My New Hip - BHR by Dr. Pritchett

[ScubaDuck]

I am sorry I missed out on the silver bandage.  You must have better insurance.   ;)

Isn't the range of motion great? I can't believe how flexible I have become.

Glad to hear you are doing well.  We will have to get together for coffee one of these times that I come through Seattle.

Best wishes.

Dan

[Luanna]

Yay! Good report. Glad all is going well. Did you ask for a copy of your xrays so you can post them on the site?

Luanna

[Baby Barista]

Been absent from here for a few days now. I've been feeling quite a bit better here in week three. I started PT yesterday and have invested in a cane. I tried the cane out while I ran a few errands and discovered I was pretty sore. At 18 days out from surgery, I'm just not quite ready for that. However, I have ditched one side of the crutches and find that suits me pretty well. I have not experienced any clunking, but I do have lots of snap, crackle and pop in the ligaments and tendons surrounding the joint. It doesn't hurt. I guess I'd describe it as more of a "creepy" feeling... you know sorta like when that one uncle shows up for Thanksgiving?

Anyway, I'm curious to hear from people with bilateral arthritis, who went back to taking Celebrex, or something comparable, after surgery. Dr. Pritchett says if you do go back to taking it, your chance of heterotopic ossification is nil. But he indicated there's not definitive proof that it doesn't interfere with implant ingrowth. Thoughts?

[hernanu]

A study I saw said that aspirin cuts the risk of HO. I was on it to help with any blood clots, so as a side benefit that might have worked. Don't know about Celebrex, was never on it.

[maxx6789]

Anyway, I'm curious to hear from people with bilateral arthritis, who went back to taking Celebrex, or something comparable, after surgery. Dr. Pritchett says if you do go back to taking it, your chance of heterotopic ossification is nil. But he indicated there's not definitive proof that it doesn't interfere with implant ingrowth. Thoughts?

after my left hip operation (sept 2011) and having my right hip surgery scheduled (april 2012), my doctor said it would be fine to take celebrex (or similar) between operations. i did not specifically ask about HO but, again, he said "no problem". i did not take anything from sept to jan but i just started taking celebrex again in feb and plan to take it everyday until april/my second surgery.

[Luanna]

He should be able to look at your xrays at your 8 week checkup and judge how well the implant bone growth is coming along and then give you specific advice on how to eliminate the possibility of HO. He should also have any info at that time to tell you how you are doing in the HO area.

Dr. P told me that I could go back on my calcium supplements when he saw that I showed no signs of HO at 8 weeks. He also told me that I could take NSAIDs at 4 months to help with my back pain as needed. But I'm very reluctant to take anything that might interfere with bone growth into the implants so I try not to take them. I might feel more comfortable taking them after the 6 month mark but not now. I'm very conservative.

Luanna

[Two4One]

Hey Baby! ;)

I don't know anything about HO, so I'm afraid I can't help you there.  I can tell you I take Aspirin everyday for the clotting and like it just fine.

All in all, I've been very pleased with the outcome to this point. Before surgery I had severe femero-acetabular impingement. Doing some of the at home exercises I can already tell that's gone. My hip glides thru positions, that before, would have caused sharp stabbing pains. Lots of work ahead, but I'm looking forward to it. - BB

Me too!  My FAI never went away after my failed arthroscopies circa 2009, which failed, as you know, because they didn't look for my rare form of bone on bone OA since they couldn't see it on all my films through those pre resurfacing years.

Anyway, back to the point, I LOOOOVVVVE PT now too!  Gawd, it feels great to walk sideways in the pool, I was just cleared yesterday to do pool PT everyday!!  Do you have a pool nearby that you can use free through your PT insurance coverage?  If it's something available to you, I want you to know how great working out in the water is!!!
By far, it has the least 'push back' latent pain in the evenings, and I want you to have something fabulous to look forward to in the near future, Bebe!

Keep on keeping on,

2fer

[Baby Barista]

FIVE WEEK UPDATE:

Several changes in the last couple weeks. After ditching one crutch in week three, I pretty quickly moved over to the cane. I spent about five days on the cane, when I started walking on my own. Since then, I've only occasionally used the cane when I've been sore.

The snapping in the tendons/ligaments and such has reduced significantly since starting physical therapy. Day by day, I can tell I'm getting more range of motion in the joint, but I'm still REALLY tight in the anterior most part of my groin. My therapist tends to think that half of that is related to surgery and the other half to my posture for the last 20 years. The pain in my hips caused me to tilt my pelvis forward. That's led to a massive dominance of my hip flexors over the iliopsosas, which has become weak, inflexible and shortened. I have a lot of work ahead to strengthen the psosas and regain a more normal pelvic tilt.

