Heff’s Hip Resurfacing Dr. Ball 2010

August 16, 2010

Had my BHR (right side) installed by DR. Scott Ball and his team at UCSD Med Center Thornton Hospital La Jolla California on 8-9-10.I made my decision to use Dr. Balll mainly through this website and friends and people I have met who have had a BHR installed by him. After suffering a hip injury on my motorcycle when I was 15 and the doctor telling me that it will bother me when I get older( yeah right remember how invincible we felt at 15 )

The pain started appearing in 2003 and after a very painful winter this past year I was ramping up the meds just to make it through work and my sport activties, and my range of motion was also decreasing that I decided to start the process and prepare for surgery. The only surprise was that I did not know I had a choice of post op pain control, and decided on the epidural over the nerve block and pca. Every day I wake up and feel an improvement over the last. I do get tired very quickly just doing normal activities though, looking forward to recovery very much. Thank you Pat for putting this website together.
 

September 2, 2010

I am coming up on 4 weeks post op this Monday (labor day) things are going quite well so far I am off pain meds for almost 2 weeks now, and I am using 1 crutch and cane around the house but still use 2.

September 9, 2010

I am coming up on 5 weeks post op.

I am 51 year old male and had right BHR done by a great Doctor, Staff and Hospital.

The only thing I regret is not getting it done sooner. Yesterday was my first post op checkup and the Doc lifted my restrictions and sends to get on with my life (use common sense) no high impact. So today I walked a little without crutch or cane, rode my mountain bike on the street in a very quite and safe neighborhood about 4 miles, then I
went to the practice range and chipped and putted for a half an hour. I am taking it easy for sure, I am a little tired but no pain whatsoever and looking forward for a good nights rest. I will be honest I did meet with e few surgeons before I decided on Dr. .Ball. It makes it so much easier when you have confidence in you’re surgeon.
 

September 11, 2010

When I woke up in recovery I was already wearing the TED hose as well as non slip socks, put on by staff I guess .Wore those for about 3 weeks total but after 1 week took them off for sleeping then back on in the morning (loving wife). Yes I gave myself lovenox injections every day as ordered for 10 days,
Really not a big deal considering the dangers DVT .My doctor set up my home physical therapy
and they came 2 days after I arrived home for 6 visits 2 days per week that was covered by my insurance. I am now going to therapy as an out patient that I chose that is also covered by my insurance. Sleeping in the beginning for me was on my back for about 10 days before I had the courage to go on either side. I recommend a sturdy pillow like a temperpedic for between the legs. The first couple of nights I could not get in or out of bed without assistance (loving loving wife) because my operated leg was not strong enough to lift to the bed. Getting in and out of bed myself was probably the first sign that things were getting better. Then noticing there wasn’t any more of that
Arthritis knife stabbing at me every time I tried to move was the second. We have a 2 story home but our bedroom is on the lower floor kids upstairs, so I did not need to do stairs. PT taught me how to use the crutches on stairs and it was no problem, currently I do not have the strength in my right leg to pull me up without holding on to the banister. Yes my doctor said I can use a
Stationary exercise bike as soon as possible and to let my operated leg just go along for the ride. But I did not do a bike until this week. So for me after week 3 things starting getting better.
I do have one thing that is a problem currently and that is my limp that I had for years has caused my right hip to thrust forward and this has shortened me on the left side and is also preventing my right knee from straightening out while I walk, I am currently working with my therapist on this and I cant expect to get rid of my limp after a 2 hour surgery, this is my only real issue and it is not surgery related at all, should have done it sooner.

Some tips

The hospital gave me a grabber that I used to grab everything withouting bending over or reaching, I actually attached it with Velcro to my crutches and it works great.
The also gave me 8 inch toilet riser to take home with me
One of my neighbors let me borrow a walker and this was a lot easier than crutches for the first week around the house.
Yes a recliner would have helped but I made do without one.
A shower bar handle is a must for safety, I have to step over my tub to get in the shower and we have sliding doors instead of a curtain. Just grabbed that while getting in and out and during the shower, I know it is strong enough because I put in.
Prunes and prune juice didn’t work, I will spare details, and suppository did the trick.
I still find that I have a huge appetite and am always hungry so have lots of healthy food and snacks available , the body is healing.
We have those reusable gel packs that u can freeze or heat up instead of ice.