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Getting Hip: Recovery from a Total Hip Replacement by Sigrid Macdonald
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 Preparing for the Operation
If you are contemplating hip surgery, there are several ways to prepare yourself for a total joint replacement. The first thing that I did was to brace myself emotionally. I was not thrilled with the idea of being rendered unconscious so that a virtual stranger could slice a knife through my flesh. That thought can provoke fear in the strongest of men and women. We all deal with fear differently. Some people choose to arm themselves with information, believing that knowledge is power. Other people prefer to know as little as possible about the procedure and to rely on faith in God, medicine, fate or luck. I fell into the second category. Although I had done extensive research on ways to prevent hip surgery, I did not want to read anything about the actual operation itself until after it was over. Obtaining a graphic image of someone drilling a hole through the head of my femur, in order to knock the ball out of the socket and insert a metal object, was not my idea of a useful stress reduction technique.
Instead, I viewed the surgery the same way that I envisioned a root canal: both were necessary evils with a most beneficial outcome. I kept my mind focused on the end result and refused to think about the actual surgery itself. I was going to be free of pain! I was going to be able to walk again! Fifty years ago, that would not have been possible. I would have spent my life confined to a wheelchair, in terrible pain. I was grateful beyond words to be living in the era of joint replacements. I just didn’t want to know too many details about the procedure. You may feel differently. Your questions may be answered by reading about the operation and this may assuage your fears.
Physically, I did what I could to get ready for the operation. I had given up smoking a number of years ago, which would act in my favor since smokers are more likely to suffer from complications following surgery, such as breathing difficulties. If you are a smoker, you can decrease your chances of postoperative problems, such as pneumonia by quitting cigarettes, but this must be done several months before surgery. Since you cannot smoke in the hospital, this provides an excellent opportunity to stop smoking altogether.
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