Dr. Rogersons tips from his patients

Post Op Tips from Dr. Rogerson’s patient  - Diane Marty LBHR 1/17/11
 
Elbow crutches are supplied by Dr. Rogerson.    A set of occupational therapy adaptive tools are they in your Hip Hab apartment and you’ll get instructions on how to use them.
 
Mandatory purchase:     Dr. Rogerson has his patients sleep with a set of contoured pillows  between the legs for 5-6 weeks post op. 
Two other helpful purchases he suggested are:  forearm crutch bag that is very handy to put small items in:  (www.walkeasy.com)  and ice packs.  The ice packs are polyurethane durable packs by Sammons Preston.   You are really going to need them because they bring great swelling & pain relief!    For me, I was very thankful that my husband got two raised toilet risers (with arms) for our downstairs and upstairs bathroom.  It would have been impossible for me to lower like that and not break the hip precautions stated below!

The standard hip precautions for 6 weeks post-op are:
No bending forward past 90 degrees or bringing you knee up toward your chest.
No turning the foot or knee inward.
No crossing the midline or crossing your legs.
Do not sit for longer than 1 hour at a time with your legs dangling down.   You should have your legs elevated higher than your heart.   You can be up walking around during the da but are to take periodic breaks to elevate the legs.
 
For my situation I really needed a caregiver at home for the first week after the Rehab Center stay.     I really needed  help getting in and out of bed, getting the pillow between my legs, ice pack on the hip and the bedding pulled up over me.  It can be such a challenge and just exhausting – at first!   Dr.  Rogerson’s patients are told to wear the TED support hose for 3 weeks after surgery.  Getting them on & dressed is pretty impossible..    The great thing is that you don’t have to wear the TED’s while you sleep!     We were lucky that our house has a walk-in shower.   I quickly saw that when I placed my foot in our shower how slippery it was (it is different when you have only one strong leg).   Roger had a good hold of me but we were soon off to Walmart to buy rubber stickons for the floor of the shower.     For extra safety having the handicap bars would be ideal.    When you are Hip Hab you really see how well they have the apartments FULLY  equipped with all these things to keep a patient safe.     Slipping is such a concern and there is no way you can fully dry yourself  in the beginning,  with no ability to bend down to dry your legs, etc.
 
Crutches/walking guidelines:   walking will advance from 2 crutches to 1 cruth to care and or without a crutch.  The rule is:  “no limp, no pain and no fatigue.”

Exercises:  Continue to do the exercises in your binder for 6 months.   Dr. Rogerson wrote me a referral for physical therapy for additional PT after Hip Hab for 3 weeks at 2 times per week (one land & one pool per week).
Elliptical machines or treadmill can be used approximately 2 weeks after surgery.  A stationary bike (with the seat elevated without resistance)  at 3 weeks post-op without  increasing pain.   High impact activities you must with till 6 month post-op.

Weight lifting is without restriction for the upper body if sitting or laying on a bench.  If standing do not lift over 30 pounds with the upper body for six weeks.   Lower extremity training, such as leg extensions, curls and squats, should start with light weight with increasing reps beginning 6 to 8 weeks after surgery.  Perform as pain tolerates.
Pool/incision guidelines:   wait until the scabbing is completely gone from the incision prior to submerging in a pool, hot tub or bathtub with an occlusive covering.

Returning to work is per Dr. Rogerson’s recommendation. 
Before you can return to driving is dictated on your physical abilities as stated in Dr. Rogerson’s informational binder and, mostly, not taking narcotic medication during the day.

Medication when I returned home was as follows:
Hydrocodone pain medication (1 or ½ tablet) as needed  or extra strength tylenol
Continue Lovenox injections once daily until you are two weeks from your surgery date.   After the day of your last injection, you should begin taking one enteric coated aspirin (81 mg or 325 mg/day) for four more weeks.
Continue iron tablets as directed after discharge.    With concerns about constipation from iron, as well as pain medication, you should increase the amount of fluids you drink and take Metamucil.   I took Colace two times a day and glad that Dr. Rogerson’s nursing staff counseled me on this because the medications and inactivity really do mess with your digestion!
Continue anti-inflammatory (indocin 75 mg/Celebrex 200 mg) per day with food as directed by Dr. Rogerson.