Wound care and stitches
Keep the small wounds clean and dry, following the clinic's advice. The stitches are removed after two weeks; this can be done at the clinic, but most people do this themselves at home.
Pain and medication
For the first two weeks you take an anti-inflammatory pain reliever (meloxicam), even if your pain is mild or absent — this works not only against pain, but also against inflammation and calcification around the joint. Especially in the first few days, you can also take paracetamol. After two weeks you only use medication as needed. Meloxicam is taken together with a stomach protector (omeprazole).
Crutches: how long?
In almost all patients, the hip may be fully weight-bearing immediately after surgery. You use the crutches only for support, for as long as you find necessary — on average around 4 weeks, ranging from a few days to a few weeks. One exception: if very extensive cartilage damage was found during surgery, your orthopaedic surgeon may advise touch-weight-bearing only for the first 6 weeks. In that case, the crutches are needed more strictly and for longer.
Movement restrictions
Bending the hip beyond 90 degrees is only a concern if the labrum was repaired during surgery. Even then, you may carefully bend to around 110 degrees; try to avoid bringing the knee all the way up to your chest. This restriction applies for the first 6 weeks.
Work and daily activities
For sedentary work, you can often return within a few weeks, depending on how your recovery is going. For physical work, this usually takes longer. Discuss with your orthopaedic surgeon or physiotherapist what is realistic for your job.
Driving
As long as you are using crutches or the hip is not yet fully weight-bearing, you must not drive. If in doubt, ask your orthopaedic surgeon when it is safe to resume.
Smoking and recovery
Smoking noticeably slows wound and bone healing. Stopping smoking from four weeks before to four weeks after surgery significantly reduces the risk of complications — better still, of course, is not to start again at all.
When should you get in touch?
Contact the clinic if a wound is leaking, if there is increasing redness, warmth or pain around the wound, if you develop a fever, or if you notice a tight, swollen and warm feeling in your lower leg — the latter can indicate thrombosis. Also read the page on risks.