Hey Holly,
Hang in there. Not everyone has an easy recovery. I was going great guns until this week. First felt lethargic then did blood work...turns out I have an infection. Going in for surgical washout tomorrow. Then 6 weeks of IV antibiotics.
take care,
spencer
Wow, So sorry to hear that! When was your surgery? Do they have any idea what caused the infection?
Vicky
Spencer
I am sorry to hear about your infection. I gave you your own topic because this is very important and I want people to be able to give you support.
I want to wish you good luck tomorrow. We will all keep you in our thoughts and prayers that the antiobiotics will remove the infection.
Please keep us posted on your recovery.
Pat
Thanks Vicky and Pat,
I'm currently six weeks postop. Last Friday I noticed extreme fatigue and a slight fever. By Monday I knew something wasn't right. Went for a blood test and it showed infection as well as swelling just beneath the incision.
On Tuesday I went for a CT scan and the radiologist aspirated fluid just below the incision but not below the fascia. The fluid was serosanguineous and initial gram stain showed no bacteria.
The culture results came back Thursday as staph. Ortho scheduled me for surgery Friday (today).
So I show up to the hospital and am prepped and ready to go to the holding area when My surgeon comes in as explains the most recent tests where the culture is paired with different antibiotics to show sensitivity....well there were no results--NOTHING GREW.
So the surgeon has just lost a data point and doesn't want to cut into me for no reason.
So I go into the OR and he aspirates the fluid at the hip. He told me earlier that if it was all
full of pus, he would go ahead with the wash out. Well the fluid was clear. So he is culturing it at the hospital instead of an outsourced lab and we'll know by Tuesday if I need a surgical washout.
What a bizzaro day it has been.
spencer
Hi Spencer,
Well that sounds like somewhat good news. My thoughts are with you and please keep us posted. I really hope it is not an infection.
Vicky
Thanks Vicky,
There is no pain inside the hip. Device feels good. The redness on each end of the incision definitely concern me. I first noticed that Monday. So if it is an infection, I think we got it early. As my triathlon clients from Estonia say, "We're holding our thumbs". It's the same as crossing your fingers.
take care,
spencer
I am hoping that this will be a false alarm, and that things will work out fine without additional surgery. I felt that I should pass on a word of caution based on my very limited experience. I had a friend who had an infection shortly after a knee replacement. They treated him with an antibiotic that i believe was called genomycin. His dosage was too high, and it destroyed the cilia in his inner ear that gives our sense of balance, so he is left with a total loss of balance for life. A few years later, another friend called me when they discovered infection shortly after a total hip. I warned him about the first fellow's experience, but he ended up getting the same drug, and ended up with the same result. I am certainly no doctor, but with my personal experience being two out of two with this drug, I would certainly want to talk to my doctor before starting on it, if there was another choice.
Spencer.... hats' off to you bro....you are always one of the first to acknowledge someone elses' post or issue. That is what this site is all about....support. Understanding that you may have an infection, I know I can speak for many...we now support you...and have you in our prayers and want you to beat this.
Big Bill
Thanks Bill,
The fluid taken from the hip Friday should be cultured by Monday evening. I'll know more on Tuesday. I'm taking clindamycin orally, 300mg every six hours. Also seeing a ID specialist on Wednesday. No pain or fever at the moment. Hope that's a good sign.
spencer
Good Luck Spencer - I'll add you to my prayers..
Lisa
Spencer,
I wish you the best and hope everything goes as smooth as possible.
-Brian
Thanks everybody, I appreciate your support. I should know what the game plan is tomorrow and will post as soon as I can.
thanks again,
spencer
Hang in there Spencer. We're pulling for you.
Let us know what the results show.
- Tom
Results are in--it grew out staph-methicillin sensitive so at least we can rule out mrsa.
Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow followed by 6 weeks of IV antibiotics. Hoping for the best.
I'll update on a regular basis.
spencer
Spencer
I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
Good Luck.
Pat
Spencer,
I have been reading your posts on your recovery since your hip resurfacing surgery. You have both stamina & courage and thats half the battle won. Very best wishes with surgery and I am sure you will come through this positively.
John P
Thanks John I appreciate the support.
spencer
That sucks Spencer. Good luck with the procedure and treatment.
When you noticed the infection, did you have additional swelling?
- Tom
Hey Tom,
The first thing I noticed was an extreme fatigue. This wasn't your basic post op, just starting back into activity fatigue....this was get me into a horizontal postion and I don't want to move fatigue. Along with that came some swelling at the incision site and a slight fever, occasional chills and two days later, redness on either end of the incision site.
I've been on Clindamycin since last Tuesday and the incision area is healing nicely, no fatigue, no fever. But there is swelling in the hip and pressure- no pain.
