Post-Operative Instructions: Hip/Bone Grafting

If you have any questions or concerns after your surgery, you can reach your doctor 24 hours a day by calling our office number. We should always be your first resource if you are having difficulty.

You will receive general anesthesia during your procedure as well as various pain medications immediately afterward, so when it is time for you to go home you will leave in the care of your escort. It is important that the person be willing and able to look after you and take responsibility for you until you are adequately recovered to be on your own. How long that will take varies greatly and depends entirely upon the individual. You will, however, need someone with you for up to a week following your surgery.

You will have a small incision just above your hip bone toward the front. This area will have stitches that will dissolve over time, and it will typically be covered with a plastic adhesive dressing which is water resistant. You should leave this dressing in place until it either falls off or your doctor removes it at your follow up appointment. It is okay to shower with this dressing in place, but do not soak it. After bathing, blot it dry gently.

It is common to have pain in the hip area after this procedure. Keeping an ice pack on the area intermittently for 72 hours after the surgery will help to minimize this pain and swelling. Often this pain is much more noticeable than the discomfort in the site receiving the bone graft, and this does not necessarily indicate anything is wrong. If however you have significant pain in your abdomen, distention of your abdomen, or dramatic swelling in the area where the graft was taken, you should contact your doctor immediately.

It is normal to have pain when walking after this procedure. You should plan to avoid strenuous activity of any kind for at least 6 weeks following the procedure, as this may make the pain worse or affect your healing. After 6 weeks, your doctor will give you advice about increasing your activity level, but you will need to let your comfort level guide you.