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Almost 4 weeks after left hip resurfacing with Dr. Pritchett - 53 year old male

Started by Glenn Urban, April 29, 2017, 11:55:28 AM

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Glenn Urban

OK, so, I had a long-winded story that by the time I went to post it, my log in had expired and I lost everything. I have had a bad left hip for almost four years now. I went in for knee pain, and low and behold, I was told it was my hip causing the knee pain. I used to play lacrosse and basketball and run. That all ended about 4 years ago. I was still able to do the treadmill till my right hip started to go as well.


Here is the short version. I almost had a full hip replacement put in January of this year, but 4 days prior to them cutting me, a second meeting with my surgeon revealed that he too thought I should get my hip resurfaced. He did not do such a procedure, but encouraged me to investigate it. But the soft sell was still on to get the full hip procedure done.  I ended up cancelling the full hip procedure.


I found that most hip surgeons in Northern California do not do hip resurfacing even if they advertise it on their website. Each phone call I made to a doctor who had "hip resurfacing" on his website resulted in a response similar to "I'm sorry, Dr. Suchandsuch trained in resurfacing back in (insert date) but he does not perform the procedure."   Wonderful.


One guy I interviewed in San Francisco had done 300 procedures. Yet, he told me that I might wake up with a full hip replacement due to the size of my hip socket (words to that effect). I know now my Birmingham device implanted four weeks ago is 49mm. I do not know why this would cause a speed bump. Needless to say, I had to look at surgeons out of state. I am sure there is someone in Northern California with a load of hip resurfacings under their belt. I just did not find that doctor.


So, I see Dr. Pritchett's ad on this site. A LOT of resurfacing procedures. He is now above 5,000 I believe. I tell my wife I am going out of town to do this procedure. Out of state. Seattle WA to be exact. She thought I was nuts.  Long story short, we fly to Seattle to interview Pritchett. I liked him right off the bat. His assistant Susan is good people as well.  Pritchett tells me there is no chance I will have a full hip replacement when I wake up.  I book a surgery date the day after I fly home.


As it turned out, my wife could not make it for the surgery. That was OK. My surgery was outpatient. No overnight in the hospital. But I had to remain in Seattle for three nights in case of complications, so I needed to hire someone to take me from the hospital to the hotel. And I needed someone on call or who could visit for a few hours each day to check in on me. And also, that person had to take me to the airport when I went home. I would not recommend Uber for that drive back to the airport if you decide to go out of state. It takes a long time to get in and out of a car when you are fresh out of surgery in week 1. I found my helper through Craigslist, believe it or not. A home caregiver who had a break in her schedule. If you want to have a resurfacing done by a doc who is out of town, and you are alone, it can be done. You just have to be creative.


If you fly Southwest, pick another carrier if you are tall for the flight home after surgery. The 90 degree restriction is almost impossible to adhere to if you are 6'3".  If and when I get my right hip done, I will have to find a carrier that offers additional leg room in business or first class. The bulkhead seats in a carrier like SW are worse than the isle seats. You cannot stretch any further with a bulkhead in front of you.  At least in the row seats you can put your leg under the seat in front of you. And the emergency exit row seats, while ideal, are not available to someone on crutches who can barely hobble around.


I am now almost 4 weeks out. My recovery went as follows: 12 days crutches, straight to cane day 13, then you realize you can walk around without a cane. I went to my 2 week checkup without the cane. Mistake. Bit off more than I can chew. At the end of the day, I would have begged someone to give me a piggyback ride to my car in the Oakland airport...I flew up in the a.m., flew back in the p.m., and it was just too much without the cane. No more pain pills during the day after some time in week 3. Only at night. Two days short of a full 4 weeks, no pain pills anymore even at night.


For some reason, my calf on my left leg is still sore to the touch. Not sure why that is. But my limp has gone from a 10 to a 2 in the last few days.  No more pain really, just a tightness in my hip..and the pain in my calf. My right hip is starting to go as well, but I am debating on when to get that one resurfaced...will likely wait, as the right leg will make getting back to driving that much longer. I am guessing no driving would be possible until the end of week 3, and more than likely the end of week 4 based upon how the left hip has recovered. But then, you are looking at a new set of the recovery clock if you have the second hip done. I see all the doctor recommendations for restrictions, and from my perspective, you need a full year before you start trying to do 400 meter sprints or play full court basketball. So, no matter when you get hip #1 done, you need to consider that year again after you decide on hip #2.  I am in a quandary. My right hip is maybe 1/3 as bad as my left hip was. It is a big step.


