Anybody had a hip replacement?

1
Hopefully this is the right forum for this post..

I have spoken to several friends and acquaintances about my soon-to-be-scheduled hip replacement already, but only one is a gun owner (retired law enforcement). I know that everyone’s recovery is different, but how long after surgery were you able to shoot again? It’s been nearly two years since I was able to ride a motorcycle, which is my ultimate “therapy,” and shooting is one of the few things left that gets my head away from work. What were your experiences with THRs like?

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

2
Not me, but my wife has had both done, 11 mos apart. In both instances, home the same day.
Regular activities within days and 100% cleared by the doctors for all activities (except snowboarding) within 45 days.
So shooting was never an issue, and back on her bike in about 2 weeks after the sealed bandage came off.
May I ask what technique your surgeon is using?
My wife's surgeon specializes in the Anterior technique. No knees or other joints, just hips, just anterior.
We couldn't have had better outcomes.
"I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations in examples of justice and liberality" - George Washington

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

3
speedydave wrote: Sat Aug 08, 2020 12:15 pm Hopefully this is the right forum for this post..

I have spoken to several friends and acquaintances about my soon-to-be-scheduled hip replacement already, but only one is a gun owner (retired law enforcement). I know that everyone’s recovery is different, but how long after surgery were you able to shoot again? It’s been nearly two years since I was able to ride a motorcycle, which is my ultimate “therapy,” and shooting is one of the few things left that gets my head away from work. What were your experiences with THRs like?
I have had 2 THRs -- my left in Dec 2011, and my right in Jan 2014. I'm also a motorcycle rider. If you like to work out, it's low impact from here on in, and no running unless the house is on fire! There's a cross-linked polyethylene "cushion" that replaces the lost cartilage that you don't want to wear out too soon or damage--running and high-impact activities are bad. But if you like to bicycle, that's fine--I have very little trouble with that, with swimming, or power-walking. Occasional twinges are normal. In fact, last April (2019) my son and I bicycled across the Golden Gate Bridge on a trip to SF. Life is SOOOOO much better since them.

Prior to the first THR, I was in agony every day, walking with a cane, couldn't even turn my feet out! I couldn't use a treadmill, elliptical, or bicycle. I had to use an arm bicycle or swim for cardio. Life sucked.

There's a lot of prep you have to do the night before the surgery, to sanitize your body. Each doctor and hospital protocol are different so rather than go into it, just follow their instructions to the letter. You REALLY don't want an infection! (my brother's FIL, in his 90's had to have an infected one redone).

They will try to get you up walking either later that day, or the next. It will hurt but you gotta do it. The first one didn't go well. I had put myself in great shape, but they had moved me wrong and didn't realize they had dislocated the damn thing--they knew I was in pain but instead of a simple $70 x-ray, I was sent to spend 2 weeks in a step-down facility and in constant agony. After 2 weeks, the follow up x-ray showed...guess what? I was in surgery that night for the dislocation to be reduced! After that, it was troublesome for at least a year but I STILL had far better motion and mobility. The Physical Therapist came to the house to help, but I still needed some kind of cortisone injections...And it "clicked" when I walked for that year.

The 2nd one went much better. Different doctor, different hospital. The doctors insisted "no" but I could feel my left leg was longer and had to wear a pad in my right shoe to even it out. After the surgery, the difference they insisted wasn't there, was now gone. I went home either the next day, or the day after--I think it was the day after. I still had to have P/T of course, and at one point I though I had fucked up my right knee, but it was merely referred pain. Also some strange bruising on my foot. This all went on for about a month. Now, it's fine. As I said, occasional twinges, but I can still go dancing with my wife (at least occasionally!)

Other things to expect: You may be told to take an antibiotic before you have any dental work, amoxicillin or levofloxacin (I developed a late-in-life allergy to penicillin). Twinges, only low impact exercise, but, while you'll never be where you were when your hip was healthy, you'll be infinitely better than you are now! HOWEVER, you MUST do the Physical Therapy rigorously! A friend's wife had both done, didn't to the P/T, and now has trouble walking. Me? I can power walk with ease!

There are 4 brands of THR prostheses, and, AFAIK they are all good. My left is by Zimmer, my right by Smith & Nephew. DePuy is J&J's brand, and I forget the name of the 4th. Don't let the surgeon use metal to metal--I'm sure he won't--they have terrible problems. Also the newer anterior surgery method should only be done by a surgeon with LOTS of experience and who uses an articulated table. When done right, recovery is much easier, but adverse events are more likely. The older posterior method, which will give you a nice, big scar on your butt, takes longer to recover from but is safer. The anterior doesn't cut and re-attach tendons and ligaments, but can hit a nerve bundle or be done wrong. The Posterior method does cut and reattach them but is more reliable.

