of my Mother for two hip replacements . She was in her 80's and did great so you should really ace this . With all the replacements going around the early retirement board should get volume discounts .

 

[Sue J]

Quick update. I had my surgery this morning. I was so relieved to wake up in recovery! The worst part was the wait in pre-op as we had to be here 2 hours early. All went well and I got to my room by 2pm and had lunch. I’ve made a couple of trips to the bathroom with a nurse and a walker. It felt good to be vertical.

My son, DIL, and 10 month old grandson are coming to visit later. I checked and babies are welcome. DH stayed until I got to my room and will come back tomorrow for a family PT lesson and hopefully discharge.

So far it’s been mostly discomfort but when it got a little more uncomfortable I asked for pain med and got some morphine. They say to stay ahead of pain so I thought I’d speak up and go with it.

 

[aja8888]

Quick update. I had my surgery this morning. I was so relieved to wake up in recovery! The worst part was the wait in pre-op as we had to be here 2 hours early. All went well and I got to my room by 2pm and had lunch. I’ve made a couple of trips to the bathroom with a nurse and a walker. It felt good to be vertical.

My son, DIL, and 10 month old grandson are coming to visit later. I checked and babies are welcome. DH stayed until I got to my room and will come back tomorrow for a family PT lesson and hopefully discharge.

So far it’s been mostly discomfort but when it got a little more uncomfortable I asked for pain med and got some morphine. They say to stay ahead of pain so I thought I’d speak up and go with it.

Great to hear Sue! Nothing like waking up after surgery to make your day! You should be good to go soon and after 10 days you should be pretty much past it.

 

[splitwdw]

Yay! Hope you are released tomorrow.

 

[SumDay]

Here's hoping for a quick, complete recovery!

 

[MissMolly]

Sounds like another successful surgery!

 

[W2R]

Congratulations on getting a brand new hip! Sounds like everything is going really well so far.

 

[omni550]

Sue,

Sounds like your surgery went great.

Keep us posted as you recover!

omni

 

[aaronc879]

Glad to hear things have gone well so far. I had a THR thru the anterior approach 16 months ago at age 38 and I still have pain and limited mobility. I think the problem with me was that it was the result of a work comp injury and they put me back to work too much too soon and now I will have problems for life. Don't over due it. I was fine with sedentary work, things got bad when I went to heavier duty work at 3 months. I also have permanent nerve damage around the bottom of the incision that causes discomfort daily. If you have a very painful "pins and needles" sensation starting a few days after surgery then you likely have the same nerve damage. It is fairly common with the anterior apporach. The pain will reduce but the numbness stays. Best of luck to you. It seems most recover much better than me so i'm sure you will be fine.

 

[Rianne]

Congratulations! One important point, the hip replacement materials. DB had hip replacement several years back and metal was chipping off into his blood stream. I'm sure they've corrected that issue, he's involved in a class action suit. He had to have a 2nd double hip replacement. Yes, I mean a total of 4 hip replacements. Today, he's doing great! No issues, weight lifts and exercises. He travels and walks a lot. You'll be fine!

 

[Sue J]

I was discharged this afternoon and got home around 3:00. I didn’t get quality sleep in the hospital, so many interruptions, but I had a few times where I dozed off. Had a good all out nap in my recliner once I was home.

They gave me a prescription for oxycodone to take home. In the hospital I had one dose of morphine and then just Tylenol and torodol. I had Tylenol again at home and I haven’t felt the need for the oxycodone but it’s here if I need it. I don’t have a lot of pain, it feels more like soreness and stiffness. It feels good to get up and move around with the walker.

I’m taking it easy, watching baseball with an ice pack for 20 minutes, doing my PT in the chair and doing my inhalation respiratory gizmo (inhale to make the float rise up) every hour. SO GOOD TO BE HOME!

 

[W2R]

Terrific!! So glad that you are home and doing so well. I was really glad to get out of the hospital too, after my surgery in August, so that I could finally get some sleep.

 

[Sue J]

Sue, I'm having my second hip replacement with the anterior procedure on 11/18 (Dr. Stefan Kreuzer, Houston). First one was done by him 11 years ago (anterior also).

