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question about anesthetic during hip replacement...

19 years ago

Hi all -

I'm having a total hip replacement in August and went to my JointWorks session the other day. Found out that I can either have general anethesia or spinal with/without sedation. Apparently the spinal is supposedly better in preventing blood clots, nausea, etc. and the numbing effect lasts for about 6 hours. Has anyone had any experience with this or know anyone who has?

Thanks!

Vicki

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Comments (9)

ninos
19 years ago
I have had both. General anethesia leaves you a bit grougy and has rick of nausua. The spinal is great if you dont mind being completely awake during surgery. You will feel movement and it may take awile for the spinal to wear off. Mine lasted several hours after. I prefer to not be awake. Surgery freaks me out!
agnespuffin
19 years ago
As I understand it, and I may be wrong, the main drawback with a spinal is the chance of terrific headaches if you don't lie flat for a certain length of time.

I just don't like the idea of anyone messing around with my spinal cord. I think I would prefer the General and take a chance on nausea.
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I've had both hips replaced. A neighbor has had both hips and both knees replaced. My surgeon said I should have had mine done 20 years ago and I wish I would have been able to but no way could that have happened. Knee replacement and hip replacement are very different. The knee moves differently so in theory, the knee is worse. Talking to people who've had it done, it really depends a lot on the person. Both are MAJOR surgeries. The issue with the hip is the implant ball is much smaller than the body's natural ball. Hence they put a "filler" liner in there to take up the space. One warning made several times to me is that a hip can dislocate much more easily than the body's natural ball. As you heal, the muscles and other stuff will settle back in and help protect it. Ask your doctor about riding the horse, I'd assume it should be no problem but if you get thrown, it'll likely be far more risky than for someone who has not had replacements. Best advice I can give is the advice I was given from a good friend who had her knee done - do the exercises they suggest before surgery. It'll make things a lot smoother. And it does. I was in therapy for my back and the therapy was most of the exercises they recommended so I did a crash course and pushed myself hard. Everyone was amazed how well I did. I wasn't expected to do well after the surgery but I surprised all of them. For me, I was well prepared for the surgeries. My surgeon was fantastic and his MA was also amazing. Was there pain? You bet. A lot? Yeah but that's relative. For some it would be excruciating. For me it wasn't simply because I've had such incredible pain for the last 25 years I've effectively become numb to a lot of the pain. My GF needs both knees replaced and she's scared to death to do it and keeps putting it off. But that's another story. I was given the choice on having a spinal or general anesthesia. No brainer for me, I took general even though some claim the spinal lasts longer. There's problems with spinal in that it doesn't always work for one thing. They've had people where it quit in the middle of surgery so they had to use general. With mine, since mine were so bad, what was normally expected to be 2 - 2.5 hours took 6.5 hours the first time and 8.5 hours the second time around. No way would a spinal have lasted that long! But I was given the choice. And there's of course risks with any anesthesia to consider too. The doctor(s), therapists, nurses, etc were all amazed with my recovery, how well I did so soon. However a walker was ordered for a period of time immediately following surgery more for safety than necessity. With a hip replacement you're basically learning to walk again. Not a big deal but it's a bit different for a bit. Most adjust quickly. Good luck. And you're wise to go with a surgeon you trust. Makes a big difference. Plus they know you and I think that's a big advantage.
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socks
19 years ago
I had a spinal type thing done with a c-section (cannot remember what it's called). I'm with you Agnes, I don't like anyone messing with my spinal cord! But I had no choice. I had no after-effects except the one that lasted 18 years (joke--lol)and a little discomfort in my lower back for a while afterwards, maybe an hour. I did lie flat for several hours, because I'd heard about the headache possibility. Wasn't too interested in getting up anyway!

I would be interested in hearing from anyone here who has had a general anaesthetic, what it was like and the after-effects.

Vicki, best wishes for a successful surgery. Hope that hip works like new!
agnespuffin
19 years ago
I think a lot depends on the skill of the anesthesiologist. I had a long, involved surgery that lasted almost seven hours. There was no nausea afterwards. However, I had a short surgery with a nurse anesthesist who happened to be in training, I was throwing up for hours. She had a regular anesthesiologist standing by instructing her, but I just don't think she had the "touch" yet for getting just the right amount.
morz8 - Washington Coast
19 years ago
Vicki, when I had hip replacement a few years ago, I wasn't given a choice in anesthetic. The anesthesiologist said he didn't like the spinal type due to the positioning required of the patient by the surgeon during the procedure.

That was totally fine with me, I just wanted to wake up, be done, start healing. No nausea and I ate lightly the same evening.
littleonefb
19 years ago
Don't know if this info will help, but asked a friend who is an orthopedic OR nurse about which type of surgery is preferred by docs for hip replacement.

Her answer was that the usual is general anesthesia because as another poster said, the position required for surgery.

In her 15 years in the OR with orthopedic surgeons, she's only seen spinal used twice and that was do to the other medical problems that the patient had and their was a safety issue in using general.
The surgery can take longer with spinal anesthesia and they do use sedation as well, and in most cases your are sort of sleeping anyways from the sedation.

I had spinal surgery a year ago. Surgery was about 2 1/2 hours and I had general. I made sure that the anesthesiologist knew that I was very sensitive to drugs and that I don't want to be knocked out from general till the next day, which has happened to me before.
I don't know what they used for the anesthesia, but I was groggily awake about 15 minutes after I was brought into the recovery room, propped up sitting within 45 minutes, never had any nausea, was out of bed about 3 hours after surgery, ate a turkey sandwich, coffee and a salad about 5 hours after and went home 6 hours after I was brought to a room.
Never had any nausea or anything else at home either.
socks
19 years ago
Littleone, what a trooper you are! Nice recovery! I hope all goes as well for Vicki.
socks
19 years ago
I had general anaesthesia for leg surgery last week. I did have some nausea, but not intolerable, and it was gone the next day. I'm glad I had general in spite of some nausea.

As for the blood clot threat, I was given medication and for about a day and a half wore inflatable boots that simulate walking which helps deter clots. As soon as I was walking, the boots came off.

Vicki, you can email me if you have any other questions about my experience. You are wise to collect as much information as you can so you don't have any surprises.
char35
11 years ago
I had Total Hp Replacement last August. I had a general anesthesia with no problems after. Sometimes with Spinal they can gve a mild general anesthsia at any time if they feel it is necessary. Good luck to you. Also, take advantage of PT following if you can.

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