Tips for hip operation after care

[80skid]

I'm shortly going to be caring for someone after a full hip operation.

Does anyone have any top tips to help make them comfortable and support their recovery?

My husband had a hip replacement a year ago. The first week was quite painful so keep up with the painkillers. He was told to sleep on his side so a pillow between his legs was helpful. He soon began to feel better though and the operation was a complete success.

physio
if you can get pre-operation physio and then after as well as soon as you are home.

When you have to change the compression sock, put a plastic bag on foot and put sock on over that - much easier. Pull bah out through one of the hokes in sock at bottom.

V shaped pillow helps sleeping in whatever position they're told to stick to.
For women, get a shewee and practice using it.
Pre op physio to learn the exercises while they're feeling ok and being rigorous about doing them post op.
Think about what they won't be able to do if they can't bend to reach their feet and set things up accordingly. For example I got some fleece lined crocs as I wasn't expecting to be able to put on my own shoes and socks.
If they have a physio go with them to an appointment so you can understand how much to encourage them to do for themself.

Thank you! I'm new to the caring role and the patient is usually very independent. The most advice we've had so far is to do exactly the amount of exercise/activity as instructed - nothing more and nothing less.

Pre op is soon so hopefully we can get some info about pre op physio to practice ready

My mum had hip replacement surgery on Wednesday and honestly she’s doing amazingly well already. She lives by herself and when she left hospital on Thursday, I was really worried and thought I’d have to move in with her but she’s flying all over the place!

Her hip wound is very long and her thigh is black and swollen, so it’s very sore. But she says it’s nothing compared to the horrific arthritic pain she’s suffered from for so long.

Tips would be to encourage your relative to do their pre and post op exercises. My mum has an app which updates her exercises every day and alerts her when it’s time to do them. I’d encourage them to get up as soon as allowed and crack on with moving around. My mum has been told to use two walking sticks for two weeks (but she keeps forgetting them and is already walking without them!) so I’d advise your relative to ask OT for a trolley so they have independence eg in bringing a cup of tea from the kitchen into the sitting room.

I have had both hips replaced, feel free to PM me if you want to chat. Things I found really helpful

• I set up a brew station in the bedroom
• riser for the toilet
• several long handled grabbers around the place
• an implement to put socks on
• shoe horn
• making sure I rested in the afternoons, that extra sleep really helped avoid some of the muscle spasms which can happen if do too much, which is ridiculously easy to do!
• I can echo the shewee (I found my bladder control wasn't as good and it can take a while to be able to get out of bed) and the v shaped pillow
• I had a physio come to the house 2 weeks post op and that really made a difference
• did my exercises religiously

Hope that helps!

Have a look at the chair they usually sit in. If it's a low armchair, they might find it uncomfortable to get up and down from it. Old fashioned, high seated wing back chairs seem to work and be comfortable (my mum has had 2 hip replacements and my dd has also had a hip op).

The hospital physio department might lend equipment. If they offer a high stool with 2 armrests, they're very good for putting in front of a washbasin.

Occupational health should visit the home and supply equipment eg raised toilet seats, bars round toilet, perching stool for bathroom or kitchen. They should also check the height of the chair the patient will sit in (must have arms). Make sure you buy crutches, a walking stick and a grabber for picking things up from the floor. I used a bag to take stuff downstairs in the morning and up again at night. I would have loved someone to hang my clothes up at night and get stuff out in the morning but no one thought of it. I had to sleep on my back which I found almost impossible.

I had a hip replacement about 12 years ago - it has been amazing!! My tips would be:
Take the meds even if the patient doesn't feel they need them; it gets very sore very quickly and then you don't sleep/don't exercise because it's too painful etc and it actually delays recuperation.
The downside of this is constipation - it was excruciating! So have a good diet, lots of fluids and get some dulcolax handy!
Sleeping was difficult because it's not easy to get comfortable. I also got very cold in bed because I couldn't curl up under the duvet so nice warm PJs, perhaps bed socks, and spare blankets might help.
Exercises are essential for recovery - they're hard at first but they must be done!
Cushions on chairs help
I had an old stool to sit on in the walk in shower which made life easier - oh and a long handled loofah/sponge thing for washing feet.

Best of luck!

This is a minor point but the most practical seating turned out to be plastic garden furniture from many years ago, like this https://www.argos.co.uk/product/2203568?istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=30f62ea9-9626-4cac-97c8-9ff3921f8558&istItemId=iptaqlmmx&istBid=t&utm_custom6=LIA&utm_source=google&utm_medium=free_listing&utm_campaign=merchant_center. Perfect height, arms to help getting up and down. Can also be used in the shower. I had a set of 4 from a long time ago and distributing them around the house meant that I always had a safe place to sit.

My physio said that the biggest post op risk was from automatically doing things like bending to pick something up. I decided to wear a big cross body bag in which I could keep everything I expected to need plus things I hadn't previously needed such as a foldable grabber. Wearing it kept me alert to what I shouldn't be doing and made it easy to stick to what I was allowed to do.