Spencer... sorry to hear of the diagnosis...time to show 'em what your made of bro ...we are all pulling for you !
Big Bill
Wishing the best for you tomorrow. My thoughts will be with you.
Vicky
Vicky, Bill
Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate your support.
spencer
Hi Everybody,
Had surgery to clean up infection on Wednesday afternoon, Came home yesterday (Friday) afternoon. Feeling pretty good walking with one crutch. Much less swelling than HR surgery.
The ortho said that the hip joint looked pristine and did not have to dislocate the hip for the wash out, he only had to sub-lux it. He cleaned everything out with antibiotics and sutured me up/ That's the part that is the most sore.
I currently have a picc line in and am giving myself IV antibiotics every eight hours. It only takes avout ten minutes for the whole process. I'll do this until Sept 24th.
I'll also meet with the ID doc at three and six weeks. So far so good not much pain. Going for short walks. No intense exercise for 6 weeks. But I can coach my son's middle school cross country team. Practice starts Monday. No personal training or spinning for 6 weeks.
So far so good.
spencer
Hi Spencer
That is really good news that they were able to clean things out.
We will all keep our fingers crossed for you and hope everything will heal properly.
Have fun coaching your son's team!
Good luck and keep in touch when you can.
Pat
Spencer,
Great to see you are on the road to recovery and all went well.
John P
Spencer ...glad to hear that good news via "email"....you had alot of "knee mail" (prayers) on this end!!! ;D
Big Bill
Big Bill, John, Pat,
Thanks for the support. It's been a definite setback but I think we caught it early. I don't know if I mentioned it but the hypothesis is that the infection started in the IT band where the surgeon found a tear and some necrotized tissue. So the infection may have never made it to the hip.
take care,
spencer
Spencer -
That must be disappointing to have to hold off on exercising for so long. But good news that it wasn't more serious. I know that's something that all of us dreaded. You seem to be in good spirits, and I hope that continues.
Keep us posted - Tom
Spencer,
Been wondering about you and then I finally figured out how to get the 2nd page of posts. Glad things turned out well and that the infection didn't spread. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Lisa
Uncemented/Biomet/Gross/6-23-08
Sorry Spencer, did not have a chance to check the posts on here since I was out of town visiting my grandbabies. SO happy to hear things were not so bad. Keep your chin up, you had an excellent surgeon and hopefully now, things will be on the road to recovery.
Vicky
Hi Vicky, Lisa and Tom,
I got out of the hospital Friday. I'm optimistic and so is my ID doc and the ortho who did the washout. I'll see the ID specialist on Sept 2 for an update. Getting labs taken every Tuesday as well as a dressing change on my picc line--a nurse comes to the house. I'm getting used to giving myself the antibiotics every 8 hours. It's not too bad, I inject the medicine via syringe into the picc line. It only takes a few minutes. The picc line should be taken out on Sept. 24th.
The hip feels great and since the washout surgery last Wednesday, I can walk with one crutch. I've been ordered only to take short walks for 6 weeks. Not a problem since cross country practice started yesterday. At least I can coach. Although I got a bit lightheaded and tired after the practice. Slept well last night.
Take care,
spencer
Hi Spencer
That's great to hear you are feeling better and even able to coach.
We will all keep our fingers crossed that your antibiotics take care of the problem and you will have a painfree hip.
Thanks for sharing your information. It may be very helpful to someone else with the same problem.
Good Luck.
Pat
Pat,
No problem. It's pretty clear that the infection did not start in the hip but probably began on or near the IT band. And since it's the methicillin sensitive type of staph as opposed to mrsa, the chances of keeping the BHR are pretty good at this point. Thanks for your support.
spencer
Hey Spencer - I'm only telling you this so you know what you have to look forward to - I spent 10 minutes on the rowing machine yesterday and know that I will row again. There was enough strength and flexibility there - and none of the old pain - to know that I will be in a boat again before the end of the year.
And then, I rode my bike along the river, planning to meet my wife. But then it turned out she was delayed at her office, so I rode all the way home! A 90-minute ride with hills, turns, traffic, etc. The hip felt fantastic, although my butt was a little sore from the seat.
It was a big boost to my confidence, and a feeling I'm sure you will share very soon.
You go man - Tom
Hey Tom,
Have you been watching the rowing events in the olympics?
Just got my first blood tests back since I've been on IV antibiotics: Sed rate and crp barely elevated. Looks good so far. Doc is very optimistic. Updates to follow. I still have til 9/24 for the picc line IV antibiotics.
Great news Spencer.
Vicky
Spencer - Yes, I have tried to watch as much of the Olympic rowing as possible. It looks so beautiful and effortless when it's done so well, but you know that after 2000 meters those people are totally spent.
