Total Hip Replacement Discharge Information

Discharge Advice- Total Hip Replacement

Activity guidelines:

You can weight-bear and walk as comfortable.

Continue doing the exercises taught in the hospital. Avoid deep sitting, crossing your legs, swinging your operated leg over the midline (as taught in hospital). When resting, elevate your leg. Swelling of the ankle can normally happen for up to a year. You can start to drive when you can safely do an emergency stop (usually around 4-6 weeks from the operation)

Sleep on your back for 6 weeks with a pillow between your legs. Sexual relations can be safely resumed once you are more comfortable. Remember your hip precautions.

Hygiene:

• During your first 2 weeks, until the wounds are healed, keep your dressings clean and dry.

• For showering make sure the wound is sealed with a waterproof dressing. Wrap your hip with clip film.

• Do not have a bath or go swimming until the wound is fully healed.

Wound care:

• Keep your dressing clean and dry.

• After 2 weeks no dressing is necessary.

• Should your sticky dressings bleed through, change it to a clean one, leaving the steri-strips (adhesive strips sealing your wounds) intact. It should not happen after discharge from the hospital.

Medications:

• You should resume taking your normal medications.

• Take painkillers as directed.

• When taking strong painkillers (Codeine, Tramadol, Oxycontin, Oxynorm) you will need to watch out for constipation. Eat plenty of high fibre foods and fruit and drink plenty of fluids.

• Continue using your compression stockings and taking your blood thinner tablets.

• Do not take anti-inflammatories (Nurofen, Voltaren, Diclofenac) while you are on the blood thinners.

Notify your Doctor if you:

• Develop a fever of 38 degrees or more that lasts 24 hours.

• Have profuse drainage from your wounds.

• Have increase pain despite using painkillers.

• Develop increased swelling of your foot, coolness and loss of colour despite elevating and moving your ankle.

• Develop swelling and pain in your calf, back of the knee or thigh.

• Develop sudden chest pain and shortness of breath (this could be a sign of pulmonary embolism - please go to the nearest Emergency Department)

• Have sudden pain after a bad movement and cannot move as before (this can be a sign of dislocation - please go to the Emergency Department)