<p>DH is headed for one in the near future. He is relatively young (56) and EXTREMELY active (weight training, fishing, golf, basketball, softball) and is concerned about the toll his activity would have on the implant.</p>
<p>We are hearing about new procedures for athletes. Can anyone share their surgery outcomes or anyone in the medical field share outcomes of their patients. Average recovery time be for a healthy 50-something? Need him to be tip-top for shoveling season ;)</p>
<p>My H (age 60) just had his hip replaced on Wednesday so is in the initial stages of recovery. Obviously we don’t have a lot of outcomes to report yet. He was sent home Friday and is getting PT and a visiting nurse at home a few days a week. The PT says he’s about a week ahead of the norm in movement already - he is on crutches and goes up and down stairs. His biggest issue at the moment is that he has to stay horizontal most of the time to help reduce swelling in the operated leg - it’s the worst now since the surgery. He’s also having some difficulty sleeping on his back only.</p>
<p>There are a lot of limitations during the recovery phase, mainly involved in restricting movement to keep the artificial hip in exactly the right position. That will probably be H’s most frustrating stage. He’s so used to being on the move that it’s hard - and boring - to just lay around all day. He’s already recovered enough to be able to do much more if he was allowed so it’s hard to hold back.</p>
<p>H is also active - health club, softball, “old guys” basketball, biking. His doctor said he would know when to get the hip replaced - once it started affecting his quality of life. If he didn’t do anything strenuous, it didn’t really hurt. Once he’s essentially recovered (up to 4-6 months), he should be fine on most normal activities - but will need to avoid impact and torque sports. So there will be some limitations but overall should be pain-free on the more routine stuff - yes, that includes shoveling snow! He’ll be able to play basketball but cautiously, and no more sliding in softball!</p>
<p>The doctor said there was so much arthritis that he was surprised H could stand, let alone walk. So absolutely the right decision.</p>
<p>My cousin had a hip replacement. She had been in pain prior to the operation. Having heard about a several-month recovery time, I was a little surprised about what the recovery actually consisted of. </p>
<p>Despite some soreness, she actually felt better as soon as she woke up because that former pain was gone. She was soon up on her feet and feeling pretty good. The difficult part was that certain movements were strictly restricted (by doctor’s order, NOT by how she felt). She was absolutely forbidden to move certain ways, and this included various positions from the waist down. You need help from a partner to remind you not to do certain movements that are very automatic, like crossing your legs, bending over, etc., etc. Certain positions are forbidden during sleep. (My cousin actually slept in her recliner for 2-3 weeks to make sure she didn’t mess up.) You have to do exercises in physical therapy every day that are important to complete recovery. So, a big part of the recovery is the frustration of holding yourself back due to the movement restrictions. The problem is you don’t want that ball popping out of the socket, especially while it is still healing.</p>
<p>My cousin is not an athlete like your husband, so I don’t know whether there are any lifelong requirements that will put a crimp in some of his future athletic endeavors.</p>
<p>Ah – this could be my husband’s story. In fact, it IS his story, exactly.</p>
<p>DH is an athlete – in college, did football, soccer, lacrosse, wrestling; since college, has done rugby, squash and tennis. He had his first hip done in 2003, at the age of 52, due to osteoarthritis. When he woke up in recovery, he had the same reaction as Skyhook’s cousin: “Despite some soreness, [he] actually felt better as soon as [he] woke up because that former pain was gone.”</p>
<p>He was home in four days and within a week was walking a mile. After about two weeks he was up to a few miles. That was his primary PT – nothing else. </p>
<p>Five years later he had to have the second hip done, and he didn’t hesitate for a minute.</p>
<p>Now? He teaches tennis – so he’s on the court during the spring/summer/fall season for up to six hours a day. He also plays squash five times a week, and almost every day takes our dogs to the woods – very hilly, rocky terrain, where he walks about two miles. </p>
<p>It’s a fantastic surgery and your DH should look forward to it. </p>
