I had my right hip resurfaced with Dr. Kennon about 6 weeks ago. This site has been very helpful through the recovery process and wanted to share my experiences to this point.
I'm 30 years old and started seeing Dr. Kennon about 3 years ago after a late diagnosis of hip dysplasia. I specifically chose Dr. Keggi and Kennon due to their excellent reputation throughout New England (traveling for the operation was not a realistic possibility) as well as their experience with the direct anterior approach and resurfacing in patients with dysplasia. I'm normally extremely active and live for golf, skiing and all outdoor activities so I put the procedure off as long as possible but when I was no longer able to walk around the block without significant pain despite PT, steroid injections and synvisc (all of which helped at the start of my symptoms) I finally decided to do it. I did not have a large amount of OA for my condition and my symptoms were mostly caused by soft tissue damage and instability caused by the dysplasia.
At the 6 week mark I can say that Dr. Kennon was an excellent choice, he did not push me to do the procedure, was extremely reassuring while also being honest and straightforward about the potential complications due to my dysplasia ie. risk of a steep cup angle and the resulting possibility of ion build up. The joint replacement institute at St. Francis was equally impressive. The facilities are brand new and are used exclusively for joint replacement patients and procedures. I did not think this would make a difference but was wrong, because the nursing staff and aides only see joint replacement patients they were extremely knowledgeable about all of the post-operative needs/complications and usually knew what I needed or was going to need before I asked for it.
The procedure itself went well, Dr. Kennon was able to achieve a good cup angle and was walking with a walker the same night of the operation. My hospital stay was complicated slightly by excessive blood loss which required a transfusion of 2 units of blood requiring a slightly longer hospital stay of 3 days. For about a week after the operation I did feel like crap, flu like symptoms, nausea, total body aches which also didn't allow me to sleep. This was my first operation so I can't say if this is a normal reaction after such a procedure or a result of the blood loss/transfusion, probably a mix.
Dr. Kennons protocol had me full weight bearing as tolerated immediately and walking without assistance as soon as I had minimal limping. I was walking by week 3 without crutches but the muscles did fatigue easily and was still spending most of my time resting. I have had no hip pain since the procedure, however as most experience I have had a significant amount of muscle pain particularly in the anterior thigh and groin. My symptoms/progress went as follows:
Week 1-2: Severe cramping pain in the front/side of the thigh which I would rate 8/10 despite muscle relaxers and pain meds was only able to sleep 1-2 hours per night. These subsided with at home PT and strengthening exercises. I was able to walk and weight bear at this point as the only pain I had was this muscle pain but was using one crutch about 50% of the time.
Week 2-4: As I became more mobile (no crutches) and started out patient PT the thigh pain turned into groin pain which felt like a very badly pulled groin and was much worse with extension of my thigh. During this time I also developed a snapping feeling in my groin and buttock (nothing in the area of the IT band) when I walked or moved in a certain. This felt as if a tight rubber band were being pulled over a pencil. This concerned me but was non-painful and my surgeon was not concerned. At week 3 I was also cleared to golf which was a much needed morale boost. I was able to to 18 with a cart, no full swing but it was nice nonetheless, although I paid for it the next day.
Week 5-6: Groin pain has turned into more of a tightness unless I over do it then the severe groin pain comes back and depending on how I move it is enough to take your breath away. I was able to get in the pool at week 5 (no crusting on the incision) and have been doing my stretching and PT in a heated pool which I believe has made a big difference. The snapping sensation is much less frequent and usually only occurs if I am not stretched out or have been sitting for a period of time.
I apologize if this was long winded but I know I was and still am looking for all the information I can get during my recovery so hopefully it helps.
Topic: 6 weeks post op Dr. Kennon BHR (Read 2551 times)
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