Excellent outcome so far...

[winnergirl]

Well, after much trepidation I decided to go ahead with Dr. Sparling in Vancouver, Washington and trust that he knew what he was doing.  In reading my prior posts I came to realize that I never really explained what bad shape I was in.  I could not walk without a cane and then only a very limited amount.  I could not step up to get into a car, go up a step or hill and haven't been able to do that for over six months.  I could no longer shop for groceries or even go out to pick up the mail.  I could not drive because of the pain meds and my right leg would have been a danger to everyone else on the road if I had tried to drive.  The muscles on the top of my right thigh were not in the best shape prior to my surgery. I could not stand and lift my right knee at all. Prior to my surgery I was riding my recumbent bike up to 45 minutes a day under heavy pain meds in an attempt to strengthen what muscles I could.  I am very glad I did that.

I had my surgery on April 30th at Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver Washington.  The orthopedic unit is about a year old and it was outstanding in every way.  I have never seen such a conscientious bunch in regard to cleanliness.  In the time this unit has been open there have been no staff infections at all and I can see why.  My arrival was at 5:00 A.M. and I had been directed to shower prior to arriving, which I did.  I was promptly checked in and taken back to a pre-surgery area where I was given supplies and instructions on how to take a Bernadine shower.  They gave me a small bottle of Bernadine and a pre-saturated sponge and I was instructed to shower from my neck down, covering my whole body three times and rinsing in between.  Then I was to wash my more personal areas with a clean washrag and then scrub my subject hip with the Bernadine sponge completely again and then dry.  I put on a gown and went into the bed area when there took all my vial signs, collected information, repeatedly checked which hip I was having done and what I thought they were going to do.  Then an attendant came in and washed my hip again with Bernadine and changed my gown.  I was repeatedly instructed not to let anyone touch me who had not been sanitized at the sanitation station at the door...this included my husband and brother.  I then met my anesthesiologist and he explained to me what the process would be.  He answered my questions and was confident and charming.  My family and I all felt I would be in excellent hands.  Then Dr. Sparling came in and he once again asked me my feelings about a resurfacing vs. a total hip and one last time I reassured him that I was willing to take the risk of fracture with a resurfacing unless he found something that looked so bad that it was simply stupid to take the chance.

I was wheeled out of the room and down a bright corridor into a cold and brilliant surgery room.  In the class we attended they showed slides of this room with the doctors wearing what looked like space hoods with outside air so that they could not breathe into your incision.  The hardest part was transferring over to the surgery table where they had me sit on the side while a drop of the magic get her drunk juice was inserted in my hand.  My handsome anesthesiologist talked away and the last thing I remember was him telling me was that if I felt like I was going to fall, to try and fall forward.  He was joking of course because there was no way I could fall.  One of my biggest concerns had been the spinal they use but I don’t remember it, there is no mark or soreness where it went in.  I don’t even remember recovery I simply remember waking up in my private suite with my husband there.  I came fully awake, was in absolutely no pain and my husband couldn’t believe how alert I was.  Within minutes I was laughing and joking with him and the staff and all the concerns about my surgery dropped away.  Dr. Sparling soon came in and told me that my hip was in terrible shape and that he would have liked to see the bone in better condition.  Because of my desire he did the resurfacing but told me that rather than putting 50% of my weight on my leg for six weeks that now I was to put only 10% of my weight on my leg for six weeks.  He drew me a graph and explained what he did to the bone during the resurfacing, talked about the affect on the blood supply, and explained that his greatest concern for me were for weeks two through five because the bone weakens during that period and then begins to strengthen again.  My excess weight is a concern and I know it so I am being very, very careful.  I promised Dr. Sparling that I would do my best not to screw up his good work.

Over the next couple of days I had serious issues with my blood pressure being too low and I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get to walk much.  The staff was excellent, but every time I got up and started moving I would get lightheaded and see stars.  The pain in my hip was minimal and frankly my back hurt worse than my hip from lying around.  I took the offered pain meds when I needed them and I have to say they were helpful during the PT.  The worst problem was the constipation caused by the spinal.  I have never had a problem with that, but I was wishing for an out of body experience before things finally passed on day three. 

I have had three prior surgeries for other things at other hospitals and I have to say Southwest Medical Center was way better than any other hospital I have visited.  The staff was fast, competent, caring and friendly.  They were encouraging and helpful and if you pushed a button someone was there in seconds.

I came home on Saturday, day four, late in the day since my blood pressure had finally stabilized.  I slept most of Sunday and on Monday I felt like a new person.  I have been doing my PT with very little pain.  The walker is a challenge because I am 220 pounds and I can’t put more than 10% of my weight on my bad leg so effectively I am bench pressing 90% of my body weight on every step.  I was not prepared for that and my shoulders, hands, and chest are sore as can be because they are not used to that kind of load.   I will be seeing Dr. Sparling on Thursday and I don’t know if he will be removing my 26 staples then or not.  My incision is about 8” long and does not hurt at all.

I am having trouble stepping forward with my right leg because my right thigh muscles are so weak.  When I lay on my back I can’t draw my knee toward my chest without assistance from my husband.  It isn’t painful really, just very weak.  Everyday I am making progress.  This is Tuesday and I can now step forward most of the time with my right leg with a focused effort.  When I got home I could not do that at all.  I am being extremely careful to keep my weight off my right leg even though it doesn’t hurt.  I had expected to have at least some moderate pain after surgery but there just isn’t any.  My legs feel the same length.  I have a bit of a problem with the toes of my right foot turning in when I walk because I limped like that for so long and it is just habit.  The Physical Therapist recommended that I suggest some outpatient therapy for this to Dr. Sparling for this when I see him.  She said that she has seen others with the same problem and all of them straightened out with time and effort.

So that is about it for now.  I would give Dr. Sparling a 10, Southwest Medical Center a 10, the hospital staff a 10, and that just doesn’t happen now days.  The hospital food could have been better, but amazingly it was always very warm when it got to me and if I wanted some additional food they immediately got it for me.  Dr. Sparling might be a little gun-shy of doing a resurfacing on an overweight, post menopausal woman but he has good reason for the way he feels.  He is most concerned about the outcome for his patient and if he had decided to give me a total hip, I would have trusted his judgment.  Prior to surgery my hip was popping in and out of the socket on every step and the pain never got below a 7 on a scale of 1 â€" 10 and that was at rest.  The staff at the hospital repeatedly told me how lucky I was to have Dr. Sparling because he is “one of the best”.  I have tremendous respect for the man and admire his approach with his patients.  He doesn’t tell you what you want to hear, he simply tells you the truth as he sees it and he makes sure you understand the risks.  I could still break my femur and end up back in the hospital with a total hip.  If that happens I won’t be mad at Dr. Sparling or with myself and I will deal with it.

Thank you for the support of this site and all the caring individuals that chose to participate.  I would like to see Dr. Sparling update his information and hope that my experience will be posted under his name because he is a great doctor and a fine man with a caring heart.

[Pat Walter]

Hi

Congratulations on your new hip. I hope your recovery goes by quickly for you.

I will post your story on the main website in a few days.  Sometimes it takes me awhile to get everything caught up and posted since I have so much info to deal with.

I hope your recovery continues to go well for you.

Give us updates.  Good Luck.

Pat