Broken hip followed by ball replacement?!
Question: My FIL broke his hip yesterday and is having the ball of the femur replaced today. I would like to eliminate the "wish we had known" and "didn't think of it" elements after this event is over. Do you have any experiences that might help us with what needs to be done? Drugs, equipment, insurance, etc?
Answers: My FIL broke his hip yesterday and is having the ball of the femur replaced today. I would like to eliminate the "wish we had known" and "didn't think of it" elements after this event is over. Do you have any experiences that might help us with what needs to be done? Drugs, equipment, insurance, etc?
The surgery that you are talking about is the typical treatment for this kind of hip fracture. It is sort of like a total hip replacement except that they do not need to replace the acetabulum (the socket that the femur head fits in). They would have already seen on the x-ray that the acetabulum looked good, so there really isn't another option for the type of surgery. The head of the femur is busted, so they need to replace it. The new femur head is attached to a stem that will most likely be cemented into the shaft of the femur. If the fracture was lower down on the femur and not in the head, they may be able to repair it with a lag screw, plate and screws. But that is not your father-in-laws situation.
As far as drugs, pain meds would be prescribed for after the surgery. It is up to the doctor as to what meds they will give. They are usually narcotic pain meds.
As far as equipment, some adaptive equipment would be beneficial for your FIL to help him with bathing, dressing, and walking. He will probably use a walker at first which the hospital would provide while he is in rehab after his surgery. Depending on how well he progresses, he may not need it once he is discharged home. He will have bending restrictions so a "reacher" device would be used to help him get his pants on pick up things off the floor if he would need to. There is also a "sock-aid" which helps him put on his socks so he doesn't have to bend over or lift up his leg to do it. A raised toilet seat would be needed if the toilet at his home is low to the ground. He will have a diffucult time to get up off of it without it. A tub bench or shower chair would ease the bathing process at home so he doesn't have to stand the whole time. (this is also where a hand-held shower head comes in handy as well.) Now, not all of this equipment may be needed. It all depends on how well you father in law is when he returns home. His age and other health conditions will factor into this.
Insurance? Well, in the US, Medicare and most private insurance companies cover the surgery and rehab. (check the policies to know for sure.) Medicare usually doesn't cover the adaptive equipment, but some private ins co's do. Walkers are rentable, but the other equipment would most likely be an out of pocket cost. They are not too horribly expensive, but they aren't cheap either.
Older folks need a few months to recover from this. Any surgery puts a great deal of stress on them. If they are in their 80's and frail to begin with, some never bounce back, it is just too much for them to get through. They need to be monitored for blood clots, pressure sores, pneumonia, and of course infections at the surgical site. The blood clots come from inactivity, the pressure sores from sitting or laying in bed too much and not being able to shift thier own weight, and the pneumonia from not expanding their lungs fully. While on narcotic pain meds, they breathe more shallow. Fluid builds up in the base of their lungs and bacteria grows. He needs to frequently take DEEP breaths so he fully expands his lungs to help prevent this from happening.
Best wishes for smooth and speedy recovery.