I watched a video of my right hip replacement and learned all kinds of stuff you don't learn in Science class.
I had my anterior meniscus removed. That was an arthroscopic surgery, so they were already watching it on video. I brought in a blank VHS cassette (it was that long ago) and they recorded my operation.
Of course, it didn't come with sounds, so I'd make sound effects when I watched it. I mostly made monster noises. When you see the stuff they're using to do the surgery, they do indeed look like monsters. I figured bad sci-fi monsters were a find soundtrack.
Hmm... I've never digitized it. If I ever do, it'll be so that I can share it with people online (and watch it more easily at home).
Anyhow, my femur was done in a pretty spectacular automobile wreck. I was a passenger, and it's a long story. But, the type of break is known as an intertrochanteric fracture. Basically, it broke at the widest diagonal point, where the stem for the ball at the top of the femur starts to head into the pelvis.
The big screw goes in from the outside, putting the ball back in place. Then, there's a plate of metal that runs down the outside of my femur. That metal is screwed into the femur, holding the whole thing in place.
As far as broken femurs go, it's not quite the worst but it's pretty close. After all, it could have been enough to tear into the femoral artery. It could have also been a compound fracture.
I spent quite a while on my back, outside of physical therapy. The PT was horrendous, but not the worst.
We spent about 45 minutes trapped in the car. It was pretty painful when they dragged me out. Still, that was not the worst pain.
No, the problem is that I have horrible veins. Try as they might, they couldn't get any pain meds into me. These days, they'd give me a fentanyl lollipop. The worst pain I've ever felt in my life was when they were manipulating my leg (and me) to take the initial x-rays.
That's the worst pain I've ever felt in my life.
PT also sucked, but I promised myself that I'd make the best recovery possible. So, I was not only diligent with my PT, I also insisted on doing more than I needed to. Coupled with a number of other broken bits, it was a pretty painful period of my life.
And, it's all due to my own stupidity.
That's one of those things that sounds absolutely horrible. The recovery from it sounds horrible. Sure, you didn't have to deal with breaking the femur, but that's still a painful recovery.
I'm told that my femur is good for life. They do not expect it to get bad enough to need a replacement. There's continued discomfort, but that's something you just get used to.
I have a few screws in me some which help keep everything secure.
Are your screws in your hip/femur?