Today is my 2 weeks anniversary of surgery!

I have so far had four physical therapy sessions, gone off all pain meds other than my Mobic/meloxicam, had my stitches removed at my post-op appointment, and been given the all clear to begin doing some fascial work on my incisions to limit scar tissue formation.

Post Op Appointment

Day 11 was my follow up appointment with my surgeon’s PA. I was first x-rayed and then we went over concerns to make sure I didn’t have any residual nerve issues (none) and he asked about the hypotensive episode I had a couple of days after surgery. Then he gave me an assortment of photos from my surgery and thanks to all of the pre-op research I did, they actually all made sense to me. He pointed out I had some rather unusual scarring on my joint capsule itself that the surgeon cleaned up for me at the start of the surgery since it was in the way anyhow.

As far as my labrum goes, it was super floppy and required 4 suture anchors to be hammered into the edge of my hip socket to secure it in place. My surgeon first did a light shave of the bone around the area to encourage blood flow and therefore improve healing. Once the sutures were in place you can see in the photos how much more secure it looks (no more flappy-floppy!)

After the labrum was secure, they took a quick trip inside my hip socket to clean out some old leftover fatty tissue debris that he said was just hanging out back there, so they usually clean it up while they are there. Now of course I want to know what it’s leftover from, so I’m going to do some research and if I don’t find an answer before I see them next visit I will ask!

Now they were free to let the traction off my leg so it could slide back into the socket and check that the seal of the labrum was secure (apparently it was!) and address the issue that is the head of my femur.

I had a small bone overgrowth on the neck of my femur, right on the growth plate that the surgeon said most likely formed during adolescence. This was what caused the tear in my labrum since the bone didn’t fit quite right when my leg would move a certain way – and is also why the conservative measures I had taken to address the issue could only help me so far. I could get the inflammation to die down, but it could be easily re-irritated by that overgrowth/impingement again. It was a very small one, and my hypermobility gave my hips a lot of leeway for movement around it, but this latest episode tore it worse and there was no point repairing the labrum without addressing the stick that was poking it.

The surgeon filed down this area of the bone and sculpted it to fit properly, typically this assisted by x-ray scans and then is then also checked by moving the leg through range of motion while watching through the operating camera to make sure that the bone is no longer catching on anything.

Additionally, I had a bone cyst that had formed underneath this area – reaching into the marrow (from what I can see from the photos). After confirming that the impingement was corrected, my surgeon debrided the cyst. He said that these sorts of fluid filled cysts are not entirely uncommon and while this one was a bit larger than what they typically see it will scar over just fine now that it has been cleared out.

They rounded out surgery with a capsular closure (stitching the joint capsule closed after they opened it to do all this work). I ended up with three entry ports: Anterior, Anterior-lateral, and a modified anterior-lateral.

I got my stitches removed and replaced with steri-strips to just continue the incision support for a few more days – and was told to start doing some aggressive scar tissue work especially on the anterior entry portal incision on Friday (the two-week mark)

Typically, I would see the surgeon at the 6-week mark, but he is going to be out, so I will instead see him at the 7 1/2-week mark. I have another 2 weeks on crutches while everything keeps healing.

How It’s Going Otherwise

This week has gone pretty well other than the cabin fever. I have still been working from home and have completely weaned off Tylenol. I am staying on the Mobic/meloxicam once a day for the first month – it is an anti-inflammatory and the surgeon’s office said it will help to reduce the amount of post-op scar tissue I build up as well. I’ve been sleeping with the ice machine on more out of habit than necessity for the last several days and decided to skip it last night, woke up feeling just fine. I think I’ll keep the ice machine out just in case I have a flare up day, I’m sure one will be coming as I have been known to overdo things on occasion and I would personally rather try ice first over taking meds.

I did take a walk outside on day 12 because it was super nice out and I wanted to go to a neighborhood cafe – it ended up being a half mile round trip walk. I did not get in trouble with PT however since I treated it as a mobility exercise instead of an impact exercise and used my crutches: keeping my weight on my hands instead of my operated hip. It does feel really good to move – I’m just being cautious about any impact. I have started sleeping a bit on my non-operated side well bolstered with a pillow between my legs (not allowed to let my operated leg cross my midline) and that feels amazing!

Speaking of PT, I’ve been tempted with a promise of possibly being allowed to do some shallow wall sits next week. She moved me up already in ankle weights and reps for quad extensions and I think she is starting to trust that I’m not too much of an idiot. I did point out to her that I’m turning 40 next year and can’t really afford to be too stupid if I’m gonna be able to do the things I want to do for the rest of my life.

Monday I will be having my 5th PT session in the morning and then going in for my first day back in the office since surgery. I won’t be able to sit comfortably at my desk or any standard chair, but one of my coworkers has a nice comfy overstuffed chair that he said we could move into my office. It will be nice to be around people again as the longer I stay isolated the more I feel myself losing what few social skills I had to begin with – plus my dog will appreciate having more than just me around to beg food from!