Preparing For A Hip Replacement

How to prepare for a hip replacement

Before your hip replacement, your doctor will talk to you about the things you can do to prepare.

This might include advice on:

muscle strengthening exercises to do before and after the surgery that will help with your recovery
losing weight if you are overweight
stopping smoking
having a healthy diet and sticking to the recommended weekly limits on alcohol units

It's important to do these things while you wait for a hip replacement because waiting lists can be long. This is because these things may lower your risks of complications and speed your recovery time.

Pre-admission clinic

You will probably be asked to go to a pre-admission clinic a few weeks before the operation. This is to make sure you're well enough for surgery to go ahead.

You may need to have a blood test, X-rays, a urine (pee) test to check for infections, or an electrocardiogram (ECG) to check your heart health.

You may also meet the team involved in your care so you can learn more about the operation and recovery afterwards, and ask any questions you might have.

Prepare for recovering at home

It's a good idea to prepare for when you get home after your operation.

You might want to think about:

asking for any help you might need at home with day-to-day activities
making sure things you use often are easy to reach
stocking your freezer with cooked meals
arranging transport, as you'll be unable to drive for at least 6 weeks after the operation
speaking to your employer and making a plan for returning to work if you need to
borrowing, hiring or buying any equipment that you may find very useful, such as a raised toilet seat or a hand-held "grabber" that helps you pick up objects

Your care team should be able to provide more advice on where to get equipment you may find useful.

Sexual Health Advice

Throughout this series we have help and advice on staying healthy, dealing with Sexually Transmitted Infections, the risks of each type of the most popular gay sex and what to do if the sex you have is not consentual. The topics covered in this series include:

	This item was in brought to you association with NHS website. Follow the links above for more information and don't forget to check out OutUK's A to Z of Gay Health which features items on everything from relationships, sexual health, mental and physical conditions and how to stay fit. This week our topic is: L - Lung Cancer.
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