1 day post op

It’s been just over a day since the op so I thought I’d give an update. It’s going to be a long one!

I arrived at the hospital at 1130 and was taken to my room, where I went through the usual pre-op checks and questions. The physiotherapist came to deliver a pair of crutches and talked me through some post-op exercises. A nurse left a Flowtron DVT prophylaxis machine and leg sleeves at the end of my bed, but I wasn’t asked to put them on yet. I showered with some pre-surgery antibacterial soap and waited nervously for the anaesthetist in a fetching hospital gown.

He arrived at 1230, asked a few questions and talked me through what would happen. He said that he wouldn’t use an epidural (unless I really wanted it) and would just use morphine, as two thirds of patients (of this type of operation) wake up comfortably in recovery this way. My surgeon then visited, talked me through a few things, asked me to sign a couple of forms and marked my leg with a big arrow and the word 'scope'.

Shortly before 2pm I was wheeled off to a little room just outside theatre and had a small cannula put in my left hand (I didn’t feel a thing). I was first given a clear fluid, which I vaguely remember was to prevent sickness, followed by something else that made me tingle all over. The third and final syringe contained a white fluid. As it was administered, I was asked how I was feeling, to which I replied something like ‘I can taste the anaesthetic and...’ I then woke up in recovery some 2 hours later!

I came to without any notable pain, but with a horrendously itchy nose! A kind lady beside my bed said I’d been scratching and rubbing it for ages, although I thought I’d just woken up. I looked around the room and saw a lady in another bed. Her whole body was shaking and I asked the lady with me if she was ok. I can’t remember her reply. My surgeon came to speak with me, showed me some images of the inside of my hip and told me what had happened on the operating table, but I quickly forgot what he told me… much to my frustration!

Back in my room my parents were waiting. I was still quite groggy from the GA and did my best to talk coherently, but I wasn’t fully with it and kept losing my train of thought. Along with my itchy nose, my legs and feet were also itchy, so my devoted mother provided a welcome leg-scratching service. Maybe it was a reaction to the GA? It also made me feel quite sick, which didn’t ease off until the evening.

After a couple of hours in my room I started to feel more human. My surgeon visited and talked me through what had happened: Posteriorly, which is where I have pain and catching, he found no problems. It was as it should be. Damn... Not the news I wanted. However, and very surprisingly, on the anterior side he found ‘severe’ labral damage. My operation sheet says:

“The abnormal findings included severe labral damage with anterolateral acetabular overhang impinging in the hip flexion” and “The acetabulum labrum has sustained what appeared to be a traumatic tear… The labral tear was 10 – 15mm in size located superiorly and antero-superior.” (I’ll add the full report another time when I feel like typing it out!)

I had 5mm of bone removed from the anterior acetabulum rim and the labrum was debrided back to stable articular cartilage. I have about 5 nylon stitches, which will need to be removed in 10 days.

My surgeon said it’s unlikely that the anterior labral damage is the problem I (only) get posteriorly, but he can’t say for sure. Only time will tell. It certainly wasn’t the initial outcome I was expecting though.

So how do I feel now? Not too bad! I came home late this morning (exactly 24 hours in hospital) and have been in and out of bed, pottering around the house chatting with family. My hip is sore but the pain meds are keeping me comfortable. It’s particularly sore around the anterior portal and even slight stretching of that hip flexor makes me wince, but it’s not that bad. Anticipation of the surgery and post-op pain was far worse than the reality.

That’s all for now. I’ll post again in a few days (after Santa has been) with an update on progress and a transcript of the surgeon’s operation report :-)