<p>PM me if you’d like to know more.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone. This is very helpful and encouraging information.</p>
<p>Marilyn-Hope your H is feeling better each day. Like your H, mine said he is finally ready to do something about the constant pain from the arthritis. He can’t sit, stand, drive, even sleep for any length of time so something must be done.</p>
<p>Skyhook- Yes, that will be my H’s biggest issue…staying STILL! I think I’ll have my hands full trying to hold him down…</p>
<p>VH- So glad your husband is doing so well. My husband also has severe osteoarthritis and a necrosis (?) in one side and moderately severe osteo in the other, so he will likely have both done as well. The most strenuous activity for him is when he referees basketball almost daily through the winter months, so he is concerned about being able to handle all that motion. He will discuss the surgery with doc as soon as his MRI results come back. I will PM you with questions…thanks for offering.</p>
<p>He is looking into a procedure called a 2-incision hip replacement where they can avoid cutting through muscle resulting in a quicker and less painful recovery/rehab time. Has anyone out there heard of or had this procedure? Has anyone had BOTH hips done at once?</p>
<p>Thanks again for sharing your experiences…</p>
<p>1down12go- I am a nurse, and I work with many ortho patients. Here is what I can tell you- There are new procedures and new devices coming out all of the time. With your husband being so young, he needs to have a replacement that spares as much bone as possible. Since he is active, there is a good possibility that he will need this hip replaced again in the future. I will assume that he is having this done for arthritis? Is that accurate? In that case, the amount of damage in the socket will be part of the decision on the type of hip that is used. I am sure that someone has already decided that he is not eligible for resurfacing instead of replacement.
Look around at different surgeons. You will find that some have different procedures and different hip replacements parts that are used. There are differences.
Good luck!</p>
<p>I had a minimally invasive hip replacement 5 years ago at age 52. I had been in pain for quite some time but thought it was the iliotibial band. I also had immediate relief. My only complication was inordinate swelliing so that impeded my recovery a bit. I have no restrictions. I rarely even remember I have had it done. When they cut through the muscle, there are more restrictions - crossing legs, sitting at a 90 degree angle, etc. This is not the case with the two incision, no muscle cutting procedure. The main thing is to use a doctor who has done tons and tons of them. My doctor was a pioneer in the minimally invasive procedure and had done more, at the time, than any other doctor in the area and I am an area with almost embarrassing riches in hospital choices. </p>
<p>I have been told to avoid high impact exercise in order to prolong the life of the implant. My doctor says it is not necessarily true that I will need another replacement. I was a workout - aholic in my day so overdoing it is what caused the need for the replacement. Now my knees are the problem.</p>
<p>Edited to add - I also had some numbness at the site where they went through the muscle. There is still some slight numbness. I am told that is really rare and I wonder if it was caused as much by the swelling as the trauma to the muscle.</p>
<p>Thank you vlines. We still have lots of research to do. I do not think he is a candidate for the resurfacing because of the severe arthritis, but to be honest, he has not discussed this in detail yet with the Dr…he will at his next visit when his MRI results are back.</p>
<p>Is the resurfacing/reshaping procedure preferred because of his age? Also, would you have any idea how long these can last in a healthy patient?</p>
<p>So cartera, you had the traditional procedure where they cut the muscle? About an hour or two north of us he knows of a doc who specializes in the 2 incision, so he will likely be consulting with them too.</p>
<p>My H was/is also a workout-aholic, the gym, baseball, football in HS, etc. which I’m sure is what got him here as well. I do hope his procedure will not require another surgery in the future…glad to hear that isn’t always the case. Of course, he will probably have to adjust the level of his activity a bit…that’s going to be the hard part, for him AND me!!</p>
<p>Hi All-
