ARTHRITIS
OF THE HIP JOINT
Patients are admitted to the hospital the same day as the surgery.
Most insurance companies insist that patients not be admitted
the day before surgery because of the expense.
| If
your surgery is the first one that day, the check-in time
is 5:30 a.m. If your surgery is later, then you will check
in around 8:00 a.m. Please be on time. |
When you arrive
at the hospital on the morning of surgery, go directly to the admitting
office. At both hospitals this is at the main entrance on the first
floor. From there you will be taken to the pre-anesthesia area where
you will change into a hospital gown, and an intravenous line will
be started.
The anesthesiologist will see you there and discuss anesthetic
options and risks. He will discuss the advantages of general
anesthesia (in which you are unconscious) and spinal or
epidural anesthesia in which the lower half of your body is
completely numb and pain-free, and you will sleep lightly but
not be unconscious.
| Dr.
Huddleston prefers his patients to have spinal or epidural
anesthesia, combined with a light general anesthetic or sedation.
The incidence of blood clots is lower with epidural anesthesia.
The recovery is also smoother, and you will have no pain for
several hours after the operation. |
With an epidural anesthetic the recovery is smoother and all pain is eliminated for at least three hours after surgery. The incidence of blood clots in the legs is lower after epidural anesthesia. Most doctors having surgery themselves would
probably elect to have an epidural over a general anesthetic.The
final choice of anesthetic is made by you and the anesthesiologist.
You will be given sedatives before being taken to the operating
room.
First time
hip replacements take 60 to 90 minutes of operating time. You will
be in the operating room for about another 45 minutes (for anesthetic
induction before, and recovery after, the operation). Revision operations
can take up to 4 hours of operating time (or even more). When the
operation is over, Dr. Huddleston will meet with relatives or friends
in the surgical waiting area to give them a progress report. At
Valley Presbyterian Hospital, the waiting area is next to the gift
shop on the first floor. At Encino Hospital, it is next to the surgery
suite in the basement.
On
to the Next Section of the Manual:
What to Expect After Leaving the Operating Room
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How to Become an Orthopedic Surgeon
Arthritis
of the Hip Joint
copyright © 2005 Herbert D. Huddleston,
MD.
Arthritis of the Knee Joint copyright
© 2005 Herbert D. Huddleston, M.D.
Dr. H.D. Huddleston
The Hip and Knee Institute
5525 Etiwanda Ave., #324
Tarzana, CA 91356
Tel: 818.708.9090
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