Thank you to all who have written in to post their stories. I used them all to make my decision to get my hip resurfaced. I appreciate it very much.



Robert224466

Congrats on getting it done. My story is very similar to yours. I had my right hip done by Dr Pritchett last July. I was 51 at the time and also travelled from the Bay Area for basically the same reasons as you mentioned. I'm now almost 10 months out and, to be honest, really don't think about my hip anymore. I'd say at the 6-7 month mark, there really was no difference and no reall limitations. I couldn't be happier with the outcome and if my other hip goes out, I'm heading back to Seattle.


Stay on top of PT - it made a huge difference for me. Good luck on your recovery!

Joe_CA

Hi Glenn,

I remember doing the same exact thing when I first attempted to write my story of my surgeries. I spent about an hour typing away, and then I lost it all when I tried to post it. Lol.

It's kind of scary how close you came to getting a THR. I wonder how many people who would otherwise be good candidates aren't fortunate to find out about hip resurfacing, and end up getting a THR...

It's also a little unnerving that the Ca. surgeon couldn't guarantee you wouldn't wake up from surgery with a total hip replacement. Yowza. I'm from Northern Ca. as well, and could not find too many experienced surgeons in the area, which is strange. Ended up going to Dr. Gross. The very first questions I asked him was what were the chances I would end up getting a THR due to complications etc. He calmly answered "Those guys are amateurs." :-)

Good luck in your recovery, and thanks for contributing!
Bilateral patient
Dr. Gross
December 12, 14 2016
Biomet (uncemented)

Pat Walter

Hi Glenn

Thanks for posting your story.  Great to hear the website helped you in deciding on a surgeon and what to do.

Sounds like you are doing well.  Take it easy and you will have a great pain free,  active summer.

Thank You for sharing your story.  As you stated, the personal stories are so helpful to perspective patients.

Good Luck.  Stop by and let us know how you are doing, when you can.

Pat
Webmaster/Owner of Surface Hippy
3/15/06 LBHR De Smet

Glenn Urban

First off, it took me till now to figure out how to reply to other posts, or to my own. And of course, I made it a point to do so since, like yelp reviews, most people only post when there is a problem. First off, Thank You to Robert, Joe, and Pat for responding to my first post. I actually wanted to acknowledge your input, but didn't see how easy it was to respond till I did a little homework. Like reading how to post a reply. Pretty simple!


So now for my update after approximately 14 weeks post op.  I have a problem and am hoping others have seen it, heard of it, or experienced it, and can weigh in.


I have been saying nothing but great things about this resurfacing operation that I had in early April, UNTIL 3 days ago.  I have been trying to get a rental house ready for a new tenant...lots of getting down on the floor, and getting up. That is how I describe it, as I am not able to really crouch, due to my newly operated on left hip, and also as my right hip goes under the knife in August.  The right hip hurts, and the left hip just has a caution sign on it since the surgery..so I pick things up slowly, and sometimes use whatever is nearby to get up as leverage.


But now there is trouble in Dodge.  After carrying around a bunch of bark bags (I had to look at the weight since my left hip is having searing pain - 57 lbs - yet, I thought I was carrying much lighter bags until the pain. But the pain made me check the weight of the bags. And this is that pain like when you get in a car and the leg is moving towards the middle of the body core. That severe, "ouch" pain.   


After 3 and a half months? 


It happened in the evening after a long day of moving bark bags around. Taking them from the truck bed, putting them on my head, throwing them over a fence. Not a care in the world. Then the stabbing pain happened (in the buttocks, at the surgery site) while I was shoveling/raking some bark over an ugly patch of yard. I stopped. I went home. I emailed my Doc. That was Sunday night. Response Monday that all is good, that he has heard it before and that in the long run it won't be an issue. I assume I overdid it. Which I have read about, but DID NOT COMPREHEND MIGHT HAPPEN TO ME.


So, the next day, I am fine in the a.m., but around 6 pm, after getting down low to the ground to remove a pin from a door hinge so my boys could move a washer and dryer into the house, a minute later as I am moving around in the garage, BAMM, I get this severe pain again in the buttocks..the surgery area...a burning..like that leg movement one tries to avoid in the first few weeks when getting into the car.