Hope this pedantic, turgid screed helps!
Last edited by YankeeTarheel on Sat Aug 08, 2020 1:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

4
RotaryMags wrote: Sat Aug 08, 2020 12:51 pm Not me, but my wife has had both done, 11 mos apart. In both instances, home the same day.
Regular activities within days and 100% cleared by the doctors for all activities (except snowboarding) within 45 days.
So shooting was never an issue, and back on her bike in about 2 weeks after the sealed bandage came off.
May I ask what technique your surgeon is using?
My wife's surgeon specializes in the Anterior technique. No knees or other joints, just hips, just anterior.
We couldn't have had better outcomes.
This is what happens when the anterior method is done by someone both experienced and truly gifted at doing it--the best, best outcome!

But someone I know had it done, was happy for a couple of years, then there were problems and he had to have it re-done, by the posterior method.
His surgeon, clearly, wasn't as good as RotaryMags's wife's.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Anybody had a hip replacement?

5
RotaryMags wrote:Not me, but my wife has had both done, 11 mos apart. In both instances, home the same day.
Regular activities within days and 100% cleared by the doctors for all activities (except snowboarding) within 45 days.
So shooting was never an issue, and back on her bike in about 2 weeks after the sealed bandage came off.
May I ask what technique your surgeon is using?
My wife's surgeon specializes in the Anterior technique. No knees or other joints, just hips, just anterior.
We couldn't have had better outcomes.
My surgeon does hips and knees only (he’s actually doing my landlord’s knee too) and does either approach, but for me is recommending posterior due to the risk of complications during the surgery (the bone is soft and can require extra work during surgery, and posterior gives more room to do that work).

Definitely sounds like your wife’s went very smooth! Both approaches do seem pretty routine at this point and everyone I know has had nothing but good things to say about the experience.

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

6
Being the recipient of two failed knee replacements I can offer this ...

The choice of surgeon is the single most important factor.

Find a "Revisionist" ... the surgeon who fixes other surgeon's fuck ups.

Absent that, one who is performing at least ... At Fucking Least ... 500 of these per year. Preferably 1000.

A surgeon without that level of experience will cripple you.

I speak from experience.
Subliterate Buffooery of the right...
Literate Ignorance of the left...
We Are So Screwed

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

7
The fourth brand is Stryker. It's what my wife got.
And yup, antibiotics before dental always.
Her Dr. was good enough to find that her left leg was 2mm shorter than her right and corrected it with the first implant.
No hip pain, no back pain.
Happy wife, happy life!

Backstory: this was after almost a year of very painful PT because her first Dr. couldn't see the real damage by X-ray.
He eventually admitted he was crappy at reading x-rays, so we went to Dr. Aoki in SLC who confirmed the damage by MRI.
Dr. Aoki recommended Dr. Armstrong in BOI and that's where we went.
Moral of the story? Research, research, research.

Best wishes for a perfect outcome!!
"I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations in examples of justice and liberality" - George Washington

Anybody had a hip replacement?

8
rolandson wrote:Being the recipient of two failed knee replacements I can offer this ...

The choice of surgeon is the single most important factor.

Find a "Revisionist" ... the surgeon who fixes other surgeon's fuck ups.

Absent that, one who is performing at least ... At Fucking Least ... 500 of these per year. Preferably 1000.

A surgeon without that level of experience will cripple you.

I speak from experience.
I’m with Kaiser, so my choice of surgeons is a bit more limited than other health insurance providers. That being said, a friend of mine who is a radiologist at the hospital my surgery will be at said she hasn’t heard anything negative about my surgeon, though she has no direct experience working with him. He does “several hundred” surgeries per year.

Sorry to hear about your experience. Hopefully a better surgeon has been able to remedy some of those issues for you? Complications are definitely a fear of mine, especially since I’ve never had surgery before beyond dental work.

