Post Surgery issues.

[PistolPete]

I had my surgery on Monday and came home on Wed.  It is now Thursday morning and here are the things I noticed.

First is that when I urinate I have a little bit of pain.  I'm assuming this is because of the catheter?

I had a low grade fever up until last night but now that is gone and my temp is back to normal.  It was around 99.6 and got up to 100.2.  Dr. said to call if it hits 101.

Moving my leg laterally is the most challenging movement.  Moving the leg inward (If I'm sitting down moving my operated leg, right leg, from right to left) is MUCH easier than moving it outward.

My swelling is pretty bad and I have a ton of bruising.  I bought one of the ice machines that you plug into the wall and this thing ROCKS!!!

My hospital put together a kit with extention grabbers, sock tool to put your socks on, elastic shoe laces so you can slip your shoes on.  I bought slip on shoes but this option is MUCH better as I prefer to wear my sneakers.

My gait is completely normal now.  I had leg length difference of about 3/4 of an inch and the PT noticed when I place my left foot (shorter leg) I put the ball of my foot down before my heel.  Must have been how I learned to compensate for the leg length difference.

Last but def. not least it seems that each day gets progressively easier but by the end of the day the leg/hip gets extremely sore.  I also stopped taking the narcotics yesterday as the pain has been bearable.

[hernanu]

All sounds normal to me. I went to the same place + doctor:

• I did not have the catheter, so did not have the urination thing.
  
• My fever went down at the beginning too (forgot about that)
• Lateral was the worst. During home PT I could do everything else but the sideways movement was a killer. It wasn't lack of strength, it was almost like the muscles had to relearn to do it. At first the PT had to help me lift my leg sideways when doing side leg lifts on the bed, but then it progressed pretty quickly. Don't worry about it , it's normal.
• Swelling is normal also, brusing, etc. It all goes down, make sure you've got your Ben Franklin socks on - did they give you aspirin for the clotting?
• I got the kit too, the best things in it for me were the elastic laces and the sock tool. I did use the grabber a lot early (picks up dirty clothing well) and later to run speaker wires (!!) while I still had trouble bending.
• Awesome about the gait.
• You're a few days out from major surgery. It's expected you'll get sore at the end, just nap, elevate and ice with wild abandon.

All sounds good and pretty much what I dealt with after getting done by Dr. Snyder.

[hipnhop]

Sounds pretty normal. just watch the fever. I had the chills real bad for the first few days, and a few night sweats but they all went away after the 2nd week.

Range of motion sucks after the surgery. I could barely get my foot on the first step. Now I can throw my leg up on the fourth step. It gets better real quick.  Just get some movies, don't eat too much, and relax. Let you body do its thang.

Hip

[PistolPete]

Hernanu-  Do you know which implant Dr. Snyder used on you?

[hernanu]

No one reads my signature!!!!  ... kidding - both sides have a Corin Cormet 52", angle 40 degrees.

[ScubaDuck]

Pete-

Everything you describe is what I dealt with.

Yes, it hurt to pee for almost a week after the catheter was removed.

Yes, I had a low grade fever that slowly went away.  I noticed elevated temperatures, especially at night, for several weeks.  It slowly got better and better.

Yes, it was difficult to move my leg to the side even laying in bed.  I have worked on strengthening that alot and I now pushing 130 lbs on the abduction machine.

Yes, I had lots of swelling and extensive bruising that lasted about two weeks.

No worries.  It all goes away and before you know it you will stop thinking about your hip all the time.

Best wishes.

Dan

[PistolPete]

How bad was everyones swelling?  That is what I'm dealing with mostly at this point.  THe swelling goes beyond my knee and my leg is massive.  The nurse and PT that visited today said it's normal but just seems excessive.

[hernanu]

It's normal, Pete - you had massive trauma to your muscles. Dr. Snyder uses the antero-lateral approach, which means he spreads the muscles to get into the hip. I had a lot of swelling with my first one, not so much on the second. Both did swell, though.

Did he use the silver bandage with you? I had normal bandages (change them each day) on the left, but the second (maybe it went better?) he used a very thin silver bandage that covered the whole area and was, I thought at least partially responsible for the lack of swelling.

I'd drink lots of fluids, move and ice the thing. Elevate too, that's important. But I'm sure this was all drilled into you.

[PistolPete]

I actually had a traditional posterior approach as he felt it would be better long term for me.  The swelling is really insane and seems to get worse by the hour.  Not to sound gross but even my testicles are swollen beyond belief.  Very strange but understandable.

[curt]

Hang in there Pete.  I've heard and read lots of posts about swelling.  All seem to resolve pretty quickly.  I  hope it goes away quickly for your comfort and peace of mind.  I may not do the other hip unless Dr. Gross promises not to use a catheter... I would rather wet myself and change the bed on crutches!   Curt

[hernanu]

I'm glad he changes things for each person, then. Ice and rest, I think will help the most. It does go down fairly quickly in the long term, but not quickly enough.

[curt]

Danny, saw from the other post that you are having a time of it.  Sorry to hear that but hang in there and let us know how it turns out.  Curt

[Dannywayoflife]

Curt much appreciated mate they seem to have mostly stopped the blead now it just really scared me.
Pete mate you sound like your doing awesome! Keep up the good work!
Danny

[hernanu]

That's great to hear Danny, I know that's scary. They'll probably give you some fluids, just to let you build up again, but like rbt said, nothing to do with the HR device.

[PistolPete]

One other issue im having is sleeping.  I don't nap during the day and I wake up between 2 and 4I am and have issues getting back to sleep.  On a good not I discovered if I put a pillow between my legs I can sleep on my side finally.  Woohoo

[hernanu]

That's great that you can sleep on your side, Pete. The sleep comes, your body is probably still getting rid of the anesthesia, becoming used to the new implant, getting used to the lack of pain, preparing for the coolness of life without the hip issues... you know, usual hippy recovery stuff   .

[Tin Soldier]

That all sounds pretty much the same as me.  The fever is supposed to be related to bone particles getting into your bloodstream from all the sawing and grinding.  Its supposed to come on a day or 2 post-op ad then reduce within another day.  I suppose plain and simple trauma could also cause fever.  Also with all the antibiotics, you kill off the good stuff in your body, throw in narcotics, and recovery for your guts may take a bit.  Urination hurt for a week on the first one due to catheter malfunction, or maybe operator error.  Didn't have a problem the second time. 

The swelling sounds pretty uncomfortable, but also sounds pretty normal.  Ice, ice, and ice. 

Pillow between legs and sleeping on my side was sooooooo nice.  I got real tried of trying to sleep on my back.