Hip replacement info please

[Kbear]

any info on recovery time, time in hosp etc - MIL waiting for op

thanks

my aunt has one done just before christmas. she was in for a bouta week - but she did have low blood pressure for a couple of days after the op. she now up and about - albeit it for limited distances. not driving yet though.

she basically appears to be healing ok.

hope it goes well

thanks alot for replying - just trying to get a feel for how much help and support the ILs will need and for how long - FIL is pretty frail and has serious heart probs, MIL is panicking about leaving him while she's in hospital. Lots to organise.

likely to be in hospital for up to a week depending on how she does and which hospital she is at. Depending on her type of surgery, there may be more/less restrictions on what she can do. Usually no bending to pick things off floor, no twisting for 6 weeks. No driving for at least 6 weeks. Realisticaly many people dont get back to their normal level of mobility for 8-12 weeks. (depending on how mobile they were before obviously) Hope this helps.

She doesn't drive anyway (apart from us bonkers!!), but she is 77 and quite immobile at the moment due to this, can hardly walk and is riddled with arthritis so I'm not expecting much mobility but to have her out of so much pain would be a relief. Thanks for your reply.

My dad has had both hips and knees done and a heart valve op (bionic pensioner ) and was in hospital for a week each time. He had various exercises to do at home for physio and got back to driving after 6 weeks. He said that the hips weren't as bad as he expected tbh and he wasn't a very fit man to begin with but has remained active enough.

Cheers bagpuss, interesting to hear other people's stories of recovery, just to get a picture. She's had both her knees done a few years back (one while she was awake under a spinal and apparently knee surgery is worse than hip surgery but I don't know where I heard that.

My MIL was in hospital for 4 weeks after her operation, but she is a drama queen. Hospital wanted her to go into a nursing home for a week prior to discharge which would have meant 3 weeks in hospital and 1 week in nursing home, but she refused. Said hospital had plenty of beds!!!!!

It has been 4 years since her op, and she is now on sticks (very slow recovery). I think she is a one off though. Between you and me, she admitted to me she had had no pain in her hip pre-op. I think she did the whole thing for attention, but got more than she bargained for when her nerves where damaged in the op!!!

My dh was born with dysplasia in both hips. He had a hip replacement at 40, and now the other one's starting to play up.

Recovery time will obviously be longer for a 77 year old, but she will be free (apart from the arthritis) of the crippling pain almost immediately.

Good luck to her. You'll really notice an improvement once she's convalesced fully.

Yes KBear my dad said that about the knees too. He is pretty much not walking on sticks at all now, but still has his electric buggy for shopping .

Best of luck to your MIL and you all .

Thanks

My MIL had both hers done with a spinal block rather than a general anaesthetic, because of heart and lung problems.

This reduced recovery time. First one was fine and she recovered really well. Second one a bit more of a problem, but this was partly because the stress of the operation triggered her diverticulitis. Also ended up with a bone spur which didn't show up on xrays, but this didn't happen for a couple of years after.
She had them both done privately but I don't think she was in hospital much longer than a week then needed someone at home to look after her for another week or so.

Kbear - my mum had hers done a couple of years ago. She had a spinal too - said it was fine - she was a bit woozy from the sedation and said all she rembers was lots of hammering and the nurses talking about new handbags lol!

She was in hospital for about 5 days that's all, needed help at home for a while as they have to wear stockings for few weeks and at first she could reach to get them on. Also no baths and no sitting with your hips at more than a 90 degree angle IYKWIM so on a highish chair and a special loo seat too. Pain-wise, she had less almost immediately - was obviously bruised but not the gnawing pain she had before. She did really well all in all and I was proper proud of her

Aw thanks for words of encouragement - I know she'll never Can-Can again but she's in so much pain and she can't even go to the loo without agony (although she has bought a raised seat now to make it hurt less). Here's to the 23rd jan when she will hopefully get her date.

KBear a friend of mine had it done when I was pg with DS (not that that is relevant, but never mind!)

She recovered amazingly fast and I'm 99% sure they did it with an epidural! Brillo. The difference in her was amazing

Just got to sort out the old man, he's not going to want to stay with us but she's going spare with worry about him. Will have to rope the rest of the useless brothers in to work out a rota of checking on him.

does he live far?
could he come for meals perhaps?

Not far but he's not a well man (two triple heart by-passes, 7 heart attacks - yes 7, crippling angina) and he's 82! I will be the meals on wheels service I think! Just wish lazy thoughtless BILS and SILS would chip in with the care and it wouldn't all fall to me and DH. I do their shopping every week and run errands as and when but with work and the kids etc I can't be there every day.

Don't they do anything? Lazy gets. THink you (or rather, DH) need to give themt he hard word

ITs time to step up!

They are gradually getting the message that their parents need them and it's time to step up but FFS it's not hard to pick up the phone before you walk in the door of the supermarket and say "Mum do you need anything while I'm here". I think you need to take care of the old folk, it's a family thing but I don't think they get it and me and DH care far more.

I once went to hospital with MIL after FIL's latest heart attack, he went in the ambulance, we followed in the car, I had to get MIL in the wheelchair push her into A&E, sit with them waiting to be seen etc etc. This was 8pm on a Sunday night (DH had had a beer so couldn't drive which is why I went while he stayed with the kids and called his brothers). Did one of his brothers come to the hospital and let me go home? Did they hell, no Kbear's up there now so she might as well stay there. I was there until 1am before bringing MIL home, making sure she got in okay, helping her into bed etc etc.

FFS - I'm steaming at the memory of it.

shit isn't it.

My sister leaves everything to me (I'm the eldest) and it really grates on my nerves

IfI ask her, she'll help but i shouldn't have to bloody ask!!

DH is the youngest - the older ones are the worst. I blame their crap choice of wife!!!

lolol