It looks so effortless that I wonder if people even enjoy watching it - six minutes of absolutely perfect repetition. Not exactly thrilling to watch. They added the cable-cam this year, which gives a fantastic close-up/overhead view, at least for a few seconds. Got me even more excited about doing it myself again soon, if not quite so speedily.
Many of the races also are available on the web at nbcolympics.com.
Glad to hear your beating that infection. Hang in there.
- Tom
Hey Spencer - How's it going? Bill Bill and I were commenting that we hadn't heard from you in a few days. Hope all is going well.
- Tom
Hey Tom,
I was just waiting for a call from the doc on Tuesday's blood draw. His nurse did call me last night and indicated that my sed rate and crp were back to normal. I see the ID doc on Tuesday, Sept 2. I am now just over 2 weeks into IV antibiotics- giving myself syringe injections into a picc line every 8 hours. The only thing they want me to do right now is rest most of the day and coach cross country for 90 minutes, 5 days a week. I get to walk around the field we train on and am on my feet the whole time.
Tonight we have a jog-a-thon to raise money for our team. The kids will run for an hour around a track and some of these middle school kids will run 8 miles. We'll raise money for entry fees to meets and our annual trip to the state meet in Phoenix where our girls came in second last year.
I'll update any additional info I get from the doc.
thanks again for your support,
spencer
Hi Spencer
Glad to hear things are going well. It's great you can get out to coach the cross country team.
Have a great weekend.
Good Luck with the jog-a-thon!
Pat
Spencer,
I guess I've been out of the loop since I didn't see your update post on the 19th till just now. Glad to here things are going well. I bet your glad to have that picc line out. It's a wonderful way to give daily meds but a pain in the butt to have it. My son had one in the back of his head when he was born for several weeks due to him being 4 months premature and needing numerous meds daily.
Good Luck on your road to recovery and raising money with your Jog-A-Thon.
Enjoy training your cross country team.( I ran track for 12 yrs but hated cross country)
Lisa
Uncemented/Biomet/Gross/6-23-08
Spencer,
Great to see you are progressing and recovering well. I admire your comittment to the kids, coaching 5 days a week,
Well done.
I would like to send your team a small donation for the jog-a thon . I know how important it is to stay involved and give back what you can from your experiences in sport to kids.
Can you let me know the best address to send the donation to or you can mail me directly.
Keep up the good work.
John P
Good to hear Spencer. Bet you wish you could be out there running too. Won't be long now, man.
All the best - Tom
Hey Spencer - How was your visit to the ID doc? Everything progressing well, we hope.
- Tom & the gang
Hey Tom,
Yes the visit with the ID doc went very well. (As a side note he is an avid rock climber and climbs with a friend of mine who also had RBHR with Dr Su last April) Her is a comparison of my bloodwork:
8/27 9/2
crp 1.6 1.0
sed rate 10 6
Hgb 13.4 14.0
Hct 38.0 40.3
Everything looks good so far. I'm riding the trainer 30-55 min easy. Hope to get my picc line out 9/23. Next blood test is tomorrow. I've lost 9 lbs since I haven't been able to be very active. Hope to gain that back soon. I haven't been at 174lbs since 10th grade.
take care,
spencer
Not sure what the numbers all mean, but good to hear they're improving.
Had to chuckle - Usually when I'm inactive, I gain weight (like that past two years). I'm ramping up the exercise, including longer stints on the rowing machine, in hopes of starting to shed the 30+ pounds I picked up hobbling around on the old hip. Feeling better every day.
Hang in there - Tom
Hey Tom,
Glad to hear you are doing well. The first two numbers are indicators for infection and the last two numbers are hemoglobin and hematocrit--essential for endurance. All the numbers are in the normal range which means the infection is gone. The key will be the first two-six weeks after the antibiotics are finished. The ID doc said he was sure it was a superficial infection that had not penetrated to the hip. All good news!
spencer
Hey everybody,
I saw the surgeon today. Bloodwork is normal. No more restricitons. I'm cleared to ride on the road again. I see the ID doc on Tuesday and should get the picc line out. I plan to start teaching spinning again beginning the first week of October. Also planning on returning to personal training at that time as well. I am grateful for all those who have supported me for the past 6 weeks. Have a great weekend and I'll give another update Tuesday.
spencer
Spencer
That is fantastic news. I hope you have a great weekend and can finally get on with your life and new hip.
;D :D 8)
Pat
Spencer ... Great news man !!! I kept you in my prayers . Lots to be said about knee mail ! I am ahead of schedule on my rehab...but Hurricane Ike is kinda setting us back a bit here in Houston. We had home and property damage but are very grateful... others lost alot ,alot lost everything . Released to go back to work on 10/1 and will continue to do work with the Cormet 24 month study group. A heartfelt "Congrats" on your "all clear" status. Way to go bro' ;)
Big Bill C.A.S.H. 7/09/08 8) Hip Stories- Dr. Kreuzer
Congrag on the all clear. Sometimes we have to take
Congragulations on the all clear. ;DSometimes we have to take 1 step back before we can go forward. Glad your in forward gear.
