Hey y'all - 43-year-old new surface hippy as of Dec. 27 - right hip resurfacing due to osteoarthritis. I wanted to share a little bit about my journey down here in the Big Easy - New Orleans, LA. My surgeon, Dr. Noble from Lake Charles Louisiana (near Houston), is not located on the roster of surgeons on this website but was involved in the FDA study on the procedure published recently (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33999875/). He told me he completes a resurfacing about once a month. And thank you to all who have been active on the site - it was and continued to be a tremendous resource.
Day 1: Surgery seems to have gone really well! Clearly surgeons are always going to be happy with their own work, but he seems to have been particularly thrilled with my X-rays. Support at the hospital was so-so -- it seems unnecessarily patient-driven with too little of an underlying system in place to try to keep you comfortable.
Pro-tip: Make sure your nurses know that you received and understand what a resurfacing is, and manage their expectations accordingly as compared to their total hip patients.
I had to fiercely advocate for more recovery time with a nurse that wanted me on my feet immediately upon me waking up from surgery. By the end of night one, I had taken three "walks" with my walker and had completed stairs.
Day 2: Continued to take some walks once per hour and was discharged at about 9am - roughly 24 hours after surgery. Pain really came on strong at about this point though I tried to stay ahead of it with the percocet I had been prescribed. Once home, I was able to navigate the 15 stairs up to my front door with ease. I spent a lot of the rest of the evening in bed.
Pro-tip: Do not make a long drive home if you have traveled for your surgery on Day 2. Wait till day 3. Even better, if you can go halfway on day 3 and halfway on day 4 you will be thankful.
Pro-tip: Make sure you have measured all important door frames against the width of your walker in advance so that you can take doors of hinges, if necessary, prior to leaving for surgery.
My drive home was 4 hours long, with one break for my wife to exit the car at a gas station. It was absolutely excrutiating, probably for her as well. The pain I was in when I walked in my door was probably an all-time lifetime high. Once arriving home and navigating the stairs I wobbled into the bathroom only to find my way blocked by a walker that wouldn't fit through the threshold. Fortunately, my wife was able to take the door off, but it was an extra 30 minutes of "holding it" I could have done without given the pain I was in.
Day 3: Moved myself to the couch, no recliner available here. Sleep went pretty well. Moved about the house as needed. The most difficulty came from getting into and out of couches and bed. It is very hard to manipulate the "log-leg" feeling you have on this day - maybe one where the leg is the most swollen.
Pro-tip: Having two circular throw pillows about 16" in diameter to always place between knees when maneuvering, and two yoga blocks to use for push-off were a godsend for getting in and out of beds and couches for those that do not have a recliner.
Pro-tip: Have a little cloth track "spike bag" w/ strings to put around your shoulders, or a fanny pack, so that you can do some small things on your own without compromising your safety with the walker.
Days 4-6: Recovery continued to progress nicely. I noticed that the pain was much worse right before bed than it was as I woke up. I gradually weaned my way from percocet, to nothing at all during this time. I also noticed that each day I felt a little more confident taking steps without my walker - such as in the kitchen to grab a bowl, or into the shower. I started doing my internal steps in my home for the first time as well. Sleep was a bit better each night, but I didn't yet make it through an entire night. Through prescribed use of mira-lax, eating lots of fiber, and drinking prune juice, I finally had my first bowel movements, which really improved my feeling of overall well-being after 5+ days without one.
Pro-tip: Have previously thought about your "shower chair". Showering with your walker is not a good option once you have put the little tennis balls on. Took several hours and a lot of work on my wife's part to dry it back out and I was temporarily disabled during that entire time.
Pro-tip: I would not suggest quitting "cold-turkey" on your medication and then on Tylenol as I did. Maybe try to blend them for a couple of days, going every-other, rather than a hard stop from one to the other and then to nothing as I did.
It was a rough transition, especially the one to no pain relief at all. I had some moments of pain almost as bad as on Day 2, though ice helps when things get rough. On day 5 I quit all Percocet and consumed one Tylenol every two hours or so until I reached my daily limit. On day 6 I used no pain medication at all.
