This is always a big day, the post-op appointment where my bandage comes off and they take the xrays! This means I have some show and tell today and that involves bandages and scars, so if you don’t want to see, don’t scroll down!

First I’ll tell you about the appointment… Danielle brought us into the office and pulled off my bandage. The incision looks really good! Then, Scott and I met with Davis, Dr. Shukla’s assistant. He wanted to know how I was doing. I got up and walked around the office for him, showed him that I could do Tree pose and then told him to breathe while I bent into a forward fold and touched the floor. He wasn’t particularly thrilled about that last part and made me promise I wouldn’t show Dr. Shukla :-). NOTE: If you are 2 weeks post-surgery, you should never do this unless you’ve been practicing yoga for a very long time and have already successfully rehabbed a hip replacement and know exactly where your safe range of motion is!! Keep your 90 degree precaution until week 6.

Then I asked Davis what happened surgically to account for the HUGE difference between my right hip and this left hip? He said that the most likely culprit was the ziptie (or cerclage cable in medical lingo). In the right hip (#1), they had tried one size implant and it didn’t fit properly, so it had to be pulled and another one inserted into the femur. The femur was already showing signs of stress (bone spurs), so they decided to cable it for safety and support until my bone could grow around the implant. On my left hip (#2), they inserted one implant and the femur and bone integrity was better so they could drill further into the pelvis for the cup and only use one screw to secure it (there are 2 screws in the right hip), and they didn’t have to use the cable. Basically, #2 sustained less surgical trauma than #1 and the muscles are clearly impacted by the cable, which made my recovery slower on #1.

We all agreed that we would give my rehab a year, and if at that point, I still cannot walk over a mile without the muscles in my right leg seizing up, they will remove the cable. This is about a 20-minute procedure, using the same incision (but smaller) and I should be out same day with no restrictions and a very fast rehab. I am satisfied with this decision. So, I’ll work on my rehab on leftie and see what rightie decides as we go along. My experience at this point is that the right hip feels more stable and has less pain than before the surgery, probably because I am finally balanced out for the first time in my life.

I am officially no longer dysplastic (though I will make no promises about no longer being dysfunctional :-)…

After May 31, 2018                               Before July 6, 2017

Here’s a picture of the cool silver, antibacterial bandage. This is worn after surgery until the post-op. This is what gets covered with Glad Press n Seal for showering.

And here are my matching pinstripes:

Left hip: Surgery 5-16-2018                        Right hip: Surgery 9-20-2017

I was impressed with how good even the scar looks already! Yay!!! This feels like the day it becomes official.  IT IS DONE AND I NO LONGER HAVE HIP DYSPLASIA!!!!!

I want to thank my amazing surgical team Dr. Shukla and Davis Ayers for their excellent work. You guys are the best! Words can never express my gratitude at getting my life and my mobility back.

I also want to thank all of you who have been by my side supporting me, in person or at a distance, through my hip adventures. I will continue to post regularly through the rehab process, so keep checking the blog for updates.