possible infection

[Guest guest]

Hi Eleanor

I'm really sorry to hear that you may have an infection in your

hip. I hope that if you do, the antibiotics will work.

You have performed a valuable service by describing your delays

in healing on this board, and your symptoms. Now others will be aware

of what could be happening to them, and hopefully will be able to

demand a faster follow-up OS consultation than you received. Three

months of swelling is definitely longer than normal. But some of your

other symptoms, taken in isolation, were harder to identify as being a

possible medical (rather than just slow healing) problem. The

combination of all of them is more telling.

I think it's important for nervous prospective resurfacing

patients to realize that some traditional THR's also get infected.

There is always a risk of infection with major surgery, hospitals

being full of sick or injured people, after all. But the doctors and

nurses do their best to minimize this risk, and most of us do have

good results.

Also, as a middle-aged woman with limited ROM several years before

the op, I've been slower to heal than some of the younger patients,

especially the guys, and I'm still going to physiotherapy. But when I

read your details, I realized that I was doing OK, as I've been off a

cane since two months post op, and driving with no problems since six

weeks. Also, I had almost no swelling, even right after the op. The

nurses in the Birmingham Nuffield told me that usually if your hip

doesn't swell up by day 5 or so, then it won't have major swelling

after that (unless, of course, a secondary problem like infection

causes it).

Best of luck, Eleanor! I'm glad you will have a new grandchild to

bring you joy while you're going through all of this.

n

rBHR Oct.17/03 McMinn