Evant’s Hip Resurfacing with Mr. Treacy 2013

January 24, 2013

As of today I am 3 weeks post-op.

So far I feel happy to be cautious and not push my recovery.

I’m able to walk short distances with 1 crutch and all feels ok.

I still occasionally take pain killing medication, either once during the day, or before I go to bed.

Since arriving home from hospital I have walked outside, with both crutches, every day (except one day when we had @ 4" snow). Week 1 for 20 minutes, weeks 2 and 3 for 1 hour. It is my favourite part of every single day.

In weeks 1 and 2 I did struggle with swelling around the knee of the operated leg. I was unable to bend that knee more than @ 30 degrees and it was painful too. At the end of week 2 I tried frequent icing for short periods around the swelling. Initially it seemed to help but soon I noticed that the icing had appeared to set up an unpleasant chill within my body and for most of week 3 I felt I was about to develop a cold.

My partner suggested trying a hot water bottle around the swelling instead. The swelling around the knee of the operated leg is reducing gradually but I gained an unpleasant nagging pain around the shin / calf area instead. So for every day of week 3 I’ve used a hot water bottle around the knee or shin / calf area and I feel it’s working for me so far.

I understand the importance of avoiding a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) so hope I would be aware if I had symptoms strongly suggesting this.

Constipation post-op lasted for 9 days. I ate 3 moderately sized healthy meals every day and can honestly say I didn’t suffer discomfort or pain, however at each passing day I did wonder how much longer could this go on for. I understand that the daily use of pain killing medication causes this.

14 days post-op and all 37 metal staples removed pain-free by the pretty nurse at my local GP’s (doctor) surgery. She informed that the wound had not quite closed but was looking very healthy.

Orca, our @ 6 year old black and white female cat, has kept me company during weeks 1, 2 and 3. Initially she appeared to sense that I was not well. This soon changed and the thigh of my operated leg is her favourite place, even at night when I’m in bed. So, every day and night, sometimes many times, and much to her dismay I have to lift her off to give me some respite from her @ 12 lb (@ 5 kg) weight.

I look forward to continued improvement with my recovery and posting again following my 6 week post-op appointment with Mr. Treacy.

January 30, 2013

I’m currently 4 weeks post-op (RBHR Mr. Treacy 3rd Jan 2013) and just learning to hobble around the house without crutches so it’s almost impossible to imagine being able to do the type of judo you describe.

However it’s impressive to read, and I know you’re putting in a tremendous amount of effort (just as Hernanu is), so it gives me hope for my own improvement as the months progress.

I’m not a judo man but I used to regularly run / walk up and down my local mountain (Snowdon – North Wales) and really look forward to the day when I’ll be able to walk (I think perhaps it’s time to let go of the running part) to the top again.

February 8, 2013

I’m 5 weeks post-op. I’ve have been doing the basic exercises I was given on discharge from hospital plus @ 1 hour walking daily.

Out of interest I tried the ‘plank’ and lasted @ 15 seconds in total! I’ve a long way to go but I like the concept.

I see Mr. Treacy for my 6 week follow-up next week and am hoping to get his approval for more advanced exercising including swimming.

February 14, 2013

I had my 6 week post-op appointment yesterday at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham, England.

Unfortunately, at the last moment, Mr Ronan Treacy was unable to attend, so I saw his new registrar instead – a young, very able, pleasant, greek guy.

Apparently the registrars gain their wide experience by being assigned to different consultants at different hospitals in the Birmingham area every 6 months over a @ 5 year period.

I had a pre-prepared page of @ 15 questions and he was able to answer them all.

He believed I was progressing well and cleared me to start swimming and static cycling / cross trainer / treadmill. He suggested I wait another 6 weeks before starting regular cycling.

As my normal work is on ships / boats he believed waiting another 6 weeks before I would be ready to return to work.

Only 1 of my questions for him was really causing me some concern. During weeks 3, 4, 5, and 6, I experienced feeling ‘unpleasantly cold’ throughout my body for most of the time – I asked was it due to my body reacting to my bone growing into the BHR? He suggested it was possibly due to my ‘blood count building back up’ – he checked on his computer for my blood details.

Pre-op my blood count was 14.7, post-op it was 11.4 – he said a blood transfusion is necessary if your blood count is 8.0. (When I arrived home I googled ‘11.4 blood count’ and was led to believe that he was referring to red blood cell count).
 

March 17, 2013

I’m 10 weeks post op and occasionally get groin tightness / pain which sometimes makes me take pain killing medication.

I think my recovery is still relatively early days, and I feel perhaps yours may be too especially as you are a bi-lateral.

Trying to think logically for myself the occasional groin tightness / pain isn’t causing me concern. I just feel it’s part of a steady recovery process, especially as I’m getting more active each day.

May 5, 2013

Just over a week ago I walked to the top of Snowdon and back down (via the Watkin path for those who know the mountain). For the information of all outside the UK Snowdon is the highest mountain we have in Wales / England.

Fortunately the weather conditions were perfect – the view on route and particularly from the top were something I had really missed. The week before I had two aborted attempts due to snow / very poor weather conditions.

My rapid descent into hip pain commenced in the summer of 2009 and that was the end of my hill walking until now.

I now look forward to re-starting squatting in a couple of months, and I’d love to feel confident enough to go on a ski holiday at the end of the year.