OT: Medical Question

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

No, and after seeing some of the handy work, wouldnt want one ;)

But it depends on the level of replacement. They can now just replace the joint or insert a whole implant. Which one are you? Plan to be in bed for a while in any case.

I know someone, indirectly, who reciently had one.

Cheers

I'm described as "severe, bone-to-bone" :-(

...Jim Thompson

From what I have heard, they get you up as soon as you are awake and walk you around. From the few that I know that have had the whole joint replaced, there is a period of some tenderness due to the surgery, but the complete and total lack of joint pain is like lifting a veil from their miserable world and letting the sunshine come in.

-Chuck

Ouch. My son-in-law is a surgeon and he's only one chair away right now so I asked him about it and got a description. Ouch again.

You are going to appreciate the replacement. You don't need any luck, but I wish it for you anyhow, and a fast recovery.

Don

By the way, that means you will get a complete, new joint (both sides) of titanium, steel and Teflon, and never have the problem again.

"Jim Thompson" ...

My partner, two hips, about a year apart, full replacement. She is very glad she did it.

Here in the Netherlands the operation is done on monday, you take your first steps on tuesday, start the stair exercises on thursday, and I took here home saturday morning. We went for a 300 mtr walk the following day.

Part of the trick here is that the operation is done on the same day on 6 people who share a livingroom and a bedroom: all exercises are done together, etc. The atmosphere is very supportive and slightly competitive. One group per week, one week for hips, the next week for knee joints. Another part is that the operation is done not from straight the side but more to the rear: less muscles are damaged.

Be prepared for some time slow walking: the usual is about two weeks with two, then a month with one crutch. The time depends on your muscle strength: after a long period of hip joint pain most people had too little strength and the revalidation takes longer.

Arie de Muynck

"Don Bowey" ...

About 15..20 years is the usual lifetime of a hip replacement. It can be replaced once, sometimes twice, a third time is almost impossible. This is the reason why they don't want to replace hips in youngsters.

Arie de Muynck

Jim, Not yet. From what I heard, it is routine as long one has it done at a location where it is routine. Meaning, avoid these guys that didn't do it yet, but assume they can do it.

Good luck.

Rene

Not personally, but my two-years-younger brother in Sydney had his done a year or so ago, and is very happy with the result. My next-door neighbour in Cambridge had the same operation some twenty years ago, and was delighted with the result - she went from pretty much total immobility to walking to the local shops. She died a few years later, for reasons that had nothing to do with her Charnley hip joint replacement

-- Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

My grandmother had one done back in the late 60s. That was after the standard broken hip (fall-on-ice) didn't heal very well. She wasn't very active, but I don't remember any bad comments.

My grandfather accompanied her to Boston for the operation. With lots of time to kill, he went to the library to research the alloy they used. I think Vitalium was the brand name. It was stainless cobalt - stainless steel with the iron changed to cobalt.

Several years ago, I discovered that a wave of my friends had them done all around the same time. All were happy.

One guy was a little tired/slow. That was at the end of a 10 mile hike. I don't remember how long that was after the operation.

One friend to her doc at the start of the 2 week checkup: "When can you do the other one?"

One friend was holding out until the ceramic version was approved. She was young and it was expected to last longer. (That was severa/manyl years ago.)

How flexible are you? Things like putting on your socks can be a challenge.

If you want background on how to think about how good your doctors are, I suggest Atul Gawande's Better. His first book, Complications A surgeon't Notes on an Imprefect Science is also very good. (in my opinion)

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Ouch. Seriously, they have got a lot better at it now, than they were in the past, with less damage to the muscles/ligaments round the joint than was the case in the past. The 'rule of thumb' on recovery, was 6 days, 6 weeks, 6 months, with some people changing the numbers to '9', rather than '6'. 6 days, before you are moving on the joint reasonably well. 6 weeks, before it starts to feel comfortable, and 6 months, before it feels 'right'. Obviously, how well you take it, depends on how you react to anaesthetics, and your own strength. If the hip, really is bad, then in a few months time, provided it all goes well, you will be looking back thinking 'I wish I had had this done earlier'. Also, if the hip is bad, and you go on using it, you run the risk of doing damage to other joints (opposite knee in particular), which will bite you latter. The joints themselves are amazing now, and the quality of the engineering, really has to be seen to be believed. Unfortunately, I feel this is a problem of the 'sealed for life' joints, we all have, and a design involving grease nipples, and a service every few years, would have been a much better solution!... Good Luck.

Best Wishes

I wouldn't worry Jim.

My mum (mom) is 79 has had two in the last 3 years. Her comment "No big deal, don't know what all the fuss is about". She had it done on an epidural (ie no sleepy).

She now runs round like a 40 year old.

Neighbor had it done earlier this year. He's not allowed to jog anymore, but most importantly the pain is gone and he's back up on ladders and so on doing pretty much everything else he wants.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Mother-outlaw had hers done nineteen years back, age 61. It was supposed to last up to 15 years (they are better nowadays). It's still running fine, and just a week ago she had a knee done (same leg).

No big deal nowadays, but I'm with Rene - make sure it is done by experienced operators and not Jayan Patel.

Good. You put your finger on exactly my problem... pain. Took 'em awhile to sort out the source of the pain... MRI showed extensive disk damage, but finally one PA decided to order some hip shots... I'm bone-on-bone on the left side :-(

...Jim Thompson

...Jim Thompson

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

I know several people that have had total hip joint replacement and they all went very well. My father-in-law, an ex Army Ranger damaged his hip joints in a training accident back in WW2. When they deteriorated to the point where they had to be replaced (about 10 years ago), he was very pleased with the results. His doctor was a former mechanical engineer that had worked for Sikorsky Helicopter in failure analysis. As the aerospace industry was downsizing, he was recruited by a med school... Seems a lot of med schools are trying to recruit engineers. What the heck, Orthopedics is largely mechanical engineering anyway.

My father in law had one hip done and they had him up walking the next day. He referred to the new joint as his 'good hip'.

Oppie

My father had one done while he was about 70. He had a rough time and said never again. Most seem to do well though. Therapy is required doing excersises. There is some kind of procedure not common yet, where my sister needs relief, but is too young for a replacement.

greg

I've known people who have had them done. After the surgery is no hayride, but that having it done made their life MUCH better. You'll be miserable for a little while, but overall you'll be far better off than you are now.

steve