My Hip Replacement

One week out from hip replacement:

     Well, I guess I can now call myself bionic. On May 11, 2021, I had my right hip replaced by Dr. Garcia and his team up in Santa Fe. He performed the anterior approach which I wanted because there are less precautions overall and a slightly lower just dislocation rate. Overall, my experience at the facility was very good. The place is extremely clean and everyone was very professional, very caring, and often times humorous which I like. My anesthesia did not wear off as intended it seems and had some issues maintaining consciousness while trying PT the day of the surgery towards the end of the afternoon. We gave up and I wasn’t able to resume PT until the next day. Anesthesia can be a tricky thing at times it seems and it is what it is. I was discharged to the very next day around 2:30 PM and came home hungry for pizza!

I think I underrated how big of a surgery this is and had expectations that were not warranted regarding how I would feel after surgery. The pain was way more intense than I thought it would be. I’ve had difficulty sleeping because of pain and being uncomfortable. Ive also had the typical fog and poor mental clarity secondary to narcotic use as prescribed from the Doctor. I have a newfound respect for people that go through the surgery and other surgeries as I work with people after surgery in a outpatient clinic. I hope to utilize this newfound empathy to be a better PTA.

I have been working on my own physical therapy which I’m totally cool with. I was evaluated by a home health company and found I have progressed far enough to not need their services. The PT thus far is been pretty basic with mostly supine activities and walking. I’m not gonna lie, even getting my right leg on the bed it was a great challenge and still is. My hip flexor strength has really decreased quite a bit As well as my abduction strength. This is pretty much to be expected as the body is still in ‘protect mode”. My quadriceps strength is definitely improving and getting range of motion from extension to flexion back, although it’s still quite limited. I don’t have any of the typical posterior approach hip precautions but I still have pain much beyond 90° of hip flexion whether it’s active or passive at this point. Also, pain with rotation and still unable put on my socks without assistance or use of a device. That’s frustrating to say the least but will change over time. My gait has improved quite a bit and I’m able to ambulate with crutches or a walker was a heel to toe pattern and nearly equal stride length as long as my weight is supported enough. Pain limits the ability to walk without an assistive device and I listen! It’s sharp!

Its time for a nap, so sorry for the sudden stoppage. I also apologize for the typos and the less than high school writing style here. I’ll blame the narcotics. I will write more later and have more photos. Please comment or ask questions if you’d like.

:)