Sherry LC+ 11-10-08 Kennedy
Pat, Bill, and Sherry,
I really appreciate your support. Thanks for your kind words. I went out for my first outdoor bike ride today- 1 hr. It felt good. Being a cyclist and a triathlete i haven't had hair on my legs since 1988. It was weird feeling the wind blowing through the hair on my legs today--ha.
Bill,
I was thinking of you during Ike. We were watching the coverage on satellite TV. Did you lose power. I have a client in Brownsville who's breathing a sigh of relief. Take care.
spencer
Spencer ....could not resist.... let your hair down bro .... ::)
Big Bill 8)
Hey Spencer - Glad to hear things are going well. Funny about the wind in your (leg) hair. I used to row with a guy who shaved his legs for adventure races, and we teased him about it. He considered it a badge of honor.
And Big Bill CASH - glad you escaped the worse of Ike. The last remnants of it even reached up here to Pittsburgh, and several trees were blown down and a neighbor's garage was crushed. Nothing like you had down there, I'm sure.
- Tom
Hi all,
This morning the ID Dr removed my picc line and I am now off of antibiotics. For the past 3 days I've been riding my bike on the road. It's been a rollercoaster but the hip feels great. I go back to teaching spinning and training folks on Monday. Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers and support. Time to get busy again.
spencer
Bet you were thrilled to get that picc line out...Good Luck getting back on track..
Lisa
Uncemented/Biomet/Gross/6-23-08
Spencer,
Thanks again for sharing all that with us.... you have probably helped more people that you'll ever know.
Enjoy that new hip now and may you put thousands of miles on that metal.
Chuck
Lisa,
It was great getting that picc line out. It was over 12 inches long and felt very weird when the dr pulled it out....no pain though.
Chuck,
Thanks and same goes for you.
spencer
Pedal on bro!
I've been reading the thread sent by Spencer about his infection, and I wish him the best of luck. sounds like he did all the right things. i'm curious about something, though. I'm two weeks post op after 2nd BH and today, for the first time, the area around the incision site felt really itchy and a bit inflamed. The incision itself has healed really nicely, and there is no external evidence of infection, but for some reason today the hip felt really throbby and painful, even though I haven't put much strain on it. I'm still on two crutches much of the time, but one crutch around the house and office. Just wondered what signs I might look for that would point to infection. Vitals, I assume, like fever. Could infection be ruled out with a quick blood test?
I plan to call my surgeon tomorrow, but he's in Seattle and I'm six hours drive from there. I could also go in to our local clinic here in my town.
Any thoughts on this?
Best,
Buddy
Buddy,
I received instructions from HSS to check surgical site daily for signs of wound infection for the following symptoms:
a) increased swelling
b) oral temperature greater than 99 F
c) increase in pain
d) decreased sensation
e) drainage
f) odor
I did have increased swelling after exercise, so I applied ice overnight and the swelling subsided. I checked my temperature and it was 97.5 F. I didn't have any other symptoms to be concerned about infection.
Dear Stevel:
Thanks very much for your post. I really appreciate i--very helpful. I think I'll see how things are in the morning, and take temperature and take it from there.
Best,
Buddy
Hey Buddy,
The very first thing I noticed when I got my infection was extreme fatigue. I mean, "I don't want to lift my head off the pillow" type of fatigue. The next thing I noticed was a mild fever -99 degrees and the very last thing was swelling and slight inflammation.
A simple blood test -
C-reactive protein and sedimentation rate will give you an answer about infection
Don't panic though, irritation and cumulative achiness is very common so early in your recovery.
Definitely talk to the surgeons office and you'll get clear direction. If you want to talk more my email is: magoo451@msn.com
take care,
spencer
Just an update 6 weeks post IV antibiotics: I met with the OS today: blood test-all normal, x-rays look good no evidence of any infection. I am 4 months post 1st operation and 12 weeks post 2nd operation and now teaching 4 spinning classes/wk, riding the mountains in Tucson and back to personal training. I'd like to thank all who gave me so much support through some pretty rough times.
I'd also like to add that anyone facing an infection post op- do not despair, it can be overcome and I'll be here to offer whatever support needed to get you through the difficult times.
Here's to keeping the faith
Cheers,
spencer
Hey Spencer dude!
Glad to hear everything is going well. I think Pat should put you in charge of infections and other issues on this forum ;-)
When you were going through all the tests I always made sure to follow your results. Your information will be so very important to those who are seeking someone with the same problems as they have.
Chuck
Thanks Chuck. I'm here to help in anyway I can :)
spencer