Friday, April 23, 2010

What To Expect After Total Hip Replacement

I see a lot of articles and forum posts that either try to set expectations for after THR surgery, or ask questions about what to expect. There are no correct answers, so i hope to provide one more data point. My facts:
  • I had my surgery at the age of 46.
  • I was very active until about a year prior to my surgery (marathon runner, black belt)
  • Mine was a left total hip replacement necessitated by osteoarthritis.
  • I had a posterior surgical procedure. My procedure was also "cement-less".
  • My new hip is a Stryker model with ceramic surfaces.
  • My surgery was on Monday afternoon, and i went home on Tuesday evening.
  • My first time standing was the morning after my surgery. I walked three times with a walker on that day.
  • I used a walker for the first week and a half after my surgery, and then i switched to a cane.
  • I had at-home physical therapy for the first two weeks.
  • I had to self-inject blood thinners for three weeks after my surgery. This sucks.
  • I started driving about 2 weeks after the surgery.
  • I returned to work after 2 weeks at home.
  • At 4 weeks i could walk without a cane.
  • I had outpatient physical therapy from 2-6 weeks (twice a week).
  • At 6 weeks i started riding my bike trainer.
  • At 10 weeks i started doing tai chi again. My left leg is still weak at this point, but not painful.
I'm at about 11 weeks now. For the last two weekends i've ridden my bike on the road, for almost 2 hours the last time. I can walk for about an hour, but i get some pain around my incision near the end of that.

Should you come across this via search engine or something, don't hesitate to ask questions.

1 comment:

Tim Reed said...

The road to recovery was impressive. Unfortunately, this isn't the case with my grandpa. Walking without a cane after a month for me is a miracle. Hopefully, everyone who had their hips replaced will experience the same as you did.

Best wishes. Tim @ depuy asr recall