Easy/peasy with this procedure. I was home in two days walking around the neighborhood and driving in 10 days (not because of the hip, but a time restriction by the Dr.). I was back to work (working at that time) in two weeks.

Another update.

Five days out and I’m not yet experiencing “easy/peasy.”

If you saw Al Roker’s recent videos he had surgery the same day as me and at the time was sailing through an easy recovery. I’m nowhere near Al Roker and his delightful results. We all experience these things on our own.

I had been having a lot of pain on the front of my thigh. It felt like torn or strained muscles. It has improved on the front of the thigh and now is more like incision pain in the area of the bandage.

I’m allowed full weight bearing on my operative leg and I can do it at a standstill. But I’m still very dependent on the walker. Moving the operative leg with the walker is uncomfortable, so I’m slow and deliberate. But I get where I need to go, like the bathroom!

They sent me home with an Rx for 5 mg of oxycodone. I mostly used just Tylenol but finally tried the oxy. I didn’t feel like it made a big difference over the Tylenol so I didn’t take it very long. I’m hesitant about the big drugs. It’s here if I need it later.

My PT exercises can mostly be done from a chair and I’ve been doing them the best I can. They are getting easier so I’m happy to see improvement.

DH has been doing a good job taking care of me. He’s done this before so he knows what to expect. It’s the taking over running the household that gets tough for him. He usually doesn’t realize how much I do around here!

Last Saturday turned into a 3 ring circus. My sister wanted to visit and bring lunch. Sounds simple enough. She wanted to see our son and DIL and 10 mo old grandson too if they could come over. They came with their very sweet 65 lb dog that visits all the time. He interacts well with our dog. Our other son came too because my sister brought authentic deli corned beef! Then her 37 year old son comes with his new, very serious, girlfriend who has never met the family. Oh, they are already in the area because they just picked up an 11 week old boxer puppy and my house is sort of on the way home!

Ok, I see you rolling your eyes and shaking your head because what are these people thinking?? Me, the one with the shiny new hip operating with a walker sat back and let everyone else do everything, including managing 3 dogs checking each other out and wandering from room to room and outside. Yes, the puppy peed in my new kitchen during lunch, but hey, the new flooring is washable. And lunch was good. DH and our wonderful DIL took care of all the serving and cleanup. And I kept my sense of humor throughout the afternoon and had a nap once it got quiet here.

If it was me that just took an 11 week old puppy from it’s mother and only home, put it in a strange car with strange people (and my nephew and the gf are stranger than most) I’d go directly home and hope to get the puppy feeling oriented and secure before “meeting the family”. I asked if their apt complex allows dogs, and it’s only service and support dogs. They are making this puppy an “emotional support” dog. Yeah, good luck with that. I’ve been shaking my head over that one!

I’m glad my sense of humor and tolerance of family is still intact.

Sent from my iPad

 

[aaronc879]

Sue, I'm having my second hip replacement with the anterior procedure on 11/18 (Dr. Stefan Kreuzer, Houston). First one was done by him 11 years ago (anterior also).

Easy/peasy with this procedure. I was home in two days walking around the neighborhood and driving in 10 days (not because of the hip, but a time restriction by the Dr.). I was back to work (working at that time) in two weeks.

You must be Superman. I went back to work on light duty after 7 weeks and feel like 12 weeks would have been more appropriate.

 

[aja8888]

You must be Superman. I went back to work on light duty after 7 weeks and feel like 12 weeks would have been more appropriate.

No, I am not Superman. I had a great Doc and he is famous for the anterior procedure. At that time, I was 65 years old and he had already performed over 400 of these hip replacements. Before I considered him, my neighbor who is a retired FBI agent, had Doc Kreuzer replace his hip. I met with him (my neighbor) and he led me to the doc. The neighbor had the same successful post surgery experience and that was why I went that route.

Since then, 11 years ago, Dr, Kruezer is quite well known and has expanded his practice immensely. He has his own surgery center and boasts having done over 4,000 anterior procedures. He also has trained several doctors in this procedure.

Sometimes your success with surgery is enhanced by the doc's skills and sometimes it's how your body responds. The throw in some luck and we all are different.

Now that I am 76 (in October), Im hoping and praying this upcoming hip replacement goes as well, or even 1/2 as well as the last one.

 

[aja8888]

Another update.