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

9
YankeeTarheel wrote:
speedydave wrote: Sat Aug 08, 2020 12:15 pm Hopefully this is the right forum for this post..

I have spoken to several friends and acquaintances about my soon-to-be-scheduled hip replacement already, but only one is a gun owner (retired law enforcement). I know that everyone’s recovery is different, but how long after surgery were you able to shoot again? It’s been nearly two years since I was able to ride a motorcycle, which is my ultimate “therapy,” and shooting is one of the few things left that gets my head away from work. What were your experiences with THRs like?
I have had 2 THRs -- my left in Dec 2011, and my right in Jan 2014. I'm also a motorcycle rider. If you like to work out, it's low impact from here on in, and no running unless the house is on fire! There's a cross-linked polyethylene "cushion" that replaces the lost cartilage that you don't want to wear out too soon or damage--running and high-impact activities are bad. But if you like to bicycle, that's fine--I have very little trouble with that, with swimming, or power-walking. Occasional twinges are normal. In fact, last April (2019) my son and I bicycled across the Golden Gate Bridge on a trip to SF. Life is SOOOOO much better since them.

Prior to the first THR, I was in agony every day, walking with a cane, couldn't even turn my feet out! I couldn't use a treadmill, elliptical, or bicycle. I had to use an arm bicycle or swim for cardio. Life sucked.

There's a lot of prep you have to do the night before the surgery, to sanitize your body. Each doctor and hospital protocol are different so rather than go into it, just follow their instructions to the letter. You REALLY don't want an infection! (my brother's FIL, in his 90's had to have an infected one redone).

They will try to get you up walking either later that day, or the next. It will hurt but you gotta do it. The first one didn't go well. I had put myself in great shape, but they had moved me wrong and didn't realize they had dislocated the damn thing--they knew I was in pain but instead of a simple $70 x-ray, I was sent to spend 2 weeks in a step-down facility and in constant agony. After 2 weeks, the follow up x-ray showed...guess what? I was in surgery that night for the dislocation to be reduced! After that, it was troublesome for at least a year but I STILL had far better motion and mobility. The Physical Therapist came to the house to help, but I still needed some kind of cortisone injections...And it "clicked" when I walked for that year.

The 2nd one went much better. Different doctor, different hospital. The doctors insisted "no" but I could feel my left leg was longer and had to wear a pad in my right shoe to even it out. After the surgery, the difference they insisted wasn't there, was now gone. I went home either the next day, or the day after--I think it was the day after. I still had to have P/T of course, and at one point I though I had fucked up my right knee, but it was merely referred pain. Also some strange bruising on my foot. This all went on for about a month. Now, it's fine. As I said, occasional twinges, but I can still go dancing with my wife (at least occasionally!)

Other things to expect: You may be told to take an antibiotic before you have any dental work, amoxicillin or levofloxacin (I developed a late-in-life allergy to penicillin). Twinges, only low impact exercise, but, while you'll never be where you were when your hip was healthy, you'll be infinitely better than you are now! HOWEVER, you MUST do the Physical Therapy rigorously! A friend's wife had both done, didn't to the P/T, and now has trouble walking. Me? I can power walk with ease!

There are 4 brands of THR prostheses, and, AFAIK they are all good. My left is by Zimmer, my right by Smith & Nephew. DePuy is J&J's brand, and I forget the name of the 4th. Don't let the surgeon use metal to metal--I'm sure he won't--they have terrible problems. Also the newer anterior surgery method should only be done by a surgeon with LOTS of experience and who uses an articulated table. When done right, recovery is much easier, but adverse events are more likely. The older posterior method, which will give you a nice, big scar on your butt, takes longer to recover from but is safer. The anterior doesn't cut and re-attach tendons and ligaments, but can hit a nerve bundle or be done wrong. The Posterior method does cut and reattach them but is more reliable.

Hope this pedantic, turgid screed helps!
I used to be a big mountain biker and would love to get back to it. Same with rock climbing. Never been a runner though, so no complaints there! I can’t even care for a dog right now, even that would be amazing.

Implant will be a Zimmer titanium/ceramic. Keeping up with PT right now has been as much mental as physical given I see no real “benefit” to it (a little less inflammation in the joint, maybe), but I understand how important PT is and will be.

It sounds like as expected, general outcome should be good assuming I’m in the majority of cases. I know I won’t be hopping right back on a motorcycle by Halloween, but it sounds like this won’t be a huge disruption to my life.

I appreciate the reply!

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

10
Yeah, Stryker--DUHHHH! I actually led a team digitizing X-rays for a Stryker spinal disk replacement device a dozen years ago...so how dumb is THAT that I forgot they make hips and knees????

