I am hoping for your wife’s experience, but I keep seeing videos by people with experiences like yours! 
I hope both your gnarly hips get better!
Sadly, it appears that Hospital For Special Surgery is strictly an east-coast org. I’m about as far away as you can get.
Thank you for all the good advice. I’m still waiting for my PCP to get me referred.
My wife had a hip replacement (and two knee replacements) within the past 5 years. Not at the same time, of course. Best thing she ever did. It hurt all the time and it took her a long time to get up subway stairs. Now she walks as fast as I do.
I think it was robotic.
She recovered fairly quickly, but we know people who had it after she did that took a long time to recover, so it seems to depend.
I’d like to add some thoughts regarding Physical Therapy. (P.T.)
No matter where you have the work done, you’ll likely start with either in-home PT or virtual PT. We opted for virtual PT.
Went extremely well first time out 3 months ago. Similarly, this morning’s first PT on the 2nd hip went very well. I hold the iPad, my wife sits on a chair and the PT therapist can see and hear all.
Now for the in-person PT at another location. I don’t know what to say about reading reviews. Some may be well thought-out and even-handed. Some may be a chance for the patient to lash out at a less-than-great outcome even if the outcome had little or nothing to do with the PT services delivered. That’s human nature for you.
At your initial visit, make sure they ask you a LOT of pointed questions about your life, lifestyle, work, what you wish to return to, goals and so on. Orthopedic surgery is unlike other surgeries- you’re working on your mainframe. Even if you are fairly sedentary as an adult, you’d like to be able to walk to the market without pain, without fear of stumbling, etc. At the far other end of things you may be a professional athlete who is having surgery and is lase-focused on rehab and returning to a career. ( When I had cervical spine surgery, sitting in the pre-op areas with lots of us in curtained-off spots with beds, I heard a nurse say to a fellow, " Ahh- you’re our NHL player ! " )
I’ve had PT a bunch in my life. I happen to be not only comfortable with multiple-therapist sessions but actually appreciate it. Every therapist has their own spin on what works, what little cheats and tricks may help. Were I to walk into a place and work one-on-one with a sole provider, for better or ill I’d only get THEIR techniques.
I’ve used Spear in NYC for all of my PT situations. They do use multiple therapists for most visits. The initial session will be one-on-one and your therapist will be your main person moving forward. After that session, I would start with Jose, be passed off to Chelsea for an activity, then move to Ricardo for yet another. Meanwhile, Jose WOULD check in as I did each set of tasks. Note my form and make adjustments.
I’ve heard from people who demand a truly personal PT situation. They’re paying for it ( rather, insurance is, but still…) They want the service to focus solely on them. Great if you want that and can find it. I found this dynamic situation to be very useful.
Additionally, of course, there are anywhere from 3-10 other people doing THEIR PT at the same time. The locations I’ve worked out in had enough stations for various PT techniques that I never ever had to wait my turn. I’d move from one thing to the next. Never in the same order- which I found refreshing.
Before committing to a PT place, ask how they handle this kind of workflow. Because YOUR mindset and desire to succeed is really all that they should care about. And it should be all that you care about. Making yourself haul to PT 2-3 times a week feeling like it’s a waste and perhaps you’re failing at making many milestones is not only depressing, it’s doing a disservice to your body and your future.
The last time I went was after a cervical spine procedure. They assigned me to a young lady. Turns out she was still in training and not yet NYS Certified. One of the managers sat with us, outlined this very clearly and asked if I was comfortable with working with her. I said yep- likely she knew all of the newest techniques. It went very well. She was professional, guided me with focus and care. A superb experience. She missed a session late in my round of PT sessions so she could sit for her State Exam. Instead of feeling like I was getting a lesser professional, I thought I’d be having an experience with someone brimming with energy and new ideas. And I did just that.
My two cents regarding Physical Therapy.
At age 70 I had left hip replacement (anterior approach) due to osteoarthritis, persistent pain (not severe) not relieved by steroid injection. Surgery was 13 weeks ago.
Surgery at day clinic. Surgeon said only those >80 or with more risk factors have it in the hospital.
I had nerve block and some kind of non-total anesthesia. Actual OR time 1 hour. A few hours in PACU to recover from anesthesia. No restrictions on hip use after surgery. Stairs (with crutch) and walking (with walker) from day 0 was okay and not that difficult. Day zero had zero pain but that was because nerve block persists. Day 1 and 2 had the most stiffness and soreness but this was relieved by ice machine (recommended) and tylenol and or Ibuprofen 4x per day. Was prescribed but did not use Oxycodone.
Had 2 weeks of 2x/week PT at home, then 6 weeks of 2x per week outpatient. 3x daily exercises detailed in surgeon’s information booklet, those exercises were modified during outpatient PT to drop some easy ones and add a few new ones.
Suggestions for home equipment: If you can get a walker on every level of your house, that saves somebody needing to move the walker back up or down a level after you move (or in my case saves your wife the scare of watching me descend stairs carrying a walker while using a crutch). Ice machine was loaned to me, it was helpful for first 2 weeks and much more convenient that using ice packs. I was also loaned a device to help put on compression stockings and that was helpful for the 40 days I had to wear them. It is a plastic half circle with two ropes that you thread the stocking on and pull over your foot.
Overall, recovery was much easier than I expected. Nobody I talked to about hip replacement regretted having the surgery too soon. Most had a quick and easy recovery, exceptions were people who had trauma hip fracture (like being hit by a car while biking) where surgery was in hospital and recovery was slower.
I pretty much had the same experience that you did. The first few days are kinda miserable. The wife had to help me put on socks and underwear. You also have to keep the incision dry, so I started out using a garbage bag tied around my leg. Then I realized that Saran Wrap was the best thing for the job. A few wraps around the incision area and you’re good to go. That first shower was like having an orgasm.