Just had left hip resurfaced by Dr. Pritchett Nov 19th

[Island Life]

Hello Good Day,

Im a 40 yr old male who lives overseas in indonesia I run a surf camp with my wife and Kid. I guess I wore my left hip out surfing too much not enough recovery. I have been in crazy OA pain last few years. It had taken its toll on my quality of life. I had stopped surf8ng due to the arthritis. It was time t9 fix this hip!

I had my left hip resurfaced 11/19/20 by Dr Pritchett at the Proliance eastside surgery center.  The surgery went well! I was discharged pretty quick after and returned to my Airbnb with my caretaker. Day 3 of post op able to shower and move around a bit. I stopped the pain killers yesterday afternoon. Im still taking all the other meds Advil and Tylenol included. I feel pretty banged up today like I was kicked by a horse. Im on and off icing and using a ice machine at night.

I just wanted to say thankyou to this website. It has been truly helpful in answering questions and help me pick Dr. Pritchett. I have a post op follow up tomorrow. Once I have more information I will give a update. Dr.Pritchett and his team are awesome!!

I no longer feel the osteoarthritis so thats amazing now its tme to rest let tissues heal  and start introducing a physiotherapy routine. Slowly slowly!! This procedure is teaching me patience!!

[Pat Walter]

Congratulations on the new hip resurfacing. Your recovery will go by faster than you think and at some point, you will not think about your hip. Meantime, be conservative and take it easy. I am glad the website was helpful.  That is why I started it in 2005 and still do it. There are always people looking for alternatives to total hip replacement.
I wish you the very best and look forward to your updates.

[imgetinold]

It really is a new lease on life, isn't it!  And, yes......take the recovery slowly and follow Dr. Pritchett's guidelines.  You don't want a femoral neck fracture ruining this.

It will be a distant memory in a few short years.

Congrats!

[Island Life]

Thankyou for the encouraging messages!

I am taking it easy. Lots of ice and elevation. Rest mixed with a bit of walking with crutches. Im slowly initiating the prescribed pt. My left leg feels pretty banged up!!

I had my follow up post op appointment with Dr. Pritchett.  He said everything looks good. I did break out in a rash up my torso and down my glute around glute. The rash isn't on the incision but it itches like poison oak. It kinda looks like poison oak. Dr. Pritchett said he has seen it before. He prescribed Hydroxy Pam oral tablets. Hope it clears up quickly as I have a long trip back home to wife and kids in mid December.

Has anyone else dealt with post op rashes? Maybe its from the tapes, liquids they use, or meds?? I guess I have sensitive skin.

Anyway the Doctor said adhere to the 6 weeks hip restrictions and follow the prescribed pt protocol  and I should be surfing In 7 months time! 🤙🌊  Im so glad I found this website!!

Cheers

Pete Anderson

www.aweraisland.com

[Angel Romero]

Hi Pete,

Funny Im a 41 year old male, with young kids, and I also had my left hip resurfaced on Nov 19, but in NY. Sorry to hear about your rash. I have had on and off again pain in my quads and glutes but like you I stopped the narcotics around day 3. It is great to not feel the arthritic feeling anymore and every day I notice I gain a little more mobility and strength. I can’t wait to see what I can do at the 3 month mark. Anyways cheers and don’t take the recovery too fast, I know I already screwed up one left hip and I don’t want to mess this one up.

Angel

[Island Life]

Angel,

Happy Holidays and best wishes on a strong and steady recovery!! Some major coincedences ha ha ha. Im looking forward to your updates!  Cheers

Pete

[jimbone]

Congratulations on your successful surgery.  I'm a Pritchett patient as well and the surgeries [bilateral] helped reclaim my life.  It sounds like you are well informed regarding recovery and yes, you will have your patience tried and expanded but it will be worth it.  Regarding the rash- about 3-4 weeks after my second HR I developed a case of shingles.  Not severe as some apparently but uncomfortable, more like a burning/itching sensation.  It was diagnosed at a clinic and a 10 day course of meds got me through it with minor discomfort.  I mention this as I was surprised to be told it most commonly expresses itself on the upper torso and almost always on only one side of the body.  Yours sounded possibly congruent so I thought I'd bring it up.  I was told by the clinic it was likely a response to the physical stress of surgery.  Dr. Pritchett is a phenomenal orthopedic surgeon but IMO you would be best served seeking treatment for the rash from an MD, surgeons perform a different role in medicine and tend to avoid practicing outside their specialties.  BTW- now that my hips are recovered I have put trying to learn how to surf- the little waves- on my bucket list.  65 is the new 50.  Again- best of luck.