Five days out and I’m not yet experiencing “easy/peasy.”

If you saw Al Roker’s recent videos he had surgery the same day as me and at the time was sailing through an easy recovery. I’m nowhere near Al Roker and his delightful results. We all experience these things on our own.

I had been having a lot of pain on the front of my thigh. It felt like torn or strained muscles. It has improved on the front of the thigh and now is more like incision pain in the area of the bandage.

I’m allowed full weight bearing on my operative leg and I can do it at a standstill. But I’m still very dependent on the walker. Moving the operative leg with the walker is uncomfortable, so I’m slow and deliberate. But I get where I need to go, like the bathroom!

They sent me home with an Rx for 5 mg of oxycodone. I mostly used just Tylenol but finally tried the oxy. I didn’t feel like it made a big difference over the Tylenol so I didn’t take it very long. I’m hesitant about the big drugs. It’s here if I need it later.

My PT exercises can mostly be done from a chair and I’ve been doing them the best I can. They are getting easier so I’m happy to see improvement.

DH has been doing a good job taking care of me. He’s done this before so he knows what to expect. It’s the taking over running the household that gets tough for him. He usually doesn’t realize how much I do around here!

Last Saturday turned into a 3 ring circus. My sister wanted to visit and bring lunch. Sounds simple enough. She wanted to see our son and DIL and 10 mo old grandson too if they could come over. They came with their very sweet 65 lb dog that visits all the time. He interacts well with our dog. Our other son came too because my sister brought authentic deli corned beef! Then her 37 year old son comes with his new, very serious, girlfriend who has never met the family. Oh, they are already in the area because they just picked up an 11 week old boxer puppy and my house is sort of on the way home!

Ok, I see you rolling your eyes and shaking your head because what are these people thinking?? Me, the one with the shiny new hip operating with a walker sat back and let everyone else do everything, including managing 3 dogs checking each other out and wandering from room to room and outside. Yes, the puppy peed in my new kitchen during lunch, but hey, the new flooring is washable. And lunch was good. DH and our wonderful DIL took care of all the serving and cleanup. And I kept my sense of humor throughout the afternoon and had a nap once it got quiet here.

If it was me that just took an 11 week old puppy from it’s mother and only home, put it in a strange car with strange people (and my nephew and the gf are stranger than most) I’d go directly home and hope to get the puppy feeling oriented and secure before “meeting the family”. I asked if their apt complex allows dogs, and it’s only service and support dogs. They are making this puppy an “emotional support” dog. Yeah, good luck with that. I’ve been shaking my head over that one!

I’m glad my sense of humor and tolerance of family is still intact.

Sent from my iPad

Yes Sue, we all respond differently to surgery I guess. I have had MANY surgeries and always came out OK and realistically have not had any memorable post surgery problems.

Those surgeries included having both lower arm bones (left arm) pinned and plated and screwed back together (both broken in half), had a shoulder "completely" rebuilt, had much of my lower jaw are fixed via plastic surgery, had my nose straightened and stitched back into shape, had a knee scope job, had cysts removed from the rear part of my neck, etc. (lots of dental surgery too).

I have lots of scars....

Sounds like you had quite a day with the visitors!

 

[omni550]

Another update.

Five days out and I’m not yet experiencing “easy/peasy.”

If you saw Al Roker’s recent videos he had surgery the same day as me and at the time was sailing through an easy recovery. I’m nowhere near Al Roker and his delightful results. We all experience these things on our own.

I had been having a lot of pain on the front of my thigh. It felt like torn or strained muscles. It has improved on the front of the thigh and now is more like incision pain in the area of the bandage.

I’m allowed full weight bearing on my operative leg and I can do it at a standstill. But I’m still very dependent on the walker. Moving the operative leg with the walker is uncomfortable, so I’m slow and deliberate. But I get where I need to go, like the bathroom!

They sent me home with an Rx for 5 mg of oxycodone. I mostly used just Tylenol but finally tried the oxy. I didn’t feel like it made a big difference over the Tylenol so I didn’t take it very long. I’m hesitant about the big drugs. It’s here if I need it later.

My PT exercises can mostly be done from a chair and I’ve been doing them the best I can. They are getting easier so I’m happy to see improvement.

