What is post–operative nursing care plans for seniors after hip replacement surgery?

When an emergency strikes and our senior loved ones require hip replacement surgery due to a major injury like a hip fracture or dislocation caused by a fall, it's crucial to ensure they receive the utmost care and support during their recovery.

The surgeon, who will perform hip replacement surgery will devise a comprehensive recovery plan for your beloved senior to help your senior loved one:

Recover Faster

The focus will be on implementing strategies to speed up the healing process.

Regain Hip strength quickly

Rehabilitation exercises and therapies will be incorporated to help your senior loved one regain strength in their hip joint quickly.

Get back to independent living sooner

The main aim is to help the senior loved ones return to independent living as soon as possible.

Your beloved senior will need assistance from a professional caregiver during their recovery stage in the comfort of their home. Elder Care Service providers in Kolkata provide caregiving services to help seniors recover faster in a relaxing way. It can take up to a full year for your beloved senior to recover completely.

Now, let us have a close look at the post-operative nursing care plan for seniors who have undergone hip replacement surgery

Hospital Stay

In the hospital, after the surgery, your senior loved one will be provided with a triangle-shaped pillow between his or her legs to stabilize the hips. Your senior loved one will begin to regain feeling in his /her leg after a few hours and the surgeon will treat the pain with a combination of pain–relief methods that minimize side effects and complement each other, this is known as multimodal analgesia

Discharge from Hospital

Your beloved senior may get discharged from the hospital after 2-5 days post-surgery. The surgeon will permit his /her discharge once the pain is under control and your beloved senior can get in and out of bed and walk a few steps with the help of a walker or crutches, eat their meal sitting up, and perform simple exercises.

Gentle Exercise and positioning guidelines

After your senior loved one is discharged, he/she may be asked to do gentle exercises in bed under the supervision of the assigned caregiver such as

• Contracting and relaxing quadriceps muscle

• Contracting and relaxing gluteal muscles

• Bending and flexing the ankle

The surgeon may ask your senior loved one to stand up and take a few steps with the aid of a walker or a crutch. You can also avail physiotherapy services for your beloved senior from a reputed senior care service in Kolkata. A Physiotherapist will help your senior feel relaxed and comfortable during the recovery process. He will highlight the basic rules about positioning that your senior loved one needs to follow such as • He/she can't bend forward more than 90degrees and lift his/her knee on the surgery side higher than the hip • Can’t cross their legs or pivot his/her operated hip

Weight-bearing Guidelines

The surgeon will also provide weight-bearing guidelines to follow, Initially your beloved senior will be allowed to put just a small percentage of weight on the affected leg that will increase over time during the recovery process. How much pressure your senior’s new hip after surgery depends on various factors such as

• The type of surgery and prosthesis ( an artificial body part) used

• How the prostheses were fixated to the natural bone, The condition of your senior loved one’s bone

• If your senior loved one has a cement-less prosthesis then he/she needs to wait longer to carry weight on the hip because the bone tissues need time to grow and bond with the prosthesis

Also, ensure, your beloved senior avoids moving up and down stairs as much as possible. Tell the caregiver to put essential items of your senior loved one such as medicines, glasses, TV remotes, phones, chargers, etc in a place from where they can be easily accessed. T

By following this post-operative nursing plan your senior loved one will recover quickly and comfortably after a hip replacement surgery.

Debosree is a professional writer working in the Senior Care Field for quite a long time. She has written many informative blogs and articles on the senior care facilities that are available. He has a great reader base.