I had the final pre-op appointment with the surgeon this morning.
On the positive side, I have complete confidence in her ability. She said she's done 100s of these, and was rated as a top orthopedic surgeon by a local magazine. That rating probably doesn't mean that much, but it just adds a little confidence.
I also mentioned to her that I had had shoulder surgery when I was younger. She said that she thought the recovery from shoulder surgery was worse than hip surgery, which is encouraging. On the other hand, she didn't ask what I had done to my shoulder so I'm not sure why she said that. But I'll take that as a positive sign.
She said that I could shower at any time, assuming I can actually get into the shower. She said that I can drive whenever I'm off narcotics. I have a stick shift but I also have an automatic.
On the less than positive side, she told me no running. Period. That was a bit of a blow. She said it would wear out the cup, and furthermore, by wearing it out, it creates small particles that will also cause the metal part of the cup to get loose from the bone. I was aware of the first risk but was not aware of the second risk. But then she told me I could play tennis, pickleball, and that I could run the bases playing softball (which I never play). I tried to clarify and say that I wouldn't run any more marathons, but could I run shorter distances?, but she just said over and over that's not what this procedure is designed for. I got a little quiet and was obviously taken aback, but she just asked if I had any more questions. Yeah, I get it - facts are facts. But ouch. Sometime during the conversation she said biking was fine but if did longer distances my hip flexor would hurt. I wanted to ask her if that was a permanent thing and what she meant by long distance but at that point I was getting confused and didn't want to appear argumentative with her. I don't know - maybe she's just trying to manage my expectations, but that conversation sure left me feeling down.
The first time I had seen her back in April, she was describing the technique (which will be anterior), and I am 100 percent sure she said that she would cut some ligaments that form a capsule around the head of the femur. After that appointment I starting thinking about that, and today, I started to ask her if she repairs those ligaments after she cuts them. Today when I asked her, she said doesn't cut those ligaments. She said nothing is cut, just moved out of the way. I think the reason I was worried about that is that when I was younger, I had surgery on my shoulder because it kept dislocating, and the procedure was to tighten up those ligaments. With all the concern on hip dislocation, I was just curious about that. I know I shouldn't worry about these types of technical details, but I do.
She told me the second week of recovery will be worse than the first week. I'm just assuming the first two weeks will be rough. She also told me that I shouldn't be surprised if I have significant bruising all the way down to my feet during those two weeks.
I asked her what medicine or drugs I'll need to take after the surgery. She told me I'd be taking two types of pain killers (I forget what they are but she said they weren't narcotics) and that I should take them for 14 days. She suggested that I don't take the two pills at the same time, but sort of interleave them so one is always active. Good idea. She also said she'd give me a prescription for oxycontin, which I should take as needed. She also said I should take baby aspirin for a while (I forget how long). When my wife had surgery, she had to inject herself afterwards to prevent clotting, but my doctor told me the aspirin would take care of that, and that I'd be wearing compression socks for a while. That was good news - taking aspirin is more pleasant than giving myself a shot.
Whew. In the meantime, I continue to be pretty inactive. My weight and blood pressure are creeping up, even though I'm doing my best to watch my diet. I was walking around the tennis tournament this week, and my groin and thigh have low-level, but constant soreness, and I have to concentrate to walk without a limp. That makes it hard to deny my situation. My wife has been super supportive and has told me that I'll come out stronger.
As a commentary, it's a little frustrating that the discussion and decision to have surgery, and all other details, is based on two, hurried 20 minute appointments. I realize there is more to it - there are the x-rays that provide a definitive diagnosis and the doctor has lots of experience - but this is the first time for me, and I feel like everything is rushed and I should just be quiet and do what I'm told. It will work out in the end and I shouldn't expect someone to hold my hand, and I realize that now I'm just whining. But thanks for reading.
ETA: Just after I posted this, I received a follow up report from her. Included in this report is this statement:
Stressed that a hip replacement is not designed for higher impact activities and that activities like tennis, running,high impact biking may still be painful. Also, they increase risk of early wear. That's not really what she said and now I'm really confused. I thought she said tennis and biking were approved activities. Hopefully she is just managing expectations. I need to stop overthinking this.
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I might try an indoor ride, and will try to get a few pool swims in. My other goal before the surgery is to get one more hike in. When I walk, my leg is getting stiffer and I'm limping more. Usually it will loosen up a bit, but the limp is still there. My knee on my bad side also seems to be getting stiff.
