PAO Surgery Screw Removal

PAO

Oct 18

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PAO Surgery Screw Removal | Why Remove The Screws

We are getting closer to Thanksgiving which means that I am getting closer to the 2 year mark of when I found out I needed to have PAO surgery on my right hip. I can't imagine what would have happened if we had waited to have this surgery because everything worked out for us timing wise when I did have my surgery.

I was supposed to have a follow up down at Duke Hospital back in January, which was 1 year post op. Since it is a 4 hour drive from where we live, I kept putting it off until the timing was more convenient. I also was trying to decide if I wanted to have any of the screws they had placed in my hip, removed. I finally made an appointment in June of this year because I had decided that I definitely wanted the screws removed, especially since one of them was actually sticking out of my body. You may think I am exaggerating, but to quote my Oma "you could hang a purse on it!". It was actually catching on the muscle/tendons around it and I often would run it into things, which was painful.

Luckily for me, the doctor was on the same page about removing the screws. My bones had grown back around the screws and removing them would not impact my hip at all. My doctor told me that he would do his best to completely remove the screws but if they weren't willing to come out, he would take them out as far as they would go and then cut them so they didn't stick out of my body anymore. So I scheduled the surgery for October 1 and then kind of forgot about it.

PAO Surgery Screw Removal | The Surgery

When I say that I forget about my October 1 surgery, I honestly mean it. It was on my calendar but on September 14th, I realized we hadn't made any arrangements for the actual surgery. Since all I knew was my surgery was on October 1, we needed to book a hotel so we could spend the night before and the night after down in Durham. I also needed to get care for Jackie lined up. Luckily my parents came to the rescue and volunteered to take Jackie while we were gone. I also booked a hotel for us for 2 nights so we didn't have to rush home post surgery, having no idea how it would go.

I am so glad we ended up going down to Durham the night before the surgery because it ended up being at 7:15 am! I went in at 5:45, when they asked me to be there, and we left the hospital before 11 am. Which is amazing to me. My doctors told me that the screws all came all the way out and one of the them was a little difficult but not so much that it couldn't be completely removed. So we went back to the hospital and I stayed in bed for the rest of the day and until we had to check out the next afternoon. We then went home and I was able to stay in my own house, in my own bed.

PAO Surgery Screw Removal | Recovery

Everyone I talked to told me that it would be about one week of recovery. Honestly, I was skeptical about this timeline just because the original surgery had such a long recovery. But my recovery really was about a week long. I did have to go back down to Duke two weeks after my surgery so that my stitches could be removed but we made that a day trip and it wasn't a big deal. My doctor did tell me I would need crutches for about a week. You all may remember that I HATE crutches. So I brought back the cane! It made getting around a lot easier and Jackie would bring me the cane if I wasn't using it.

My doctor used the original incision site to make the incisions for the screw removal, which was great. I had to chance the bandages on them every time I showered but with XL Band Aids, it wasn't a big deal!

As for what I wore, because the incision sites were right where the waistbands of pants are, I had to wear loose fitting pants. Other than these from Nordstrom, I also wear the Albion Fit Jetsetters and Jumpsuits. If I had thought about it more ahead of time, which we know I didn't, I would have bought a few more pairs of each. But the two pairs of joggers and the one jumpsuit that I did have were great!

PAO Surgery Screw Removal | What Now?

On Tuesday we went down to Durham for my first post op appointment where my stitches were removed. And I now feel amazing. I have worn actual pants, not joggers or sweats, two days this week already! They told me during the appointment that I can push back my November follow up appointment to January of 2020, which is the 2 year mark since my surgery. Honestly, while this process has been long and painful, it has also been amazing. The timing for when we did the surgery was perfect. I recovered much more quickly than anyone expected. Then the timing for the screw removal was also perfect. It gave The Husband a week off of work and Jackie was very aware that I wasn't ok and did a great job with that. And now it is over. My pain is gone and I shouldn't need another surgery any time soon.