Secondly, I still have a fair amount of soreness along the incision site. It has healed beautifully, but it's sore. Specifically, if I'm not warmed up well and flex my glutes, I have a lot of tugging along the greater trochanter. Also, I still can't sleep on my operative side. Too much pressure causes burning pain.

What's the time frame other hippies went back to comfortably sleeping on their operative side?

[hernanu]

The incision thing sounds like scar tissue. Check with your surgeon to see if you can have massage to help that. It helped me quite a bit

[Luanna]

Your report sounds about like mine at 5 weeks. Someone else - perhaps it was Tin or DGossack joked about Dr. Pritchett sewing up the hip capsule too tight. I had a tightness in my groin that took quite some time to relax. Think it had to do with glutes. My IT Band was and still is tight and I'm still struggling with psoas stuff. But coming along. It really, really, really, takes a lot of patience.

At 5 weeks I was uncomfortable sleeping on my operated side - don't recall when that became comfortable. Can do it now with no problem. Try it for short periods of time and you will over time be able to do it for longer periods.

The body heals at its own annoying pace. Do you have an 8 week check up coming up with Dr. Pritchett?

Luanna

[Two4One]

Hi Baby B,

It's Day 69 post op, and I can lie for a few moments on my L hip just fine, but the R hip is still giving me kittens.  Patience, grasshopper!

Here's wishing you the speediest of recoveries.

2fer

[WTW15]

BB I am just a week ahead of you and feeling the same things.  My PT did a good 10 min massage on my scar and it helped WORLDS!!!  I am now doing mini massages frequently during the day and it's helping, but I have the same issues as you!!! I am able to lay on the op'd side for about 15 min at a time. Not sleeping on it yet, but getting closer.  On the non-op'd side I could lay for about 30 min, but then the tugging/pulling was just too much until the massage.  Last night, I was able to actually fall asleep on the no-op'd side.  Progress! 

I go for my 6 wk check up tomorrow.  Can't wait to see my hip on film! 

[hernanu]

I've gotta say, those massages helped me quite a bit on both sides.

[Tin Soldier]

Excellent job BB

I think I was laying on my op side at about 4 weeks, but it was not comfortable.  Pretty quickly within a few days, the amount of time I could lay on the op side increased.  I don't think you're far off.  Like Hern said, the massaging my help and maybe that's sort of what I was getting by simply laying on the scar tissue. 

I think I was the one that made the comment about Pritchett sewing up the capsule tighter than other surgeons.  I actually wouldn't know, because I never had another surgeon. I was joking around becasue I felt like I was behind on regaining ROM.  Maybe he does sew them up tighter than others so he doesn't have to worry about dislocation.   ???

[Baby Barista]

2 MONTH UPDATE
-----------------

Just passed the two month mark on my Pritchett installed BHR. Progress has been pretty linear the last four weeks. The only setback came when my aging dog tangled in my feet and I levered her off of my left foot. That sent a shot of pain in my hip. I felt a little hobbled for a couple days, but it has passed. I think I overstressed the hip capsule or any number of the other smaller ligaments and muscles surrounding the joint.

Most of the tightness in the front of my groin has disappeared and my gait is now normal. Friends who haven't seen me in a few weeks have a hard time believing how rapidly I have progressed.

The most pain I had after surgery, was in the area directly below the incision, extending to the lateral part of the knee. That area is still quite tender. Dr. Pritchett indicated that due to the muscularity of my legs, the internal rotation of the leg during surgery, likely caused a severe pull of the vastus lateralis and the lateral head of the hamstrings. My PT has been doing some deep massage that hurts like hell, but overall has helped to improve the pain.

Strength wise, the most stubborn muscle group is the short external rotators... the muscles whose tendons are cut from the bone to allow internal rotation during surgery. They are later reattached through a hole drilled in the bone. When my PT did a test last week, that had me lying on my left side and trying to externally rotate and touch my left foot to the inside of my elevated right leg, I couldn't do it. But in just a few short days, by performing some simple exercises, they're starting to come online. I didn't realize how crucial those muscles were to tasks like putting on pants, socks, etc. until after a few days of work, and those tasks became easier.

I'm at the gym lifting three days a week. I'm careful when using dumbbells above 50 pounds, to carry them one at a time to my work area, so as not to put too much stress on my hip. The only workout my legs are getting is from swimming three days a week and walking. I think the swimming has also greatly helped in my recovery.

After long suffering from FAI, most of the impingement is gone. I still get some sharp pains when drawing my knee toward my chest, but I think it's too early to tell if that's related to surgery, or some remnant of the FAI (scar tissue, inflamed tissue, etc.)

All in all, I am increasingly happy with the outcome and my decision to have BHR surgery. Looking forward to months ahead and getting back to everything I used to do!

[Woodstock Hippy]

Great report, I'm glad you are doing so well!

[hernanu]

Glad you're doing so well, BB - keep it up.