Sunday, July 5, 2015

Surgery #1 The Hip Arthroscopy

The  hip arthroscopy with Dr. Youm went well. The worst part about it was being walked into the operating room and seeing all the equipment, knowing what as about to happen.., etc. I literally pictured Tigger from Whinnie the pooh, while they were talking me thru the anesthesia and strapping my arms down to the table, to hold myself back from crying.  When I woke up in recovery, the doctor told me that it went really well, and that he was able to anchor my labrum back on (mine was torn, which is common with dysplasia since ours are larger to overcompensate for our faulty hips), and that the tear was quite large and likely a big source of my pain.  He said he also shaved down my femoral head from a slight  bone impingement.  I was happy I did the arthroscopy, because even though my PAO surgeon told me it wasn't definitely necessary and that I could  always do it down the line, I knew that a lot of my pain was coming from there, and I also knew that it's a lot easier to get in there while I am still dysplastic as there is extra room where my hip ball is not in the socket.
I left the hospital that day (arthroscopies are considered outpatient) wearing a hip brace and on crutches.

The brace was extremely uncomfortable and it took me a while to get my balance and strength back to crutch properly.
One thing I wasn't prepared for was the muscle weakness following this surgery. I guess I kinda minimized it in my head knowing the PAO was the bigger surgery, and kinda expected to be totally fine after this one.
Stupid I know...maybe wishful thinking?
One thing I was really excited for was rest. Working full time up until the night before surgery was rough. I had been in pain for so long on a daily basis that going into surgery was kind of a relief. Like now I had an excuse to stay home in bed and rest.
Sleeping in a brace was difficult, but eventually I found ways to get comfortable with many  pillows and enough exhaustion. 
I stayed home for 4 days and returned to work on day 5. More about that another time....

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