Taking care of patient who has had a total hip arthroplasty

[ptrico]

It is okay to have my patieny use an abductor pillow between the her legs when she becomes restless or should I have her lean forward prior to standing to maintain her center of gravity. What about discouraging her from sitting a wheelchair with a back reclined.

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

It is okay to have my patieny use an abductor pillow between the her legs when she becomes restless or should I have her lean forward prior to standing to maintain her center of gravity. What about discouraging her from sitting a wheelchair with a back reclined.

Except for the abductor pillow, I think you have the hip replacement precautions backward.

The precautions usually associated with total hip replacement are using an abductor pillow and the 90 degree rule. (I never know if the angle is measured anteriorly or posteriorly--just remember to not bend forward!). That said, you would NOT encourage the patient to lean forward prior to standing (you will have just flexed too much!) and you would ENCOURAGE her to have the back reclined slightly in a wheelchair to avoid flexing the hip too much.

These precautions are necessary to avoid subluxation of the new hip.