Surgery on Tuesday (Arthroscopy questions)

[Boyiee]

On Tuesday I go in for Arthroscopic Hip surgery. This is not a medical advice thread.

Most that get this procedure get it on their Knee, it's pretty common, minimally invasive, not too bad of a recovery etc etc.

I've had an injury that I've been dealing with and working with for 2 years come April, I was involved in an accident at work that I have an open case that I'm suing for. Blahblah lawyer got me in to see an orthopedic surgeon last week who said this type of injury in the Hip is a little rare, it's what looks like a Labral Tear in the ball and socket joint of my hip/femur. The MRI shows a tear, but supposedly viewing this type of Injury during an MRI arthrogram is in its infant stages so there is a high possibility that they will find more than just a tear or whatever when they are actually inside me. The surgeon saw me last wednesday, and was shocked that I was still dealing with this and working with this for 2years now, especially since I don't have a sedentary job. He wanted to do the surgery asap, and the following week worked out.

Anyway, he says since I don't have a sedentary job, the recovery time could be much longer. Most knee's I guess aren't too long, and he said most hips can take up to 4 weeks. He said due to my line of work, that my recovery would be MINIMUM 4-6weeks. So needless to say I'm nervous as fuck.

Has anyone had this type of surgery before? Even if it's on their knee or another joint I'd like to know. I'm mainly worried about the recovery time, what the recovery is like and all. I was told that for the first week I'm going to be miserable, and probably in tears from the pain. This is the 2nd surgery I've ever had, the first one being when I was like 4 or 5 years old which I don't remember anything about, so the idea of General Anesthesia (wow I spelled that right first try without spellcheck) and being intubated is worrysome. I know that the actual procedure is minimal, a few small incisions and small devices used whatever. But supposedly it's also a diagnostic procedure and they will find out more about the injury when actually in there, like if the femur needs to be shaved or if there is cartilage that's screwed up, things need to be cleaned out, whatever.

ANY ADVICE BG??? Kidding aside, anyone have something like this done? I don't know much about it and just want to know what I'm in for since my surgery is like 36hours away.

[Null]

I've had a similar surgery ( possibly the same) on my hip. Sadly it has ripped/broke two times since. First things first, never be worried about surgery. I always get excited for it because it is helping. Although it is not needed, get a wheel chair, it helps the recovery process. Clear you house of clutter and find out the best way to lay down. Sleep was the worse for me as every turn ripped my hip. Same with laughing, sneezing and shitting.

Wishing you the best of luck.

[Boyiee]

I'm abnormally calm about it, as with most things, but my leg has been hurting me since I was told I needed the surgery, where typically it came and went. The pain is constant now, it's like a reminder.

Yeah the surgery is helping, but at 21, and with my dad still having knee problems, I wont know which was better for me. Living with it or getting it fixed. Are wheelchairs free? I wanna do wheelies and shit. My main problem will be getting drugged up enough to get up the stairs in my house within the first day or 2. I NEED to be upstairs, or I'm going to slave my family into bringing my PC down into the family room lol.

So yours has had further complications post surgery? Have you needed additional surgery because of it?

[Sythe]

Alex...?

[Boyiee]

Maybe.

[Null]

I had my surgery at 16 or 17 which was a problem because I was still growing. I got my wheelchair for free. Ask a random church or hospital, they always have very nice ones.

Yeah I still have problems but I've become so used to it now. This thread makes it hurt though lol. I am now limited, I cannot sprint but I can run. After my surgey I hurt it a year later, took physical therapy and hurt it six months after that.

[Boyiee]

Well that's good to know, running could be a problem. I rather not be limited but it may be different for me as I've stopped growing.

Hmm, wonder if I'll gain or lose weight over the next month after having surgery.

[Melena]

you'll gain a bit of weight most likely. I've had two on my left shoulder, and the first couple of days after you come out if it your going to be nice and loopy and really not in the mood to do anything but lay in bed and watch tv.

[Wintermute]

I had a repair for the medial meniscus in my knee last year and it hurt like a bitch for a few days. Not "oh lawd stop the pain" bad, more like "slamming my knee into a table" bad. Worst part was finding a postion to sleep in so I wouldn't end up twisting the knee, might want to save a painkiller for bed.
Pain really dulled down about a week after the surgery.
Keep in mind you should also be given painkillers and some anti-inflammatory so you shouldn't be in too much pain.

