At what age does it become life threatening..

[Wilbur ★]

..to have a full hip replacement? 

[Wilbur ★]

Not me, MomWilbur.. 

[AirwickWithCheese]

1 minute ago, Wilbur said:

Not me, MomWilbur.. 

Oh. You help guide her then Wilbur and she will be just fine.   

Are you sure you don't want some major surgery performed by a AHC physician?  

[Wilbur ★]

1 minute ago, AirwickWithCheese said:

AHC

Nah, they charge too much. 

[Prophet Zacharia]

I don’t think it’s an issue of age, I think it’s more related to medical comorbidities that would make the surgery/anesthesia/recovery more dangerous.  If your obese with HTN and Diabetes, the risks may be too severe to warrant the procedure. But in an otherwise healthy individual, chronological age isn’t that important.

[2Far ★]

What PZ said. FWIW, when I went to the cripple class before my surgery, I was the youngest there, by about 10 years. The oldest appeared to be in mid/late 70s.

The surgery isn't that long, I was out longer because of the size of my legs (according to the doc). She may be out about 1.5-2 hrs.

I did have to have a pre-surgery physical & clearance from my cardiologist before they would schedule me; they typed my blood just in case...

If she needs the surgery, then almost certainly she will be better off. It really amazed me how much discomfort went away after I had it done, e.g. I had not slept on my side in years because the discomfort would wake me up.

[Longjohn ★]

It also depends a lot on the surgeon and the hospital. When I crashed and broke my hip the people in the ER asked if I had an orthopedic surgeon. They made a recommendation and it turned out that he was amazing. He takes on all the patients that other doctors turn away because they say it’s too risky. A lot of doctors turn away obese patients because the extra weight will wear out the new joint and it is harder to do the replacement on someone that is really fat. (Pardon my non-politically correct terminology) My doctor says those patients need to be able to move if they ever want to lose some of that weight. He has a very high success rate.

[MickinMD ★]

I don't know about life threatening, but recovery time can take longer than expected. I've had a relative in his 50's get it - the upper end of the femur (thigh bone) trimmed off, a ball on a metal stick screwed into the end, and then the ball fits into an artificial socket inserted in the hip.  It took him several months of physical therapy before he was walking without a cane and a few years before he was completely healed.

A neighbor in his '80's had a similar procedure done, but he did NOT take care of himself very well, he was a widower living alone and his three kids who all lived nearby spent almost no time with him - except when they needed money to pay the mortgage, buy a truck, etc.  The hip became infected frequently, he needed further procedures and he never walked well again.  But it didn't kill him: he lived to see 90.

[Kirby]

I think my parents were in their early 80's or maybe late 70's when they had one.  Doing the rehab exercises is very important, so it does help to be healthy enough to do those.

[2Far ★]

1 hour ago, MickinMD said:

I don't know about life threatening, but recovery time can take longer than expected. I've had a relative in his 50's get it - the upper end of the femur (thigh bone) trimmed off, a ball on a metal stick screwed into the end, and then the ball fits into an artificial socket inserted in the hip.  It took him several months of physical therapy before he was walking without a cane and a few years before he was completely healed.

 

FWIW. At 60, I had a full release to go back to work in 22 days post-op.

The real key is to not hobble around like Arte Johnson in Laugh-In for 5 years before you go under the knife. If you lose all the muscle tone and flexibility prior to surgery, it's going to be a real up hill battle to "normal".

[parodybot]

Whatever age you happen to be when you hear "Hello, I am Dr. Airwick and this is my murse Mister jsharr.  Now just relax and it will all be over soon"