Are they using ceramic instead of plastic? That should increase the wear life without the awful metal-shedding that is hell on the tissues--unless the metal parts are now metal-ceramic (Rado, the watch company, perfected a metal/ceramic alloy for watch cases and watch bands at least 20 years ago--the stuff just doesn't scratch or wear unless you used a diamond on it!)

The pre-surgery P/T's only advantage would be to get you healthy and fit--won't help the hip joint. The post-surgery P/T is to make sure the muscles and tendons heal properly and with flexibility so it all works like a well-oiled machine.

I LIKE the idea of a surgeon who performs revisions! My first surgeon had done 4000 hips, and it wasn't the surgery that was fucked up, it was the post care by him and his assistant. They got careless. I liked him because he was the ONLY one who could give me relief from a persistent ruptured disk. His exercises worked when nobody else's would.

EDIT: Just looked up Zimmer. The Acetabular cup liner is still cross-linked polyethelene. So I guess the ceramic maybe in the femoral head.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

11
Due to COVID, my wife's PT ended early and she does notice some 'burn-y/stretch-y/tear-y' feeling when she overextends and feels it's because she didn't get whatever technique was used the first time to break up the internal scar tissue. The biggest issue is getting the big nerve back in the correct location. I guess it can stretched pretty good during the anterior approach.

As for the ball socket, "The ADM cup is a monoblock cobalt chrome alloy cup with plasma sprayed titanium surface overlaid with hydroxyapatite. This cup has a peripheral self-locking (PSL) 1.5mm press-fit." Then it has a dual-ball polythelene head.

If you are interested, here's Stryker's step-by-step how to install the Accolade-II hip implant, just to see what's involved...

https://www.stryker.com/us/en/joint-rep ... de-ii.html

I think SpeedyDave will be back on his bikes before he knows it!
Fingers crossed for you!
"I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations in examples of justice and liberality" - George Washington

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

12
My father had one hip done twice, the first time when he was in his late 60s, the second time in his mid 80s. The pain was bad, but nowhere near as bad as his knee replacement. He did have one important piece of advice for me: keep careful records as to what is put in on the first replacement, because if you live long enough to wear it out, and they know all the details as to what is in there, they only have to replace the ends, not tear out all the stainless. Difference in recovery time: 6 weeks vs. 6 months.

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

13
NuJudge wrote:My father had one hip done twice, the first time when he was in his late 60s, the second time in his mid 80s. The pain was bad, but nowhere near as bad as his knee replacement. He did have one important piece of advice for me: keep careful records as to what is put in on the first replacement, because if you live long enough to wear it out, and they know all the details as to what is in there, they only have to replace the ends, not tear out all the stainless. Difference in recovery time: 6 weeks vs. 6 months.
Solid advice! I know mine will likely need a revision down the road.

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

14
speedydave wrote: Sun Aug 09, 2020 10:01 pm
NuJudge wrote:My father had one hip done twice, the first time when he was in his late 60s, the second time in his mid 80s. The pain was bad, but nowhere near as bad as his knee replacement. He did have one important piece of advice for me: keep careful records as to what is put in on the first replacement, because if you live long enough to wear it out, and they know all the details as to what is in there, they only have to replace the ends, not tear out all the stainless. Difference in recovery time: 6 weeks vs. 6 months.
Solid advice! I know mine will likely need a revision down the road.
I'm hoping in the next 15 years they come up with a less invasive Star-Trekie way to replace just the acetabular cup liner.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

15
My Wife spent 5 years trying to find out why she was crippled..unable to walk, severe pain, one leg like 3" shorter than the other, it was horrible. She was sent to PT, Chiropractors, and Witch Doctors until we changed Family Physicians and ended up with a Nurse Practitioner (who I love dearly) who sent her to an Orthopedic Group for evaluation. It took the orthopedist about 20 minutes to evaluate her X-rays and MRI's and work with us to prove that her diagnosis (scoliosis) was nothing to do with her affliction. He sent her down the hall and 15 minutes later showed us her right hip was literally destroyed. They grade them from 1 to 10 and she was an 11.

Long story short they fast tracked her for a hip replacement which was postponed indefinitely due to Covid but happened on May 18. 6 weeks of PT and she has not been this good and pain free since 2015. It is, literally, a miracle. No more pain, no more crooked walk, no more terror.

No idea what implants they used - the doctor was fabulous and even shot pix of the ball joint they removed as they were incredulous that anyone could live with such destruction. He asked me after surgery why we had waited so long and I told him that we had been working our asses off to find and treat the root cause but that we had failed to be referred to the folks who had the answer and a solution.

