My mother was in surgery for two hours this morning. My sister and I were in the surgery waiting room when the surgeon made his appearance to give us news of the operation. He performed a total hip replacement, with a metal-and-plastic ball joint, and the upper part of the femur reinforced about 5 or so inches down. Apparently during the first surgery there was a hairline fracture of the femur too small to be seen by human eye or x-ray, and this was what was the cause of the new fracture. The reinforcement he performed on this occasion should prevent a recurrence (fingers crossed).
When I challenged him about letting her rest for a few days, he stood his ground like a man and explained why it was necessary that she be moved upright as soon as possible after the surgery: to prevent the possibility of pneumonia and death.
We finally got to see her about an hour and a half after the surgery. She was pretty doped up, feeling no pain, and rather crotchety. Frankly it's the first time I've seen her absolutely pain-free for the last few weeks.
So - - we shall see. Hopefully she'll be given enough time in hospital this time to allow a better bit of recovery.
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2 comments:
Too much inactivity also raises risk of pulmonary embolism arising from the lower extremities also. Activity might not be comfortable, but is surely gives better odds of a good outcome!
Yah, that's what the doctor indicated to us; it's nice to have confirmation, though. Thanks!
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