The Harmonious Hip: Post-op Day #1

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Post-op Day #1

Right Hip Arthroscopy with Femoroacetabular Debridement, Labral Repair, Osteotomy and Psoas Tendon Release DONE!!! Woohoo baby!!! One down....one to go!! Surgery lasted a little longer than expected, but Doc says he "took care of business"! He took lots of great pics and WOAH....the "Before" looks like a freaky, jagged, rocky mountainside from a horror movie!!! Bone where it clearly does NOT belong and then all this ragged and torn tissue that's been ripped to shreds!! Good grief! No wonder I've been so miserable all these years!!! So, Dr. B shaped all the bone and lined the femur and the hip socket up as God originally intended and gave me 2 new shiny screws to hold it all together! Sounds simple enough, right? Yeah, sure.... Haha!

Pain is manageable and I'm minimal weight bearing on the operative leg...not too shabby! My pretty red crutches and I are getting friendly once again. At the hospital, they gave us this fancy schmancy ice cooler device that connects to a pad that keeps it constantly cool...so no runs to refill ice packs every 30 minutes! It's always cold! :-D Thigh area is still really numb, which the docs say might be like that for a while, from the dislocation and traction they had on the hip for so long....it "stresses" the nerves around the hip and takes them a while to come back around. The entire leg just seems to not want to "work", like I can't lift it at all without help. But that should improve with time and therapy. Overall, I'm absolutely thrilled and super excited to get started with physical therapy....but even MORE excited to get done with the other hip too! If all goes well, we should be able to operate on the other hip in about 3 months. Woohoo!!!

I cannot even begin to express how incredibly impressed we were with the ENTIRE staff at Eisenhower Army Medical Center!!! Stereotypes of military hospitals (and yes, I'm afraid they're usually true) out the window! Dr. Bojescul is a true bonafide EXPERT in hip arthroscopy, y'all. To my Tricare "Hip Chicks"....please, please consider traveling to Fort Gordon! He, along with an entire committee of doctors, nurses and therapists, are working VERY HARD to compile case studies (mine included!) to send to Tricare to sway their ignorance that this procedure is "unproven". Yes, still send your appeals! But there's no reason to continue to suffer as we have...and by going to Dr. B, you ARE actively pursuing, not only pain relief, but directly contributing to the very case studies that will eventually overthrow Tricare's policy! Yes, unfortunately, the travel expenses are on our own dime, but what is it worth to finally have the pain relief we've been so desperate for?? If you need any contact info or have ANY questions about Dr. Bojescul and his staff or questions about the procedure itself....please don't hesitate to contact me!!!

And now I think I'll give in to the Morphine induced sleep that is beckoning.... Zzzzzz

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What is Hip Dysplasia?

You may hear about babies or pets with hip dysplasia, but it can affect adults, especially young women. Hip dysplasia is an abnormal condition affecting the hip socket, oracetabulum, and the thighbone, or femur. In someone with hip dysplasia, the hip socket is too shallow, or the femur is in the wrong place. Doctors check for hip dysplasia in babies before sending them home from the hospital -- it's an easily treatable condition in newborns. But if hip dysplasia isn't detected and corrected at an early age, the health of the hip will deteriorate over time because of its misalignment. Depending on the severity of the situation, this could result in pain, osteoarthritis, difficulty walking or an inability to walk. It can also contribute to a marked deterioration in a person's basic quality of life. It's not just dogs and babies, y'all!

Periacetabular Osteotomy (or PAO)

PAO: The Mother of All Hip Surgeries... A procedure that cuts the hip socket out of the pelvis to allow the socket to be repositioned and then screwed back into place. This allows the ball & socket to move fluidly, preventing further cartilage damage and preserving the joint in patients with faulty hips. The PAO preserves and enhances the patient's own hip, NOT replacing it with artificial parts like a hip replacement. The hip may still develop arthritis over time, even when the operation is successful. However, PAO is still the preferred treatment in young adults to postpone the need for hip replacement as long as possible.