"Total replacement of the hip joint or hip replacement, THR, indicates the replacement of the body's natural hip joint bones with artificial parts, also known as prostheses"(Simon, 1998). A number of diseases impair the hip joint bones so that THR becomes the most viable alternative to unbearable pain and/or inability to walk. "The factors that indicate a need to perform total hip arthroplasty surgery is usually severe joint degeneration with hip pain that doesn't respond to oral analgesics, disturbs sleep, and limits the ability to walk or climb stairs" (Dunajcik, 1989). The focus of this paper is to demonstrate the effects of the THR surgery on middle-aged individuals. The information includes the effects the illness will have on the patient's physical state and Erikson's developmental stages were used to assess emotional state. The effects that surgery will have on the patients' social, intellectual, spiritual, and social development was also examined. Discharge concerns such as proper administration of medications, limitations of movement as not to displace the hip and other concerns were addressed. Also, possible community resources were located for the patient's needs

If the patient was active in religious groups or cultural groups the patient will not be able to practice as much as he or she would like to. The patient should be encouraged to practice their religion as much as possible in the hospital or at home. This can help the patient feel more

Erikson's stage for the middle aged adult is Generativity vs. Stagnation. In this stage the person looks back at his past accomplishments with either a sense of satisfaction with his accomplishments or the other end is stagnation in which the person feels as if their past accomplishments did not amount to much. In the patient with THR the patient may feel as if they are not able to do much and are not able to contribute to the family as much as they would like to. The patient may feel as if their life is stagnating away and they may also feel older than they actually are due to the inability to be as active during the recovery process and the first 6 months following the procedure. The patient may fear dislocating the hip and will be more cautious until they are more comfortable with their limitations. To cope with these fears the patient may try to do more than they should to feel more productive. Another fear is pain. This can be controlled with medications such as the PCA which gives the patient more control during his recovery. The doctor may advise the patient to refrain for the first six weeks. A normal sex life can be resumed after a surgery, but the precautions must be observed. There should not be too much hip flexion.

Rest/Activity. The day of the surgery the patient is able to rest. The day after surgery however, the patient is ambulated to prevent DVT. Exercises are shown to the patient pre-op that can be used post-op also to prevent DVT. Six weeks after surgery the patient will be able to return

Neuro/Sensory. Immediately post-op, in the recovery room all of the patient's senses would be less reactive and their balance and sense of orientation would not be as if would normally be. This should be taken into consideration when assessing the neuro/sensory systems of the patient. The patient may be dosing off into sleep and may not be able to articulate what he or she is feeling at te time. After the surgery the first sense to return is hearing. So just because the patient may not respond as he would pre-op does not mean that he is disoriented. In some cases the anesthesia wears off in the recovery room and the senses may be more intact than others. Each case is different and should be treated that way as well. Infection may also be a reason that could effect some of the patient's neuro/sensory functions.

Total Hip Replacement and the Middle Aged Adult

Some common words found in the essay are:
Hawks Keene, Abstract Total, Hip Replacement, Development Erikson's, Social Development, Neuro/Sensory Immediately, Physical Mobility, Keene2001 Total, Meals Wheels, Intellectual Development, total hip, hip replacement, total hip replacement, patient able, surgery patient, day surgery patient, day surgery, surgery patient able, patient told, hip joint, six weeks, patient feel, black hawks, hip joint bones, hawks keene 2001,
Approximate Word count = 2111
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)