Walking post THR

Hi Jersey. I'm 4 weeks post op and live in the UK.

I had my THR done in a private hospital funded by the NHS. I too wondered about the success rate of my surgeon. When my appointment came through I googled him. It appears he did his training in Canada. He works both in private and NHS hospitals. Also the fact that he is a Consultant means he must have been practicing orthopaedic surgery for 10 years according to a nurse I spoke to at the hospital.

When I met him I asked him if he had done many operations. I asked him if he minded me asking this question he smiled and said he would do exactly the same if he was me. He confirmed that he specialised in this type of surgery. I didn't find out his success rate though. Not sure whether that information is available.

I know this doesn't answer your question but I think the most experienced surgeon can still make mistakes so we just have to go along with the choices which are made for us.

I'm really happy with my recovery I had one leg longer than the other post op which seems to be rectified now. I am walking without a limp , which I havnt done for years and I am pain free. I had the posterior approach and my scar is only around your inches and is very neat.

I meet my surgeon in 2 weeks and can't wait to thank him for my new hip.

I wrote a list of questions pre op and will do the same in 2 weeks time.

To be honest most questions and answers are on this brilliant forum.

Wishing you all the best for your operation.

Sue x

At the outset, I looked for info on my surgeon ... word of mouth ( an astounding 8 people in my own network had had THR surgery by him and loved him. During my consult I asked how many THR he had done and how he decided which approach to use. He was not offended in the least. He does ~ 150 THRs a year and knee replacements as well. He had been doing them for 16 years. As for approach, he feels strongly that the surgeon's training determines approach as skills with a particular approach is the biggest predictor of success followed by patient commitment and compliance with post-surgery protocols.

At my 6 week check-up, he took care to ensure all questions were answered, showed me the xray of new hip, agreed to give me the full specs of devices inserted and actually gave me a copy of the operative report. He also listened and agreed to check with colleagues engaged in stem cell research to get me a consult with them ... if they felt their patient trials had proceeded far enough for this to be a viable route for my 2nd hip (tentatively scheduled for late summer/fall.

Listening to several experiences here, I might encourage others to request the operative report as well.

Good luck.

Hi Jeremy my questions pre op were mainly about the procedure, how long the operation would last,success rate, how long the hip would last , restrictions on movement, why i had to sleep on my back for 6 weeks , when could i drive again, and what type of hip I would be given, how long I would be in hospital for and when I would be expected to return to work (I drive for a living). Also as I had one leg shorter than the other I asked if it would be possible to make them the same length. I questioned why I would need to be awake for the operation as I was terrified of the thought. I was awake and needn't of worried as the sedation I was given made me feel calm like I had no care in the world.

Post op questions are quite similar. When to return to work, when restrictions can be lifted I believe my surgeon keeps them in place for 12 weeks instead of the usual 6??,I wonder what evidence he has to extend the restrictions, when can I exercise safely again and is there any exercise I cannot do, are my legs the same length they appear to be, what hip I was given, I used to swim but I've heard breaststroke is out of the question for 12 months so I'm going to clarify that, most importantly I'm hoping he is going to tell me the operation was a success and I'm interested to know how my other hip looks on the x ray. I believe it is ok as I have no pain but it's something I've never asked before.My hip was replaced as I had osteo arthritis which was bone on bone is it likely to affect my other hip in the future.

I see the surgeon in 2 weeks so will share on here.

Sue x

Hi Jeremy,

It will soon come around, I just went with the surgeon I got, never even thought about whether he was excellent or good, but they must of all gone through the same training.

I walked outside, very short walks to start, a few houses at a time, our pavements are really bad, and when I get out of our street, it's all hills.  Have someone with you if to start with if you can.

As the others have said if your in the UK you will have to do stairs before they let you out of hospital.  That is the one thing I was terrified of because ours is an old house with steep, narrow stairs (would be illegal in a new house) but it was a lot easier than I expected.

Lynn xx