E-Dog Night Posted March 7, 2010 Author Share Posted March 7, 2010 Glad to hear that all went well. Part of the benefit in having a good Orthopaedic surgeon rests in(the surgeon) having the wisdom and experience to change plans intraoperatively. You'll do well, Keep your activity up to lessen the possibility of blood clots. I had the misfortune of having one last month and nearly checked in to that happy hunting ground in the sky. Keep Movin, HTTR Thanks man. I was thinking of you during the stay in the hospital. And Yeah I am surprisingly mobile for being my first day back. You see me coming with my walker, you had better back the **** off or else. Definitely wearing my leggings and taking aspirin. A clot would suck and then some. To elaborate on what happened: I had a hip resurfacing for about 5 minutes and Dr. Mont realized there was a connectivity problem which could lead to an ongoing dislocation problem. Also, because my hip was displaced slightly due injury, new bone had begun grow on the ball of my femoral neck. That caused an issue which precipitated a trip to the irradiation lab. They zapped the part of my bone where the new growth has started in order to prevent further growth, which, needless to say, would be bad. Being down in that lab was one of the worst experiences of my life. I knew I was in for an unpleasant time when I saw the fake lit-up pictures of tropic islands and such embedded in the ceiling. Can't be good stuff happening if they are trying to make you feel better with that nonsense. After a full body MRI (scary damn machine that) I was so viciously nauseous from the anesthesia and the Dilaudid...it was at the point where I wanted to die, and then I had to spend what seemed like an eternity on this plastic slider thingy while they decided what to do. Then the actual zapping process was no picnic either. Like X-rays times 50. And it was so frickin creepy when the machine rotated, revealing a cross in the ceiling which was previously hidden by the X-ray camera. You know what is hidden behind that cross is a machine so scary they won't even let you see it. Without all that, this would have been a lot less unpleasant. One thing that bothers me...I just noticed it so I haven't had time to talk with Dr. Mont about it but maybe you could provide some insight. My right leg (the one that had the surgery) seems taller than the left. Is this normal at this early stage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonedoc Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 The trip to the "irradiation lab" was to prevent heterotopic ossification. This is a condition that results in calcification in the soft tissues around the hip joint. It's like pouring a wad of concrete around your hip with significant freezing of motion. Sometimes irradiation and various oral agents can limit this, which frequently occurs in males. As you developed your arthritic condition, you lost some length. The ball sunk in to the socket. Your muscles tightened to accomodate this decreased length. These muscles get stretched with the new hip sometimes giving the sensation of a longer leg. Sometimes you do get a longer or shorter extremity from the new prostheses. This can be balanced with a shoe lift/insert on the other side. Frequently your muscles will stretch out as you increase your activity and with physical therapy. Enjoy your newfound painfree hip, you'll be back in the lineup soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Cool E-Dog. Glad to hear things worked out for you and you are safely back home! Sounds like you got a great ortho. Good luck with the rehab, you seem like one of those patients who'll be back in the thick of things after your recovery. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWinzit Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 I was thinking of you during the stay in the hospital. And Yeah I am surprisingly mobile for being my first day back. You see me coming with my walker, you had better back the **** off or else. You'll be tossing that walker and moving to crutches in no time. I was down to one crutch after a couple weeks. Then along with when they remove your staples is when you truly realize how much more mobility you've just gained! Every day you are going to realize a gain in quality of life...CONGRAT's!After a full body MRI (scary damn machine that) I was so viciously nauseous from the anesthesia and the Dilaudid...it was at the point where I wanted to die, and then I had to spend what seemed like an eternity on this plastic slider thingy while they decided what to do. Then the actual zapping process was no picnic either. Like X-rays times 50. And it was so frickin creepy when the machine rotated, revealing a cross in the ceiling which was previously hidden by the X-ray camera. You know what is hidden behind that cross is a machine so scary they won't even let you see it. Without all that, this would have been a lot less unpleasant. I was viciously uncomfortable and nauseous the morning following my operation when they brought me to xrays and MRI to make certain all went well. It was by far the worse part of the whole adventure.One thing that bothers me...I just noticed it so I haven't had time to talk with Dr. Mont about it but maybe you could provide some insight. My right leg (the one that had the surgery) seems taller than the left. Is this normal at this early stage?I felt the same yet the ortho kept telling me they were the same and even sent me to be measured. I think this just comes from walking with such a pronounced limp for such a long time. You will "kinda" be relearning to walk and that feeling of one being longer than the other will go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-Dog Night Posted March 7, 2010 Author Share Posted March 7, 2010 Thanks guys for all the nice words. It definitely reassuring that the sensation of having one leg a different length is normal at this stage. And I go back and forth between crutches and the walker. Walker is for in house, crutches are for out-of-house excursions. I don;t know why I decided that, I just like the walker better right now for most day-to-day activities. It's good to have people to talk about this with. Thank you all. Looking forward to reclaiming my starting position! - E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasefan31 Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 When I had my surgeries they said I could be 1/4-1/2 inch taller when it's all done. Like bonedoc said, they want to be sure everything gets pulled tight around the joint or else you could have dislocations. I forgot about that part now, but I do remember feeling like I was a sky scraper for a couple weeks. The ground was so far away. Amazing what 1/4" feels like. I also put a wedge inside the heal part of my shoe to make them even until I had the 2nd one done. That straightened out my gait and felt much better. If you really do have one longer and it feels awkward this could really make a huge difference. Heel Lift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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