[Island Life]

Jimbone,

Thankyou for reaching out! I appreciate your advice!! My rash looks very site specific related to the tape. Where there wasn't any tape the skin is completely normal. I get poison oak really bad. On monday it looked similar to a poison oak rash. I had my follow up appointment with Dr. Pritchett and brought it to his attention. He  said he had seen rashes like this from tape/allergies before and prescribed hydroxy pam. He wanted me to send update photos on Thanksgiving day to assess if I am clear for travel to California. I have been taking the pills and applying calamine (learned from several battles with PO). Thankfully it started subsiding and now it drying out flaking off. Still has another week to heal I would imagine.
Dr. Pritchett after reviewing the update photos gave me the greenlight to travel. So thats awesome super greatful the rash didn't get worse! That makes sense that the stress of the surgery would help exacerbate the rash.

Now Im dealing with getting ahead of the swelling in my lower quad, upper knee, hip/glute. Usually after an hour of being up moving,walking, standing on it  starts swelling. So I lay down for 20 or 30 elevate and ice. It seems to help. If the leg gets too swollen then it becomes difficult to bend my knee. My mobility is limited in the operated leg. Im sure it was from moving all the muscles/tendons/kigaments around to get to the hip joint.

Im able to do all the prescribed exercises that Dr. Pritchett has me doing. Still some major weakness and discomfort but I notice a slight improvement everyday. I will take it!!!!

I love this website because all of the Surface Hippy's experience with their own ops/recovery provides such a database of information!

Thank you!!

[Ergo]

Hi and congratulations! I had my hip done by Dr Gross in February, and he covered the incision with a very durable waterproof bandage that I was told to remove after (I think) two weeks. The skin looked fine when the bandage came off, but after a few days I developed a red itchy rash exactly on the areas where the adhesive had been. I sent a photo to Dr Gross' office and they recommended using an over the counter steroid cream on the rash (not the incision). I ended up just using a very mild skin cream (Aveeno or Cerave) on it and trying to leave it alone, and it gradually went away after about two weeks.

Good luck!

[jimbone]

It sounds like you're right on track.  Your surfing back round and strong hip/leg base will help your recovery.  The swelling is as you know completely normal and yes it is a result of having your butt sliced open and your leg dislocated !!!  It can take a while to lose the swelling.  I had discomfort and swelling in my quad and knees for several months after my surgeries.   It wasn't painful but felt swollen and "full" for a long time- the quad initially felt like a charlie horse- the kind of pain from a bad smash to the thigh.  That part wore off first but the stiffness in the knees lasted longer.  6-7 weeks after each surgery I was able to walk a mile without a cane and was back in the gym concentrating on the elliptical, stretching and swimming [with fins].  Kept it very conservative for a month but consistency paid off.  Also received about 4 weeks of bi weekly PT that helped point out the weaknesses and the strengthening exercises to get better.  Had 3-4 months of continuing stiffness in my glute.  Doing a particular stretch, sitting on knees- butt to the heels, head to the floor and arms stretched out to the front trying to get the glute muscles to release took a good 4 months but finally released to my great relief.  Another surfer/skier on here made the suggestion of using the Bosu ball for rotator muscle development and it did the job- working up to squats and one legged partial squats along with increased times on the elliptical really helped me.  I suspect you'll be back surfing soon enough.  Best of luck.

[dannythebeerman]

Congratulations to you and Angel.  Which device was installed? Birmingham? Synovo Preserve?

[Island Life]

Dannythebeerman,


I got a Synovo Preserve 48mm. Its a cool experience seeing your new resurfaced hip for the first time on xray.

Cheers

Pete

[Island Life]

Jimbone,

Thankyou for sharing. Definitely helps with recovery knowing  timelines other surface hippies have experienced.  Im just trying to take it easy!  Happy Holidays!!

Pete