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Question by Izzy_24: Total Hip Replacement?
My dad is having total hip replacement tomorrow and i just wanted to know some stuff about it. He is diabetic and has his blood pressure is a little high, he is also 49. Does any of that make the risks higher? What are the risks? How long is the surgery? How long will he be in the hospital after-wards? How long is the recovery time? Oh, he is having surgery on his left hip first then I think 6 weeks later he’s going to have surgery on his right hip. I just want to know what’s going to happen.

Best answer:

Answer by Kraftee
I’ve had both hips replaced in separate surgeries 5 months apart. I was 59. I can tell you about my experience (with the caution that people may react and recover at different rates). I consider my recoveries pretty much “textbook” or better. I too had a “risk” although it was different from your father’s.The surgery itself took about 1.5 hours. Add recovery room time and I was in my hospital room about 4 hours after I entered the OR. I was in the hospital 4 days for each surgery. I was dismissed to go directly home each time (Some patients spend a week or so in a rehab unit before going home). My last day in the hospital was classified as “rehab” which meant that they took my vitals less frequently! I began PT in the hospital and continued it when I got home with home PT visits (and nurse visits 2-3 times a week for two weeks). After that I went to outpatient PT for about 5 weeks. I was on a walker or forearm crutches at first, then graduated to one crutch, then to a cane, then nothing. I recovered much more rapidly from the second surgery than from the first. I was walking unaided 4-5 weeks after my second surgery.
The possible serious complications (I’m sure his surgeon has discussed these with him) include the formation of DVT (blood clots in the leg that may go to the lung). Fortunately medical science has figured out how to drastically reduce the risk of this complication. In my case I was given a blood thinning drug for 5 weeks, wore TED stocking for 6 weeks, and did ankle pump exercises 3 times a day for months.
When he gets out of surgery he’ll probably have a Foley catheter and maybe a surgical drain. Depending on what kind of anesthesia he has (general or spinal) he may feel slightly nauseated (general) or raring to go (spinal). He may be receiving pain meds through a PCA [patient-controlled-analgesia] machine that automatically dispenses pre-set pain meds via IV plus allows the patient to push a button and get more if he needs it. These get removed in the next couple of days.

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