Swollen and Bruised - but I think it is normal

[GreenHills]

Well, it has been 10 days since my Birmingham hip resurfacing.  I'm not on any pain killers and all seems to be going normal.  There was a lot of bruising by the incision, but I guess this is normal.  Since the operation, the bruising has moved throughout the operative leg and is somewhat lighter in color, as if the body is getting rid of it.  I sleep on my side so much of the black & blue has moved to the other side of the operative leg.  There is also a small bit of bruising that moved down into my foot, but not much.  My foot is a little bit swollen right now but again - it isn't that noticeable except to me.

I've been walking with 2 crutches, virtually no pain, and the implant doesn't "feel" different to me.  It feels natural, if that makes any sense.

Am I normal?  Is this a good recovery or do I have any issues to worry about with being black and blue?  I am wearing the calf "pumps" religiously (can't wait to get rid of these) and I routinely feel my calves and legs and there is no pain or tender spots, so I don't think blood clot is an issue.  I go for an ultrasound next week just to be sure.

How am I doing?  What say ye?  I think all is well, but then again I don't want to be overconfident.

  

[bluedevilsadvocate]

GH -

That's all normal, at least based on my experience.  In one of my early posts I described my operated leg as looking like someone had taken a baseball bat to it --- bruising all over the place from hip to below the knee.  But it all cleared up in a few weeks, first turning lighter and then ultimately disappearing.  The hip feeling "natural"is certainly a good feeling.  I, too, was off the pain meds by 10 days out; actually, I stopped the heavy duty meds a day or 2 after the operation, and used only acetaminophen for a while thereafter.  The calf "pumps" do get to be a little annoying after a while, but I assume that you'll be taking them off soon.

All in all, sounds like you're on the right track!

[GreenHills]

Thanks.  It sure helps to hear from others in the same boat.  My bruising used to be dark purple like a plum, but it is getting lighter.  I would say that right now I'm a violet and it is fading slightly.  To put it into perspective (using html color codes) it was probably about a #660066, and now I'm somewhere nearer to #CC0099

I'd post a link to the html color codes but I guess we can't post external links for some reason.

[oldsoccerplayer]

After reading the first post I was going to say "What, only black and blue?" I had all shades of pink, red and purple for a while. I never thought of translating them to RGB codes (I think that's the underlying scheme behind the HTML color codes) They will fade and disappear and you will look back fondly on the days when you had something to attract sympathy
Welcome to the club. You've got a few challenging weeks and months ahead of you, but plenty of people here have been through the same and will be here if you have questions.

[GreenHills]

Got an ultrasound at 2 weeks.  No blood clots.  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Foot has minimal swelling.  There seems to be some days that is better (almost unnoticeable) than others.  Other than that I just keep moving and walking (with crutches) whenever I can.