So, I email Doc again, and lay on the couch, and am pretty much bummed...wake up in the a.m., no pain, walk around the backyard throwing tennis balls for the dog with a lacrosse stick..and then as I am moving sideways, BAMM, again, this acute burning pain in that surgery area..feels like someone stuck a hardball in there...and it lingers...it lingers now...


Does this sound familiar to anyone this far out of surgery?  3.5 months later?


Anyway, another Thank You to those who post on this website. I have read many posts about pain later, and have gotten more education in what muscles go where on the human body, but have not read anyone's recap of an issue similar to mine. If anyone has experienced what I am describing, please share!


:)


For now, a little disheartened...I mean, I had NO PAIN since the expected surgery stuff...till now...


Glenn

Joe_CA

Glenn,

Many of us here have done more physically than we should, and tested the limits of our restrictions during the first several months. While I have never had any serious pain since my surgeries last December (7+ months out), I did worry one time when I over exerted myself and found myself in some pain. When I called Dr. Gross's office, the nurse informed me that it takes some extremely hard force, equivalent to falling off a 2-story building to compromise your device, or extremely bad luck physiologically (e.g. very low bone density) to do something serious like a femoral fracture. The nurse also informed me that the signs for serious issues involve serious pain when any force is applied to your hip (i.e. standing up), and that pain is basically constant.

While you should take our non-expert advice with a grain of salt, it doesn't appear that what you have done places you in the serious category, since your pain is somewhat intermittent (went away completely in the morning). More importantly, your physician's office initially informed you that you should be okay. I'm not sure what you've done (muscle or tendon strain), but it doesn't appear to fit the two circumstances which you should be concerned about (component failure or fracture). Believe me, I pushed the limits as well, and I know how hard it is to follow those restrictions during the first few months. Picking up 60-lb bags of bark and throwing them around may be a little aggressive at this point. I'd take it a little easy for a while.

Hopefully you will hear from your surgeon soon, as well as others here. Hang in there and let us know how it goes.

Joe



Bilateral patient
Dr. Gross
December 12, 14 2016
Biomet (uncemented)

Pat Walter

Hi Glenn
Glad you figured out how to post.

There is an old joke - the patients says, hey doc, it hurts when I do this.  Doc says - then don't do it!

Sounds to me like you are pushing waaay to much.  You are only 3 1/2 months out of major surgery.  Most people are not given permission to return to normal activities until 6 months.  Then you still are not healed - it takes almost a year.

Your body said - ouch, really bad - three times.  Listen to it.  Take it easy.  You can't make your body heal, it will heal at it's own rate.  There are athletes that took very many months to get back to normal.  They were unhappy because they were in great shape and athletes.  It is your own body that is in control - not your will or your mind.

I definitely would stop lifting, getting down on the ground or picking stuff up close to the ground.  A dislocation is very, very painful and will cause future problems. 

Take it easy for a few months.  Get some help.  You can't do anything when you are grounded with a revision ahead of you.  Patience is a virtue.

Sorry to be tough, but would like to see you get healed without big time problems.

Pat
Webmaster/Owner of Surface Hippy
3/15/06 LBHR De Smet

Glenn Urban

Joe and Pat-


Thank you for the quick input after my long winded post.  I am actually using one crutch today (circa early 1980's still around from lacrosse injuries back in the day) but, as I go out to my car from the office and back, I do not feel any of the "burning pain" as I described.


Joe, the commentary about dislodging the device is extremely welcome, and Pat, Thank You for your commentary as well.


I am just going to lay low and hope it goes away and then some.  I am not sure what the protocol time frame is for the "nothing over 50 lbs" but I swear those bags were not going to weigh that much (it's mulch, not concrete), but I guess it all adds up.  Also, remembered about the 5 gallon bucket of paint I have been wrestling with...that too is in the same weight range as the bark, but, seems a lot heavier. And I thought about it (wait, is it too soon to be lifting this?) when I had that in my hands...


Maybe, as Fred Sanford would say, I will stop being a 'Big Dummy' and quit doing things like drinking coffee with a spoon in it and wondering why my eye hurts.  I hope it is this simple.


