For 3 weeks after surgery it is required to take blood thinners (pills or syringe). Painkillers are taken as needed.
Physiotherapy can be started in the week after discharge from the hospital for a Total Hip Prosthesis, but with Resurfacing it is advised to wait for 3 weeks before starting physiotherapy.

Wound care is needed when the bandage is bled through, if not a nurse or doctor should check your wound after 14 days.

You can start on your hometrainer 1 week after surgery.

If you did not take blood thinners before your surgery, you will not need heavy blood thinners afterwards. We give Asaflow or Cardoaspirine.

If you are taking blood thinners, we will agree on a specific treatment plan during your consultation.

After 6 weeks there will be a postoperative check-up.

With resurfacing it is important to check the level of metal ions in the blood. A blood test will be needed 2,5 and 10 years after surgery.

The wound is closed within the skin. Not a single thread or hook will be visible and these should therefore not be removed after 2 weeks.

There are no limits. The prosthesis can manage contact and impact sports (Judo, Karate, Rugby, …).

Up to 90% of our patients can handle these sports after surgery. It seems that running (such as marathons) is the most difficult activity to take up after a resurfacing.

Research shows that impact sports do not have influence on wear and tear of a metal on metal prosthesis, such as resurfacing.

We do not recommend physiotherapy within the first 3 weeks after your surgery. Soft tissues (muscles and capsule) should heal after this procedure. Physiotherapy straight away threatens the long-term rehabilitation.

After 3 to 4 weeks you can calmly start physiotherapy.

Rehabilitation changes from person to person. After discharge from the hospital, you can get in and out of bed independently, walk with 2 crutches and use stairs. After about 1 week you can walk with 1 crutch on the side that has not been operated on. After about 3 weeks, short walks are possible without crutches.

A walking stick is unnecessary. After 4 to 6 weeks, most daily movements are possible, but you still feel like you were operated on! This discomfort progressively disappears between 6 weeks and 3 months and the load can gradually be increased.

If you did not take blood thinners before your surgery, you will not need heavy blood thinners afterwards. We give Asaflow or Cardoaspirine.

If you are taking blood thinners, we will agree on a specific treatment plan during your consultation.

The wound will be closed within the skin. This means there will not be any loops or hooks visible after surgery. A special glue is used which helps to keep the wound closed.

At your discharge from the hospital a bandage will be administered to close of your wound. You can shower with this bandage but taking a bath or going swimming is not recommended. As long as the wound stays dry, daily wound care will not be needed and the bandage can stay on.

After 12-14 days the bandage can be taken off. A nurse or doctor should check your wound. If during these 14 days the bandage has become bloody, this can be cared for by a private nurse.

No.

The wound will be covered with a water resistant bandage which can remain as long as it is clean and keeping out all water. Therefore a private nurse will not be needed every day.

In case the bandage is not clean anymore and wound care is necessary, you can call a private nurse. At the discharge from a hospital you will receive a prescription for this service.

If you did not take blood thinners before surgery, you will not be prescriped heparinesyringes ©exane or Fraxiparine).

We recommend to visit your GP or ask for a home visti 2 weeks after surgery.

This is to control your wound in order to make sure it has healed nicely.

Important: there will not be any stitches or hooks to be removed.

For 3 weeks after surgery it is required to take blood thinners (pills or syringe). Painkillers are taken as needed.
Physiotherapy can be started in the week after discharge from the hospital for a Total Hip Prosthesis, but with Resurfacing it is advised to wait for 3 weeks before starting physiotherapy.

Wound care is needed when the bandage is bled through, if not a nurse or doctor should check your wound after 14 days.

You can start on your hometrainer 1 week after surgery.

You can drive your car again 3 weeks after the surgery.

This, of course, in agreement with your physiotherapist.

You can get back on the hometrainer 2 weeks after your surgery (focus on flexibility rather than power). This is very beneficial to keep the joint smooth.

After a THP with the anterior approach the patient can start physiotherapy upon hospital discharge. Initially physiotherapy can only be focused on gait rehabilitation and mobility without resistance. Forced exercises are not recommended in the first weeks. Forced rotations are also strongly discouraged.

We strongly recommend walking with 2 crutches the first week after surgery. The following weeks, you can start walking with 1 crutch. As soon as it feels possibile, the patient can walk without crutches.

Swelling after surgery is normal. Within the first few days after surgery swelling can occur locally around the wound, but slowly this will lower towards the knee (on average after 5 days) and then further to the lower leg until it goes away completely (on average after 14 days). Raising the foot end of the bed the first days after surgery can help reduce swelling. Movability of the leg is still fine, it will only feel more sore.

If there is only swelling around the calf muscle in combination with pain, it is best to contact your GP in order to rule out thromboflebitis.

You can drive your car again 3 weeks after the surgery.

This, of course, in agreement with your physiotherapist.

Bring codes and results of previous relevant exams. X-rays can be useful too. A list of medication you are on is helpful also.

At the ANCA Medical Center it will be possible to take X-rays. This is also needed to judge and understand the hip joint.

We will request further exams (MRI, CT, Technetiumscan, …) which will be done at the hospital. We will discuss your options at your consultation.

When the images you bring are not recent enough we will make new X-rays. Definitely bring codes from previous admissions, we will upload them in our medical file.

Day -1: The admission is the day before surgery between 2 and 3pm. Go to admission (“OPNAME”) on the ground floor of the hospital. You will be shown to your room.
In the afternoon there will be some exams:

• Pre-operative exams at the pre-op department: blood exam and maybe an electrocardiogram (ECG)
• Special RX from hip and pelvis (need to measure and plan your hip prosthesis) at the radiology department
• Maybe RX of the lungs, also at the radiology department
• Shaving of the hip area
• Cleaning/showering with special antibacterial soap
• The doctor anaesthetist will come by: a potential epidural can be discussed with them
• An arrow will be drawn on the leg that will be operated on (this can also be the morning of the surgery)

Day 0: Surgery. In the morning or afternoon you will be brought to the operation theater. In the pre-operative waiting room your identity and the correct side of your surgery will be double checked. The patient will be put on a drip and brought to the operation theater. The surgery lasts 1 to 1,5 hours. After surgery, you will be brought to the recovery room where you will stay for about 2 hours until you are awake enough and comfortable to return to your room.

Day 1: Start rehabilitation

• Drip will be removed
• Painkillers per os
• First steps with physiotherapist and exercises from bed

Day 2: Further rehabilitation and potential discharge from the hospital. Is your pain under control, can you walk with 2 crutches and get out of bed by yourself, then you can go home.

The current waiting list for a total hip prosthesis is 10 to 12 weeks.

Preoperative physiotherapy is not needed. This would be exercises to strengthen muscles and mobility, which can be painful. Learning how to walk with crutches can be beneficial to heal faster after surgery.

It is better to bring your own crutches to the hospital. Crutches U dient best zelf krukken mee te brengen naar het ziekenhuis. Crutches are made available through your health insurance or you can also buy them at the hospital (about €25).

The RIZIV (health insurance) reimburses the cost of the total hip prosthesis.

A hip resurfacing in some cases will not be reimbursed. When the patient is older that 55 years old, the prosthesis will never be fully reimbursed (€1200).

When the prosthesis is small (head smaller than 52mm), then it will not be fully reimbursed.

The costs of surgery depend on your individual health insurance and country of origin. You can send a request for a personal idea of costs to: info@heup.be.