I was out for about 7 weeks non-weight bearing but a lot of that had to do with my shit of a surgeon going on holiday right after the Op and the physios being unable to reach him for consultation.

Honestly the best thing to do is talk to the surgeon if you can and they should be able to give you all the info you need, if you can still get a hold of them drill them about Pre and Post-Op stuff to give yourself an idea of what you're in for. They may also visit you Pre or Post-Op so you can ask them then if you can't get a hold of them beforehand.

If they said 4-6 weeks it will likely be along that time-frame as it's based on an average recovery period, make sure you ask about the average non-weight bearing time period.
The pain will hurt, but being non-weight bearing will make you feel absolutely useless.

Over here they offered me extra time on the sick note if I had a non-sedentary job to prevent me from aggravating my knee after the surgery, they may give you the same deal.
What is it you do at work? If you can't afford a lot of time off can you ask to be transfered to a desk job until the surgeon/physios clear you for regular work?

Surgery wise they knock you out, make their tiny cuts and then have a look at the area and then get about to fixing it.
Don't worry about general anesthesia, you'll be under in no-time (usually they knock you out before entering the operating theatre) and you'll wake up in your bed back in the ward wondering why your sides hurt. If you do wake up it'll be in the recovery ward, and even then it'll only be for a few min before you pass out again. You likely won't remember being there if you do see it.

Post-Op varies from person to person, you may wake up to a dull pain or a shooting pain, it's all a crapshoot really.

My meniscus repair wasn't so bad since there's no blod floow or nerves in it and it felt like a dull pain most of the time. If I tried to move it got a lot sharper in very little time, usually from the muscles around the meniscus or the skin pulling on where they made their incisions.

Maybe Null can tell you what to expect when you wake up and move around since he's had a similar surgery. Be prepared for a gimp-limp though.

Wheelies are nice, but I'd get a pair of crutches, then you can make it up/down stairs (albeit slowly) and you can practice your break dancing.

Most important is to listen to the physios/surgeon and do the little workouts they give you. They'll hurt like a bitch and seem impossible at first but the sooner you start doing the stretches and such the faster your range of movement comes back and the faster your recovery will progress in general.

[Brill Weave]

I was dating a girl who had chronic knee problems. She had two different surgeries while we were together. When she got scoped she was up and walking around with no issues about two weeks later. If you have an active line of work I would expect it to be a bit longer. If you want to look for examples just check out hockey players. A shitload of them get scoped throughout the season and they are back on the ice playing 4-6 weeks later. I would say that the timeframe they gave you sounds about right. Just be thankful they aren't fully going in because you would be laid up for a few months afterwards. Good luck with it dood.

[Wintermute]

I was dating a girl who had chronic knee problems. She had two different surgeries while we were together. When she got scoped she was up and walking around with no issues about two weeks later. If you have an active line of work I would expect it to be a bit longer. If you want to look for examples just check out hockey players. A shitload of them get scoped throughout the season and they are back on the ice playing 4-6 weeks later. I would say that the timeframe they gave you sounds about right. Just be thankful they aren't fully going in because you would be laid up for a few months afterwards. Good luck with it dood.

It really depends on the surgery type. Most everything now is done through key-hole surgery rather than a hack job since it has a lower recovery time and less collateral damage.

When they fix cartilidge you're usually not allowed to use the joint for a good while, but for other stuff you'll be on your feet the next day.
I was walking right after my ACL reconstruction. No fun at all.

Athletes also have way better resources than the average joe when it comes to trainers, equipment, physios and so forth. The bastards...

[Norelco]

I had ACL reconstruction done. You get a wicked scar and vicodin for 2 weeks!

You should be able to apply for disability while you're out recovering.

Don't try to be a hero and not take your meds. The pain will come through.

If the doctor or physical therapist prescribes you any sort of stretching or excercises, DO THEM. They're not just meant to pass the time, but to aid in the healing and recovery process.

[Boyiee]

What do i do for a living? Duh I play baseball, ohwait.