Thank you again for the input. :)   This site is exactly what i need, and I hope for others too...Nice people giving feedback...Medical degree or not, relating experiences is helpful to one's mental state at times...


Glenn

MattJersey

Glenn, I would echo Joe's comments, that I think this is just normal over doing it.


Treat it like an injury, imagine a sprained ankle. You'd take it easy for a few days, maybe anti inflammatory, some ice. And gently build back up.


I found after about 8 months I had gotten very lazy with my exercises. Are you still doing yours diligently working to increase strength and flexibility? Take it easy with them as you get back to normal, and keep working at them in future.


Hope it all turns out ok, as I think it will.
28 April 2015, RBHR Mr McMinn

Glenn Urban

Hi Matt..thanks, and, as you pointed out, it is easy to get a little lazy and stop with the stretches and exercise. After doing an 8 mile hike over the 4th, I must admit I have not been keeping up with my regular routine.


My relatively rapid posting on this issue is also because I am going for the other hip, the right side, on August 22nd, and having a setback (just that, I hope) about a month out is not what I wanted to have happen going into the second surgery.


I appreciate the input.


Glenn

John C

I would reinforce what everyone has said. I must admit that your comment about 3.5 months made me laugh, since you said it like it was a long time after surgery to be having problems. At 3.5 months your body is just starting on the road to recovery, and is quite vulnerable as you found. Here are a few thoughts; at about 3 months the bone in the area of the femoral neck can be at its weakest due to remodeling (meaning the body is breaking down old bone and building new bone along the new lines of stress created by the prosthesis), and the femoral neck is quite possibly weaker than it was a week after surgery. The remodeling should be pretty much done by six months. One of the big pluses about resurfacing is that after all the remodeling, some studies have shown that the bone around the femoral neck can end up stronger than it was before the surgery, but this remodeling takes time, and involves breaking down old bone at first, as well as building new. Many resurfacing surgeons would not condone your activity level until after 6 months for both bone and soft tissue reasons, including lifting that much weight. Your soft tissue has only begun to heal, and will continue until at least 18 months at which time the body is doing the final process of remodeling soft tissue scar tissue into the final product. Like everyone has said, your body is trying to tell you that you are asking too much of it too soon, and it still has a lot of healing and remodeling to do.
John/ Left uncemented Biomet/ Dr Gross/ 6-16-08
Right uncemented Biomet/Dr Gross/ 4/25/18

Glenn Urban


John, Thank You for the added info on healing timelines....I looked back through my gift packet upon exiting the hospital, AND I DID NOT SEE THAT INFORMATION ANYWHERE...lol...well, now at least I get it why this could have happened...now I get to worry that I might have shaken something loose. Ugh. 


Well, I will hope it is more tissue or anything but the bone and the device. At least I hope others learn from my mistakes.


Going to lay low this weekend and pray to the calcium fairies for quick bone repair, and/or a trip back in time to have the bark delivered...


All funny aside, Thank You for the post.


Glenn 

catfriend

Wait a minute. You went for an 8 mile hike over the 4th, which I'm guesstimating is maybe three months out from surgery? And then you were doing yard work that involved lifting heavier than expected stuff? And you don't understand why you're so sore? Ummm... As others have already mentioned, you are overdoing it. Bigly. You've had major surgery. Your bones and muscles take a lot of time to heal. I understand you want to get this side as strong as possible because you are having the other one done in August, but you don't want that second surgery to wind up being a revision of your first! Please listen to everybody and slow down. Exercise and get stronger yes, but don't try to be SuperHealerMan.

Glenn Urban

Hi Catfriend. Thank you for the post. Trust me, I am not of the mind-set that I need to push it...my problem is, I was feeling too good. No problems. Sailing along with basically no thought that I could mess things up by moving basically 60lb items.  The thought occurred to me, but I thought I was out of the "red zone". And the hike was a one-off. My wife wanted to go. It was supposed to be 5 miles. But we took a wrong turn I guess. Someone had a smartphone and at the end, we knew it was more than 5. So they checked, somehow, how far we had walked. We took the long way to a particular lake, by mistake.


Trust me, I have a lot more info now thanks to this website, and am dialing it back accordingly. I really appreciate the posts in response to my situation.


I told my wife I am not even going to take out the garbage for a couple more months.  She said, "What's new about that?"


:)

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