DH has been doing a good job taking care of me. He’s done this before so he knows what to expect. It’s the taking over running the household that gets tough for him. He usually doesn’t realize how much I do around here!

Last Saturday turned into a 3 ring circus. My sister wanted to visit and bring lunch. Sounds simple enough. She wanted to see our son and DIL and 10 mo old grandson too if they could come over. They came with their very sweet 65 lb dog that visits all the time. He interacts well with our dog. Our other son came too because my sister brought authentic deli corned beef! Then her 37 year old son comes with his new, very serious, girlfriend who has never met the family. Oh, they are already in the area because they just picked up an 11 week old boxer puppy and my house is sort of on the way home!

Ok, I see you rolling your eyes and shaking your head because what are these people thinking?? Me, the one with the shiny new hip operating with a walker sat back and let everyone else do everything, including managing 3 dogs checking each other out and wandering from room to room and outside. Yes, the puppy peed in my new kitchen during lunch, but hey, the new flooring is washable. And lunch was good. DH and our wonderful DIL took care of all the serving and cleanup. And I kept my sense of humor throughout the afternoon and had a nap once it got quiet here.

If it was me that just took an 11 week old puppy from it’s mother and only home, put it in a strange car with strange people (and my nephew and the gf are stranger than most) I’d go directly home and hope to get the puppy feeling oriented and secure before “meeting the family”. I asked if their apt complex allows dogs, and it’s only service and support dogs. They are making this puppy an “emotional support” dog. Yeah, good luck with that. I’ve been shaking my head over that one!

I’m glad my sense of humor and tolerance of family is still intact.

Sent from my iPad

Maybe all the visitors figured you'd forget all about your new hip with all the commotion and goings-on.

Hope your recovery proceeds quickly, with minimum pain.

omni

 

[Sue J]

It's been 4 weeks, time for another update.

I stopped using the walker a few days before the 2 week mark. The walker made me very dependent for help with everything and I felt I was ready to move to the cane. DH has been wonderful and very willing to help with anything I needed but I wanted to be less needy. Just part of feeling more like "myself".

I saw the surgeon after 2 weeks and he x-rayed and checked my incision. He showed me the x-ray and I was surprised to see a large screw in there! My other hip implant doesn't have that but it sounds like it's standard for the type of implant he used.

So I've been using the cane for a few weeks now and I'm trying to walk upright and straight. I had been limping and using the cane for so long before the surgery and I'm trying not to revert back to poor posture like I had before. I've been to two physical therapy sessions. The first was basically an evaluation. I had to do some tests to establish a baseline. Then I was given some exercises to do at home. I can do most of them well and I'm seeing improvement. The one I can't do is where you lie flat on your back and lift the operative leg. I just can't get it off the bed! At my 2nd PT session she lifted my leg and then asked me to hold it off the bed and slowly lower it. I can do that minimally. I'm sore for a while after the PT sessions but doing the exercises at home goes well and seem to be helping. I have three more PT sessions planned.

I'm still somewhat stiff on my operative side. And there's a soreness when walking which is why I'm still using the cane. Sometimes I take ibuprofen for that. In the kitchen I can park the cane and move around but I still need it to get beyond that.

Yesterday I drove for the first time and took myself to the library which was a manageable outing! I just needed new reading material and I know they have an elevator to get to the adult section on the 2nd floor.

I've been sleeping well and was even able to sleep on my operative side, which I had been missing. Once I moved to the cane I've been able to make myself breakfast and lunch and I've done some cooking for dinner. It feels so good to get back to doing normal stuff!

Some of the bills have shown up on my insurance site

Hospital - $39,394 billed, $19,200 allowed amount
Surgeon - $3993 billed, $1,777 allowed amount

There were a few other expenses for x-rays in recovery and a pathology report on the femoral head that was removed but they have not been processed by the insurance so I don't know the amounts for those. I have not seen an anesthesia bill posted yet.

My cost on all of this is limited to $2534 as that is what was remaining until I met my max out of pocket of $6650 on my ACA HDHP Bronze plan.

I'm glad to be at the 4 week post op point. The recovery is a little slower than I expected but overall I'm improving and I'm very glad I had this done!

 

[omni550]

Thank for the update, Sue!

Sounds like your recovery is going very well.

Keep on truckin'....

omni