Days 7-13: Things continue to go smoothly. Gradually spending more and more time on my feet, without a walker or cane inside, and with one of the devices outside of the home, where I am gradually starting to spend more time. Milestones during this time included:
1. Being able to lift my operated knee up to close to hip level while standing.
2. Starting to be able to do a little movement laterally, and just generally having more range of motion in all directions.
3. Not being horrified and felled with pain if my knee starts to move towards my midline - this has been so beneficial for getting into and out of a seated position on the couch. I don't need my "two pillows" mentioned above, as frequently.
4. A little more confident re-entering social life, and even went to hear some music and spent 2-3 hours at a restaurant comfortably.
5. The ability to take care of myself a little bit, taking the edge off for my partner a little bit. I am now washing and putting away dishes, folding clothes, making the bed, etc.
6. Returning to work, about half-time, working from home at a computer, sitting for periods at the kitchen table, at the counter, and on the couch. I did not return to my home office during this time.
Also, had my first tiny setback, during sleep, waking up to a painful tug in my right hip while side sleeping. I spent the following day just a little more sore, but a tiny step back followed by continued improvement was actually a bit of a confidence boost. Later in the week I had a similar setback, this time while standing - just squeezed the glutes too hard, same swelling and pressure buildup near the joint capsule. This time it did not go away, but I also understand that I am up and about so much more now. In fact I made it to a 3/4 of a mile walk. It is likely just part of the process.
I continue to have interrupted sleep, spending an average of two hours up during the middle of the night but making up for it with a short nap in the afternoon. I'm certain if I could wean off the naps that I might have a better chance of making it through the night. But I also find I get pretty worn down by working at a computer in a seated position, and welcome the "down time" in the middle of the day.
2-week follow-up: Virtual appointment with the physicians assistant. Everything on track with permission to now begin to walk on a treadmill or ride a stationary bike, and to start physical therapy. Looking forward to doing that next week. No need to continue with the walker, can transition to the cane. Pressure feeling in the hip capsule is totally normal. Onwards!
Pro-tip: If you have a sizable drive of any kind to return to your surgeon for this follow-up, definitely suggest a virtual appointment. For me, the appointment was really just meant to convey information and to take a quick look at the healing of the scar (all 7-8 inches of it). All I had to do was point my phone at the scar for 30 seconds. Sure beats a 4 hour drive each way.
Weeks 3-4: Quickly progressed beyond one-mile walks by about day 16. Also was given permission to do a limited set of strength exercises which included squats. Felt good to do these, along with some new stretches. Some of these took the edge off that pressure from the joint capsule a bit. My gait is not limp-free but at the end of week 3 was improving rapidly.
During this time I also began to walk outside for the first time. There were some dicey moments of sharp and sudden pain, either in the hip or in the front with the adductor. But these feelings gradually subsided.
At the 4 week mark I began swimming, well, maybe not exactly swimming as they are the saddest little flutter kicks in the world, but it is so wonderful to have a little more variety, and feels like progress to add another activity to the recovery. Sleep returned to normal as well, which has been wonderful. Other than that, nearly all days were better than the previous, as progress seemed quite rapid.
Longest walk during this period: 2.25 miles, Most miles in a day during this period: 4 miles, Top speed during this period: 12:27 km/h
Month 2: The month has started off well. There is still significant swelling at the hip joint, and some days are a little more painful than others. Today as I write this I am at date 38 and am probably feeling my best yet. Right at the 5-week mark, my limp had improved and I began to walk outside without the aid of a cane. I have also been receiving PT, just for stretching and mobilization reasons for a few weeks. Honestly, I'm not sure that it has made much of a difference, though, in the moment I do think I feel better for a half hour or so.
I've received notice that I should begin working on clamshells for the external rotators that were detached during the surgery. However, I have decided to wait another week or so after three days of pushing through the pain to do the most minimal movement, while worried about the increasing swelling. Side-lying straight leg hip abduction is also definitely out of the question. I am not able to engage enough there to move the leg at all. But all in good time, I am definitely optimistic and not too concerned about it.
Congratulations Jcrew. Thank You for sharing your story. People appreciate reading the personal stories to learn more about hip resurfacing. I wish you the very best in your recovery and am looking forward to updates. Do you know how many hip resurfacings Dr. Noble has done to date? I will look into his information. Thank You. Pat