I think I have the answers to all your Q’s. At age 50 ( 3 plus years ago) I had my left hip RESURFACED, not REPLACED. It has been WONDERFUL. I am so glad I did not have the full hip replacement- I have lots of bone left to replace this resurfacing device (metal on metal) with the full device if it wears out before I die.</p>
<p>BE FOREWARNED: Most hip surgeons in the US will pooh pooh this procedure- they are invested in their own version, do not know much about this and see it as competition and will label it very unfairly as quackery, and should NOT be playing around with this procedure unless they are very well-trained- it is very different.</p>
<p>Athletes and runners and karate champions and fire-fighters are having LOTS of success with RESURFACED HIPS!!!</p>
<p>BUT it is WORTH the research to find a great HR surgeon---- I promise you!!!</p>
<p>It is a more invasive to the tissue, more complex surgery than regular hip replacements because they do NOT remove any of your FEMUR. Surgeon just shaves off top of ball, inserts a mushroom shaped cap, and then puts a cup inside the acetebula to reline it.</p>
<p>HOWVER, you MUST go to a surgeon who is VERY EXPERIENCED with this exact surgery, has done 100 plus (1000 plus is better!) and with success- travel if you have to. </p>
<p>Please refer in depth to the SURFACE HIPPY and HIP RESURFACING websites for detailed info and blogs about the various surgeons and the various devices out there.</p>
<p>I went to Belgium to have it done by a surgeon who had done 10,000 procedures. It was invented in Birmingham England. I may have to have my right hip done, and will go back to the Belgian surgeon OR to a certain surgeon in NYC. BUT there are more and more US surgeons who are getting very good at this. There are also excellent surgeons in INDIA.</p>
<p>I can explain the cost differentials, the insurance issues, and point you again to these websites for the latest info on this.</p>
<p>Also, your bone needs to be in good enough shape for you to qualify for this surgery, so do not wait too long. Most surgeons will accept x-rays by mail or digitally by email to tell you whether you are ready or too far gone.</p>
<p>I can tell whoever is interested A LOT more about the history (incl why the US has relatively few surgeons doing this type of hip), the complications, some names of great surgeons. PM me if you like. </p>
<p>I am actually thrilled to be able to share the wonders of this great technology- what a life–saver it has been for me!!!</p>
<p>P.s. Do not go without a crutch if you are limping. AVOID LIMPING- it will destroy your natural gait. It took me about 6 weeks to really walk well after the surgery (I learned to walk again in a POOL- water-walking is best), as I had been limping for two years. But it took me 6 months to unlearn my bad habits and re-train my muscles and coordination to walk properly!!!
P.P.S. Get a good physical therapist, NOW, even before surgery. This person will be your best friend before and after surgery!!! The better shape you are in before the surgery the faster the recovery. Wake up your core. And swim swim swim to keep in shape if nothing else works anymore.</p>
<p>Performers mom</p>
<p>Did you have arthritis or a different cause for needing a hip replacement?</p>
<p>I had “arthritis”- caused by FAI or “femoral acetebular impingement”, which went undiagnosed for 10 years as I passed from one ortho to the next, in quite a bit of pain. Finally an MRI to the rear revealed all the inflammation!
Basically my loose hips and heavy high impact exercise (all types- soccer, ballet, aerobics, tennis, squash, you name it) over the years created bumpy bones or impingements on the ball of my femur and inside my acetebula, so every times I moved they scraped into my cartilage. Cartilage is programmed by your DNA to repair only so many times. So I had no more cartilage left by the time the surgeon went in, and my bone was softening- osteopenia. I made it in time to qualify!</p>
<p>This surgery is potentially for anyone with hip irregularities to the bone, such as dysplasia, or the cartilage.
Even young people get this. It is a lifesaver for those with hip deformities, too.
My new hip is BETTER than the one I was born with. And I have absolutely no doc-mandated restrictions in movement- it is up to me.</p>
<p>Wow, thank you for the detailed information PMom, and so happy to hear you are doing so well post surgery. We will definitely ask about this procedure…I’m hoping it isn’t too late for H to be a candidate for it. The docs who do the 2 incision procedure also do the reshaping/resurfacing arthroplasty. We will be sure they have done MANY before proceeding with them!!</p>
<p>These surgeons may very well not do HIP RESURFACING, and may speak ill of it.