I'm a Fireman and paramedic there really is no desk job or time to relax or whatever. So it looks like that 6weeks may be the minimum afterall. The weight bearing part is interesting, I surely wont be able to climb into the trucks for a while.

When I first had the injury I got physical therapy, loved it. The stretches relieved me and the therapist was hot. Plus the weight training keeps you from losing muscle which is my main concern.

The doctor said it may be cartilage related as well which will suck. All I have to do is get up the stairs once, and I can stay there lol. I have access to crutches already, I just want a wheelchair for fun in the mean time. Oh, and because a wheelchair will make me look more needy and I can make my family/gf suffer.

Thanks for the info guys, even though your experiences vary it gives me somewhat of an Idea what to expect. Looks like it all depends on my pain tolerance. I can only eat for a few more hours, time to decide what my last meal is going to be lol. Pizza and wings are looking promising.

[Boyiee]

Just a quick update and thank you for the information.

I just got home from my surgery about an hour ago, I was given some dilauted and some other pain meds before I left just to make it home with and I took advantage of that and made it up my stairs.

Pain is about a constant 5/10 after the dilauted which worries me, cause I know nothing I get from the pharmacy will take that much edge off, but whatever.

It turns out that besides the labral tear, I actually had a crushed ligament, which was removed entirely. Recovery pushed back to minimum 6-8 weeks. Thats all well and good cause I wanted to level a few alts on warcraft anyway lol. I'm just shocked that I've been dealing with that extensive of an injury for so long - once in a while my dad would pick on me say if I left work early or because I haven't gone snowboarding in over a year even though i used to be really really good - but now he actually sympathizes with me cause it was more than even he knew.

Again thanks for the info, I was surprisingly calm like I figured I would be, and having some extra knowledge of everything I'm sure helped. This week is going to be brutal, but getting paid not to work is a plus.

[Wintermute]

Just a quick update and thank you for the information.

I just got home from my surgery about an hour ago, I was given some dilauted and some other pain meds before I left just to make it home with and I took advantage of that and made it up my stairs.

Pain is about a constant 5/10 after the dilauted which worries me, cause I know nothing I get from the pharmacy will take that much edge off, but whatever.

It turns out that besides the labral tear, I actually had a crushed ligament, which was removed entirely. Recovery pushed back to minimum 6-8 weeks. Thats all well and good cause I wanted to level a few alts on warcraft anyway lol. I'm just shocked that I've been dealing with that extensive of an injury for so long - once in a while my dad would pick on me say if I left work early or because I haven't gone snowboarding in over a year even though i used to be really really good - but now he actually sympathizes with me cause it was more than even he knew.

Again thanks for the info, I was surprisingly calm like I figured I would be, and having some extra knowledge of everything I'm sure helped. This week is going to be brutal, but getting paid not to work is a plus.

Good to hear you're in good enough shape for them to boot you out so soon after surgery. Not to shit up your mood or anything, but did they remove all the cartilidge or just the damaged segments?

It's pretty odd nowadays that they remove the cartilidge unless it's pretty extreme. Problem is that if there's no cartilige on the joint there's a chance at early arthritis if you don't take care of the injury and you're highly active in sports and such.

That was one of the big worries with my surgery anyway, you might want to ask your surgeon/physio. Mine conveniently left out a lot of info I'd rather have known until I saw him a few weeks after surgery.

That said, enjoy the drugs and free time.

[Quisten]

If you have rehab to do, then do it. Don't overstress it, but do it as much as you can. You'll thank yourself a few months down the road. I had to have surgery for my pelvis / hip when I broke it into a couple pieces, the worst part was the rehab, but it paid back when I could finally go weight bearing on my leg again.

[Boyiee]

If you have rehab to do, then do it. Don't overstress it, but do it as much as you can. You'll thank yourself a few months down the road. I had to have surgery for my pelvis / hip when I broke it into a couple pieces, the worst part was the rehab, but it paid back when I could finally go weight bearing on my leg again.

yeah i love physical therapy. I know better than to let my muscles deteriorate and such, I have a good pain tolerance as well so it's great for me.

I had therapy for this in the past, when they thought it was not so serious, and the stretches and workouts were WONDERFUL, can't wait for this time.