proximal hamstring avulsion Surgery
Hi,
I fell on July 3 and tore my hamstrings off my sits bones.
Last Friday I had surgery to have three anchor screws to attached the hamstring to my butt.
My pain on day 3 is only at the incision site and not too bad.
I have found little information regarding personal recoveries.
I currently have knee brace set for 90degree with strict instructions to not put my foot down. I am using crutches as our house is too small for the turning radius of the scooter that I rented.
How do you maneuver stairs? It seems like I have to bend my leg past the brace allowance to go from our living room to our entry way.
I figured out how to take a shower by getting on the shower seat first, taking the brace off and drying diligently before putting brace back on while sitting on the shower chair. We use suctioned cup hand rails on our plastic shower stall.
Any tips, testimonials and questions are welcome.
Katy
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Thank you for posting your comments, it gives me ideas on how to manage after my surgery. Most of information I discovered concerns the recovery of younger adults. It is encouraging to me to hear your progress and know that I can hopefully still make a good recovery.
I had my surgery at Aurora Baycare in Green Bay, Wisconsin. That is 100 miles south of my house. I met my Dr on a Wednesday, 6 days after my accident and the surgery was on Friday.
My local hospital sent me home with a muscle strain diagnosis and I knew it was something more. I saw a physical therapist in my town on day 5 post accident, He knew what it was and called the surgeons office for me.
It is important to have the surgery sooner than later.
Like you, I did not have time to research a thing. I went in with blind faith and I hoped everything would work out. Which it did. My surgery was open and the anchors are located directly behind the incision. Which is the reason for the dull ache.
There are a lot of articles about the technique and clinical notes on the recovery.
This article was helpful in my decision to have the surgery: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2059775421000122
The post surgical pain is minimal, but the recovery is long and boring.
You will need a lot of assistance for the first 6 weeks.
This a traumatic injury and surgery. It will take at least a month to come out of the post surgical brain fog.
Crutches worked best for me.
My surgeon and his staff were very helpful and seemed knowledgeable.
Good luck and keep me posted on how everything went.
Thanks you so much for the above information. It is very helpful. I will hopefully be scheduled for surgery this Friday. I will let you know,
Thanks!
I will be thinking of you. You will want to get as much done as your body will allow today. By day 7, post accident I could not do much. I used a private pay in home care agency one day a week for 7 weeks to help with light housekeeping, laundry and meal prep. I also had my daughter put my clothes and undergarments in a cloth box on my dresser. You will not be bending down or putting your foot on the floor for a ling time. You will need a shower chair and I used suctioned cup type grab bars in the shower. I needed help getting the brace off and putting it back on. I only took the brace off to shower. My surgeon had me start PT at 2 weeks. It was not much, yet I had the peace of mind that everything was healing okay.
Again, thank you for all the information.
My surgery went well. I am still using the leg brace from the ER. I am guessing the waist/leg brace will not arrive till Monday.
Which type of brace are you in?
My biggest challenge is the toilet position.
I am surprised that this surgery is outpatient. I have the support of my husband, but it is not a role he is acquainted with!
I appreciate the information you have posted. It has been helpful hearing about your experiences and your timeline.
Day by Day—Tanda
I am happy to hear your surgery went well. A T-Scope brace set at 90 degrees was put on my leg during surgery. My PT adjusted the brace and changed the degrees for range of motion during the 9 weeks that I wore the brace. I only took the brace off to take a shower. The toilet was a rough one. I did not get a raised toilet seat, but in hindsight wish I had. Suction cupped hand rails made my life easier.
The brace was removed permanently last Wednesday. I can now walk on two feet without a brace or crutches. The tough part for you are the next few weeks when you are non weight bearing. Let yourself heal and rest as mush as you can. Ice, ice and then ice again for the first two weeks. A soft pillow or blanket between your legs helps with discomfort of the brace rubbing your other leg. I used a sling bag to carry my phone, book and water bottle from the chair to my bedroom.
It is perfectly okay to cry when you see the crutches every morning and have to use them to go to the bathroom.
Let yourself heal and your husband will figure out how to take care of you. It was a big adjustment for my husband, but we figured it out. I am trying to add a picture of my brace and if a bunch of random pictures are attached, please accept my apologies.
Just checking in, how are you?
Struggling a bit. My brace still has not come in and it
seems like I am in more pain than I should be. My current brace appears it might be similar to yours, so not sure what the new one will be like, except it straps around waist also I think. It is hard for me to find a comfortable position.
Did I understand correctly that you slept on your side some with blanket or pillow between legs? Rotating positions might give me a break.
Trying to keep a positive attitude.
Thanks for checking in, it is nice being able to ask questions.
At 9 weeks, do you feel comfortable walking? Do you walk the same? And how much walking or how many steps do you start with?
Good to hear from you! The first few nights I slept in a recliner with a blanket between my legs. At day 3, I moved to my bed and used a pillow between my knees. I am a side sleeper and was afraid to sleep on my brace side. The brace always felt heavier at night. I used the ice machine regularly for the first two weeks. After my two week check up, In decided to use a heating pad at night. The first four weeks, I took extra strength Tylenol every 6 hours to stay ahead of the pain.
Walking with two feet on the ground at 6 weeks with brace and crutches was wonderful. I did the “heel toe, heel toe, eyes 50 feet in front of you” mantra for a bit. While still crutches, I walked 10 mins one way and 10 mins back to where I started. That wore me out.
Last week, I walked gingerly and little unsteady.
I walked more over the weekend and my leg did fine. I felt it getting weaker if I went too long and made sure that I sat on ice pack when I got home. I have strict orders to not walk up any hills.
Stairs started once my brace was completely straight but not opened. I still go down and up them with one leg at a time.
My uninjured side is quite sore from compensating for the weakness of the injured leg.
Do not be hard on yourself, the pain is real. Someone drilled holes in your tushy and then tied your hamstrings to the screws, after your body had a traumatic event. If you can tolerate the pain pills, take them.
Good to hear your progress. It is a reminder that we will both get thru this! I hope you continue to improve quickly.
I am still struggling with my brace, it is a DonJoy Excyabir brace. Even more uncomfortable than what the ER put on. Hopefully it is doing its job, and we have it adjusted properly.
Several years ago I burst a L1 vertebrae in my by falling off an laddago, but I feel this injury has been more disabling. Otherwise, I took my good health for granted, which I will not do again.