Total Hip Replacement Surgery

What To Expect After Surgery

Right after surgery

Your pain will be controlled with intravenous (IV) medicine. You will probably also have medicines to prevent infection, blood clots, and nausea. If you had regional anesthesia, you may have little or no feeling below your waist for a while.

You may have a cushion between your legs. It helps keep your new hip in the correct position. You may also have a catheter. It lets you empty your bladder without getting up. To help prevent blood clots, you may be wearing compression stockings. And you may have compression sleeves on your legs. These squeeze and release your lower legs to help keep the blood moving.

Moving around

On the day of surgery or the day after, you'll get out of bed with help. You will learn how to walk with a walker or crutches. By the time you leave the hospital, you will be able to safely sit down and stand up, dress yourself, use the toilet, bathe, and use stairs.

As soon as possible, you will start physical therapy. You'll learn exercises to help you get stronger. You will also be taught how to move your body without dislocating your hip.

If you have traditional surgery, you will need to follow "hip precautions" until your hip is fully healed. Most often, this means that you:

• Avoid twisting at the hips. You keep your shoulders, hips, knees, and feet facing forward.
• Do not bend your hip more than 90 degrees. This means no bending forward while sitting down and no bending over to tie your shoes.
• Do not let your affected leg cross the center of your body toward the other leg. Your therapist may suggest that you:
  • Do not cross your legs or feet.
  • Be very careful as you get in or out of bed or a car. Make sure your leg does not cross that imaginary line down the middle of your body.
  • Keep a pillow between your knees when you are lying down.

There is a much lower risk of hip dislocation after anterior surgery, so there are fewer precautions. Your physical therapist will teach you how to move safely. For example, while you're healing, the therapist may suggest that you:

• Do not step backwards or bend backwards.
• Do not turn your leg too far out to the side. Keep your toes pointing forward or slightly in.

Leaving the hospital

You will probably stay in the hospital for 1 to 4 days after surgery.

• You can go home from the hospital if you have care at home and your recovery is going well. At first you will need someone who can help you day and night.
• You can go to a rehab center if you don't have care at home or if you need extra care. You can go home when you've recovered well enough to move around safely and care for yourself.

Continued recovery

During the first week or so after surgery, you will need less and less pain medicine. For a few weeks after surgery, you will probably take medicine to prevent blood clots.

You may need a walker, crutches, or a cane for a few weeks. As you get your energy back, work up to taking a short walk a few times each day. If you feel any soreness, try a cold pack on your hip.

Don't drive until:

• Your doctor says it is okay for you to drive.
• You have stopped taking an opioid pain medicine.

After traditional surgery, complete recovery can take at least 6 months. Recovery is usually faster after anterior hip surgery. Keep up your walking and physical therapy exercises. They help speed your recovery.

For most people, it is safe to have sex about 4 to 6 weeks after a hip replacement. Talk to your doctor about when it is okay to have sex and what positions are safe for your hip. Some positions could cause you to dislocate your hip. That means that your doctor may want you to avoid certain positions, especially for the first few months.

Living with a hip replacement

Exercise (such as swimming and walking) is important for building your muscle strength. And it helps you feel better overall. Discuss with your doctor what type of exercise is best for you.

• You probably will be able to return to most activities that you did before surgery, such as golfing, biking, swimming, or dancing.
• Your doctor may want you to avoid running, playing tennis, and doing other things that put a lot of stress on the joint.

Your doctor will probably want to see you at least once a year to check your hip.

For at least 2 years after your surgery, your doctor may want you to take antibiotics before dental work or any invasive procedure. This is to help prevent infection around your hip implant. After 2 years, your doctor and dentist will decide if you still need to take antibiotics.