Am I to old to benefit from hip replacement

BARRYSHAW

Hi Barry here and thanks for any help you can give in 1967 I broke both femurs badly and have been disabled ever since I now need a hip replacement my broken femurs make the op very difficult but one consultant says he can do it but am managing reasonably well at the moment yes I have a lot of pain but it’s managed well I can get about I am worried that after a hip replacement I will not be able to do all the things I love and can still do at the moment. I am 76 and still work I don’t want to stop also I am worried that I won’t be able to carry on with my hobbies cars have always been a passion of mine and working on them is quite demanding but I love it and can still change a wheel etc will I ba able to do this after a replacement ! Help please

MaryL44

Hello  @BARRYSHAW and welcome to the Community. We are a friendly and supportive group and I hope that will be your experience as well.

Our website is a mine of information so do look at it. You might be particularly interested in:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/surgery/hip-replacement-surgery/

Also, our community members will have vast experience so keep checking back here for their responses. We have so many people (of varying ages) who have had hip replacements and they are really positive about the outcome. I, personally had a hip replacement a few years ago and my mobility now is such an improvement compared to previously. However, you obviously have specific issues with your femur having previously been broken so it is very important that you discuss your concerns with the consultant.

Please keep posting now you are here and let us know how you are getting on.

Best wishes

Mary

Jane18

Hi @BARRYSHAW, I am nearly 73 and had a hip replacement 6 weeks ago. My circumstances are different from yours, as I had advanced (bone-on-bone) osteoarthritis. I was very fit up to about 6 months ago, when my condition started to deteriorate, so a few weeks before the operation I could hardly walk and experienced pain much of the time, which disrupted my sleeping. I was very anxious about having the operation and wondered if I would still be able to carry on with my usual activities, but had got to the stage where I was finding it very difficult to keep up with everything I used to enjoy.

Now, 6 weeks on from the operation, I have been getting out for walks again and today was able to drive to the park and walk around there, which was a real treat. My sleeping has improved and although I get arthritic pains sometimes, it's nothing like the pain I was experiencing before the operation. I'm told that I can get back to doing tai chi again soon and have started planning for short breaks away, am meeting up with friends and have got various other activities booked for the near future. So for me, the operation really feels as if it's given me my life back.

As @MaryL44 says, you will need to discuss your specific issues with your consultant, so I'm just giving you my experience.

I also have a friend who broke her hip last year, at age 89, who had a partial hip replacement. She's now back to walking, playing a musical instrument with others and taking up all her other hobbies.

I'm sure other members of this community will have their own experiences to add, but for me the hip replacement has been positive so far.

I would raise all your concerns with the consultant, as he/she should be able to give you advice on what you might be able to continue doing after operation, as well as potential risks and benefits.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Jane

Zimmer

@BARRYSHAW you have mentioned specific concerns for activities that you are worried you will not be able to do post-op, and that's only natural, we all had them. But I have read so many accounts, from this community, where surgery gave them back their lives. Mine included and cannot wait to have my other leg done.

You are never too old for surgery, (broken femurs excluded as I cannot comment on this) my mother is the same age as you and she is waiting for both hips too.

Search hip replacement diary and you'll be able to read step by step recovery from sooo many people. Surgery has come along so much, procedures and materials used continue to improve and your surgeon will be able to advise you on any concerns or questions that you may have.

cocoa

@barryshaw

Only you can decide whether op will be worth it but sounds like you have found a positive orthopaedic surgeon ? I am 76 and in 6 week since op . Yes worth it to me as coukdnt cross the room or sleep fir pain came in so gradually first few years then really quick last few months so few weeks out if my life it def wirth it . Wasn’t going to put my name down fir op ciz 1 year wait list but soo glad I did as was told you can opt out at any time up to date of op. I had new ball socket joint fixed with cement as bones not good and any extension too far into bone coukd shatter it . My sons life dedicated to working on cars and playing the drums he is healthy but does suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome of the wrist but know he would be mortified if couldn't work in his cars he is late 40’s tho.
most people I have spoken to have all benefitted from hip replacement a lot depends on the support and your own state of mind . Good luck . Keep us posted

Cocoa