Be sure to google HIP RESURFACING and SURFACE HIPPY to learn all about it, and the surgeons who do this often and well.</p>
<p>No I had the two incision minimally invasive. They did not cut the muscle. That is why I have no restrictions.</p>
<p>My DH is also young (mid 40’s) and needs to have one hip replaced soon, the other eventually. He’s basically in chronic pain and was ready to have the surgery done this past spring and then he canceled it. He is having a really hard time coming to terms with what kind of implant to choose. Any advice on that? He is also very athletic, with the worst sports–hockey, mountain biking, and skiing. He’s pretty much stopped everything but skiing, which he really loves. He can’t do resurfacing-as I understand it, one hip is too far along for that.</p>
<p>Can I ask about personality issues as well? I love DH a lot, but the last two years he’s been tough to live with–very snappish and short-tempered. I’m pretty sure it stems from the chronic pain. I can’t make him get the surgery, and I don’t want to fool myself into thinking that it will bring his old happy go lucky personality back. But I am hoping to get my old husband back once he has a new hip. I miss that guy.</p>
<p>I can relate. I was in constant pain and got to the point I really didn’t even realize it any more. I was getting accustomed to the pain, but I was in a bad mood - grumpy, snappy, not myself. I was doing personal training with a pilates instructor and she told me that something was really wrong and that it wasn’t something that stretching and exercise could cure. When I visited the doctor, he tested my range of motion and said it was basically nil. At that point, I couldn’t even tie my shoe without contorting my body to reach it. I was still horseback riding but was crying involuntarily through most of the ride. When the doctor told me I needed a hip replacement, I thought he was joking - it was unimaginable to me. He told me I must have a high threshold for pain because it had to hurt like hell. I told him I was too young and would continue with acupuncture and try pain meds - I wasn’t taking anything at the time. I did that for a couple of months and returned. He asked me what I was waiting for and why I would spend my 50s not being able to tie my own shoe so that I wouldn’t have to worry about possibly having a second hip replacement in my 80s. I was miserable for no reason. He was right. </p>
<p>I don’t see any reason your H couldn’t do mountain biking, skiing, and even hockey after the replacement. I think jogging on pavement would be worse. I know a woman who is 75, has had both hip replaced and she is a ski instructor. </p>
<p>I believe you will get your old H back and he will be pain free. There is no reason to postpone this - it will only get worse.</p>
<p>ditto what cartera said.
Pain erodes a personality away, bit by bit.
You do not wake up and say OW. No, it grates and is constant, sometimes gets very bad, but is like a buzzing that never stops. So it is irritating and exhausting. And very limiting.</p>
<p>During the 10 years that my hip was bad, I did not use pain killers (addictive) or NSAID’s ( heart issues) or anti-inflammatories (bad for liver) or steroids. I also understand that these can also ultimately make the cartilage destruction advance more quickly.</p>
<p>Anyway, get thy H to a good hip surgeon asap!</p>
<p>cartera you have just described my husband exactly. He has zero range of motion and has been in terrible pain for the past 8-10 years. As the hips deteriorate, the personality is deteriorating as well. He is almost always grumpy and snappy, worse on humid days when the pain seems to peak (and there are LOTS of humid days where we live.)</p>
<p>Riding a horse is virtually impossible and even his riding mower leaves him almost unable to walk when he’s done. I think he is finally ready to do something…late one night he said “I don’t know how much longer I can go on with this pain.”</p>
<p>He has done pain meds, acupuncture, massage, chiropractor, and ices almost daily just to survive. I am thankful there seems to be a light at the end of his lonely tunnel. Like Lennon, I want my fun, happy go lucky husband back. Reading these success stories is really giving us some hope and optimism…keep them coming. Thank you all.</p>
<p>Husband had knee problems. Had a scope and was told he needed a new knee but was too young. Then had a resurfacing, did not work. A few years later had a partial/single compartment replacement–“great new procedure for single compartment problems,” by a knee specialist. Did not work. Finally at 54 he went to a very well thought of different knee specialist to beg for a total knee replacement. This guy took one look at his X-rays and asked my husband what he was waiting for… Geez. Best thing he ever did. Woke up in the RR and did not have the pain he had had for YEARS. He is 64 now and the knee is going strong.</p>