Once we found them it was literally minutes of diagnostics and a few hours of surgery to solve it. she drives, she walks. she exercises and walks up and down stairs and it's only early August. less than 3 months after surgery she is better than she has been for 5 years.

VooDoo
Tyrants disarm the people they intend to oppress.

I am sworn to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

20
A normal ball joint should look like a Cue Ball ....
IMG951743.jpg
This is what they took out of The Girl....

The Surgeon said it's about as bad as he's ever seen and asked why we/she waited so long. I told him post surgery that we had been after thsi for 5 years but everyone of her care providers were focusing on treating a minor scoliosis telling her her spine was a mess. Her spine is fine. Her hip was toast. It was toast 5 years ago when we started looking for a correct diagnosis.

Nasty shit.

VooDoo
Tyrants disarm the people they intend to oppress.

I am sworn to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

22
VodoundaVinci wrote:A normal ball joint should look like a Cue Ball ....
IMG951743.jpg
This is what they took out of The Girl....

The Surgeon said it's about as bad as he's ever seen and asked why we/she waited so long. I told him post surgery that we had been after thsi for 5 years but everyone of her care providers were focusing on treating a minor scoliosis telling her her spine was a mess. Her spine is fine. Her hip was toast. It was toast 5 years ago when we started looking for a correct diagnosis.

Nasty shit.

VooDoo
Yikes! Must have been a huge relief once they figured it out, though it’s incredible it took that long. I was in pain for nearly 6 months before they figured out what was causing it, I can’t imagine 5+ years of agony while your doctor just shrugs.
“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” -Robert Capa

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

23
speedydave wrote: Wed Aug 12, 2020 11:12 pm
YankeeTarheel wrote:Here is one of my hips before the surgery:

left hip before surgery.jpg

And after (ignore that they are reversed):

left hip after surgery.jpg
Looks close to bone-on-bone?
It was. Not much cartilage at all. The other was just as bad, but didn't hurt...2 years later, though, it had to be done, too. The implant actually required a stainless steel screw to hold the acetabular cup insert in place. The other didn't require it.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Anybody had a hip replacement?

25
I had a total hip anterior method done about 4.5 years ago. Going to the range was one of the first things I did recreationally. I don't really remember how long after the surgery it was now, but it wasn't more than a few weeks. I was toddling out to the target line with one crutch, IIRC.

But I was pretty incautious overall: I was doing some light carpentry (making a seat that fit across the top of my tub so I could shower sitting down) only about five days after surgery while more-or-less using one crutch, and around the same time I went out to our alley to pick up a light package that I knew had been delivered, and since I figured it was too awkward to carry with my crutches, I just walked carefully but when I got back the steps up to the house, I forgot and started going up them normally, instead of up-with-the-good leg only, stepping up twice. No harm done, though. I was going back to the lab where I work part-time after barely a week because I was bored at home.

My surgeon wasn't very proscriptive about hip angles before the surgery or immediately after. At one of my follow-up visits, I think after a year, he did tell me "don't do that" when I bent my knee way up toward my chest, but by then I'd already done that MANY times. I've tried to be slightly more cautious since. I had a few sessions of physical therapy for knee pain last winter, and I mentioned to the PT guy my concern that my sloppy ways were going to get me a hip dislocation, and he said he'd never seen one for a patient from my surgeon, which was slightly reassuring.

OTOH, when I told my surgeon while consulting before the surgery that I was hoping to return to doing Irish dance, which is far from low-impact, he said "you should do what you want to do." I insisted on showing him a video recording of my daughter and me doing a dance practice to be sure we were talking about the same activity, and he said "I know about Irish dance, I'm from Newfoundland." The logic there wasn't completely clear to me, which shows how much I know about Newfoundland, I guess.

I considered getting a resurfacing instead. I had a consultation with this guy about it. http://pritchettorthopedics.com/hipjoint.php It was interesting. I talked to one of his patients that I tracked down via the Bonesmart forum (i.e. NOT guided to that guy's testimonial by the surgeon). He said he'd had both hips resurfaced and went back to skydiving, so that's pretty impressive! I can't remember really why I balked at going this route. I was a little nervous about having all the ligaments severed, but obviously it works OK.
IMR4227: Zero to 900 in 0.001 seconds

I'm only killing paper and my self-esteem.

Image
Image

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests