Bertram Total Joint Centers

Total Hip: At Home After Total Hip Replacement Surgery

Diet

Resume the same diet that you had prior to the surgery unless specifically instructed otherwise.

Medications

Take the medications as instructed upon discharge by the nurses. Your discharge instruction sheet will give you a list of the medications that we recommend. Please try to be sparing in the use of your pain medication. It is important that you discontinue the use of these as soon as possible as you will feel much better and have less problems with constipation. We think it is important for you to take multi-vitamins including vitamin C and iron daily for about six weeks. This will help you to heal your wound and improve your blood count. Otherwise you should take your medications as previously taken before your hospital stay.

Activity

You will need to use a walker or crutches or a cane for the first six weeks. Your physical therapist will instruct you as to the best use of each one of these devices. Typically patients will progress from a walker to a cane. You will be given information regarding exercises and precautions prior to leaving the hospital. It is important that you review this information on a regular basis. A lot of times when patients are given this information, they are on heavy doses of pain medication and it may not be clear, or they may not remember it. You can walk unlimited distances as a general rule. We do not recommend that you drive for at least six weeks, and we do not recommend airplane travel for about three months. The reason for this is you may be at increased risk for blood clots.

Wound Care

Your home health agency will take care of inspecting your wound, dressing it as appropriate and removing your staples. Your staples can usually be removed on postoperative day 12 to 14 and Steri-Strips will be applied to the wound. If, when you come home, there is no drainage on your hip and this is usually the case, you may shower and you do not need a dressing on your hip. Your staples will not rust.

Bathing

In general you can take a shower when you go home. Do not bathe for at least six weeks after the surgery. Be aware that you may need additional support to lower yourself into a bathtub. A shower stand will be provided to you upon discharged and this is the best thing to use.

Bleeding

Some oozing of blood may occur for a few days after your discharge from the hospital. Significant bleeding is rare. Also persistent drainage is rare and you should call us if you have any concerns about bleeding or drainage from the wound.

Follow-up Appointment

You should see us approximately two weeks after the surgery. You should call our office to confirm that we have made an appointment for you to do so.

Special Information

Joint replacements can become infected at any time after the surgery from the first post-operative day to many years down the line.

You can take the following steps to help prevent infection:

1. Take antibiotics before dental or any medical procedure.
2. See your doctor to treat all suspected urinary tract infections.
3. Look for signs of infection in the hip including pain, redness, swelling or increased warmth.
4. Your new joint replacement may trigger airport metal detector alarms. We will give you a card that verifies that you had a hip replacement.
5. Keep in mind that you need to protect your hip replacement to ensure a long lasting, successful result. Follow all instructions concerning any activity restrictions.