Almost Time - What's the Plan?

Everyone who knows me knows I'm a planner and sometimes I have a plan for my plan - LOL!  No, not really, just a back-up plan.  It's good to have a back-up.

I had my pre-op appointment today and as much as I like to be prepared, I can't control everything.  There were a few changes (all good things).  Surgery is still set for Monday, but some of my plans need to change.

ALERT:  VIDEO BELOW IS GRAPHIC - NOT ME-  VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK
In preparation for my surgery, I watched an actual hip replacement surgery on youtube, blood and all.  Yes, it was a little gory, but I wanted to see what was going to happen.  The video below is a different one than the one I watched - it's a little milder if you're brave enough to watch it :-)

 

Well if you didn't want to watch the video, basically I'll get a spinal tap, anesthesia and an incision 4-5 inches long (on my behind, not my side) and my hip will be dislocated, my muscles will be moved out of the way and the fun begins . . . a lot of large instruments, saws, drills and hammers etc., the new hip inserted and tested and I'll be sewn back together again - just like humpty dumpty.  I won't have big staples to be removed later on - that's a good thing, but sewn up internally some kind of way. I'll be up on my feet the same day and should be released in three days.  But you'll hear all about that later and you'll get to see pictures too!  I found out I can actually have a camera in the operating room and pictures will be taken for me.  I am pretty stoked about that :-)  Hmmm, sounds like its scrapbooking time!  I'm sure I won't post any graphic pictures, but I will attempt to post pictures along the way.  Alrighty then, four more days to go!

Who said tricks are for kids...

Now that I’m having hip replacement surgery what kind of hip will I get?  At my last appointment my doctor walked in with a bag and started pulling out device after device – a bag full of tricks.  Who said tricks are for kids?! LOL!  My doctor has been doing replacements for over 10 years and he had all types – metal, ceramic, plastic, poly-something . . . I’m know there are more technical names to these, but this blog is not going to get that technical.   Here’s what he had to say about some of the elements-

Plastic – over time it wears thin. 

Ceramic – it can crack and if it breaks it will break into tiny little pieces. Can you imagine those pieces moving around in your body?

Ball size – smaller balls have a tendency to dislocate from the joint. 

Metal – some people have a reaction to metal on metal.

Again, I know there is a lot more to these devices and what they have to offer.  Who knew there was so much to think about.  Where do I begin?  I can look online and research.  No matter what I find, I’m no expert.  And googling can be stressful.  For every information website there are also mixed in recall or lawsuit websites.  I don’t want to scare myself before I even get started.  I’m defaulting to “doctor knows best.” 

I’ll be going with the Active Articulation E1 Dual Mobility Hip System . . . it’s the next generation of dual mobility with ultra-low wear and large range of motion.  Pretty cool huh!  LOL!  I don’t believe I’ll be thinking how cool this is when I’m in pain after surgery.  But for now, it’s pretty cool!

It's a wrap!

Today I saw my doctor at Westlake Orthopaedics.  A great group of doctors and great staff!  I'm so glad they were so proactive seeing I had abdominal masses and made sure I went through every process possible to rule out cancer.  I'm back to the reality of my hip issues and bottom line - I have arthritis, bone spurs and my femoral head should be round and mine is more shaped like an egg causing a lot of friction and pain.  It's a wrap - I need hip replacement!

Well there's no time like the present, so I am having Left Total Hip Replacement on Monday, October 3, 2011 - yep that's almost 2 weeks - 12 days!  How am I feeling about this?  I'm actually excited!  After thinking I had cancer, to not having cancer and knowing that after surgery I won't be in pain and I'll be mobile - I'm GREAT with that!

I'm going to do my best to blog about this experience in hopes of helping someone else who may one day be in my shoes or someone who is already in my shoes and can't decide on whether to have the surgery.

So my decision has been made and the journey begins . . .

Oncology - I thought I knew

One thing this journey has shown me is that there really aren't a lot of oncologists in Austin.  Well at least not as many as I expected.   Well from what I've seen there are a few private practice oncologists (10 maybe) and all the others are with Texas Oncology (about 50) and those doctors are then narrowed down by specialty.  So how many oncologists specialize in gynecology in Austin?  Under 10!  That was shocking to me.  So if I had cancer of the uterus and wanted to see a doctor in Austin, I would have less than 10 choices?!  Only 4 are with Texas Oncology, so if you wanted a second opinion your options seem pretty slim.

I'm thankful I don't have cancer, but I'm learning more about it.  I thought before all of this I knew, but I didn't.  I still needed to see an oncologist to evaluate all my tests and again calm my fears.  Also, there is a very small percentage of the type of tumors I have becoming malignant.  My masses are benign and I will not be having surgery at the present time - my best option is to re-evaluate the masses in a few months.

Now that the cancer scare is over, I can go back to my orthopedist and resolve my hip issues.  Wow, what a month!  I CAN'T complain - I don't have cancer!  I just can't say that enough - blessed!!!