A Patient's Guide to Knee and Hip Replacement: Everything You Need to Know [Paperback]

Irwin Silber (Author), Eugene M. Wolf (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Written by a patient for other patients and in consultation with an Orthopedic Surgeon and a Physical Therapist, A Patient's Guide to Knee and Hip Replacement takes readers through the complete joint-replacement process, from the decision whether to have Surgery and the Preop Preparations, through the operation itself, the hospital stay, and the recovery period.

Irwin Silber has had both knees and one hip replaced. Like hundreds of thousands of other joint-replacement patients, Silber is now physically active and free from pain as a result of today's highly effective medical technology. His chronicle of his own experiences, supplemented by interviews with many others who have had joints replaced, describes the whole procedure from a patient's perspective, including:

* How to determine whether it's time for a joint replacement, and why doctors are sometimes hesitant to perform surgery; possible consequences of delaying surgery

* A full description of the actual surgery, including the risks involved

* Information about postoperative physical therapy, including tips on how to prepare your home for the recovery process

Clearly written and profusely illustrated, A Patient's Guide to Knee and Hip Replacement is an informative and helpful book for anyone contemplating or already undergoing joint replacement.

About the Author

Irwin Silber is the former editor of the magazine Sing Out! and has written numerous books on folk and popular music. He has also written on political and cultural matters for The Guardian, Crossroads, and Frontline. He lives in Oakland, California.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Fireside; Original edition (March 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684839202
• ISBN-13: 978-0684839202
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #247,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #13 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Exercise & Fitness > Hip & Thigh Workouts
  #94 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Disorders & Diseases > Musculoskeletal Diseases

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally Hip Founder rates this book as EXCELLENT, November 20, 1999

By	Linda M Bowser ([e-mail]) (Mississippi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Patient's Guide to Knee and Hip Replacement: Everything You Need to Know (Paperback)

Though I am only half way through this book, it is wonderfullywritten from the patient's point of view. The author had the samequestions, and the same fears that I did going into my own hip surgeries. He also gives a very detailed account of the entire process from deciding when to have the surgery through the recovery.

I recommend this book HIGHLY to anyone who needs or has already had joint replacement surgery!

Linda May-Bowser Founder, Totally Hip Support Group

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wouldn't have had the operation without this book, October 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Patient's Guide to Knee and Hip Replacement: Everything You Need to Know (Paperback)

I am a 72-year-old man who lives in Upstate New York. My daughter who resides in Dallas sent me this book in May, 1999.

Prior to reading the book, I was walking around limping with severe pain in my right hip for 13 months. I took pain killers, most recently, Celebrex.

Frankly, I was afriad to have the operation, even though I hated taking pills for pain. I glanced through the book after I received it and put it aside. Our summer was very warm and I felt better.

Early in September, 1999, the weather turned damp and cool and the hip pain returned with a vengeance. Finally, I picked up the book and read it cover to cover. I was amazed.

Every aspect of the hip operation is covered, including preparing yourself for it. The book covers the pre-op requirements, the risks, the final decision, what will be needed at home after the operation and finally a blow-by-blow account of the author's feelings up to the day of the operation.

After reading the book a second time, I was prepared to go ahead with the operation with confidence.

The operation was scheduled for Oct. 7. Today is Oct. 23.

Following the operation, I had no hip pain at all. The incision pain was quite severe but gradually subsided after a week or so. On Oct. 18, my dressing was removed and Oct. 20, the staples were removed.

Four days after my operation, I started what I considered to be a cruel physical therapy workout, including 45 minutes of hip exercises, climbing stairs and weak feeling moments, nothing that is mentioned in the book. I cannot stress how important daily physical therapy is to the success of this operation.

I have completed 45 minutes of exercizing in the morning and 45 minutes in the afternoon, seven days a week, since Day 6 after the operation. I'm presently in Day 16.

Finally, my thanks go out to the author Irwin Silber for writing this book and to my daughter Linda for sending it to me. I must admit that if I had not read this book, I would probably be still limping around in pain.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Patient's Guide to Knee and Hip Replacement, March 9, 2000

By	Kathleen Mendiola "bluearachnid" (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Patient's Guide to Knee and Hip Replacement: Everything You Need to Know (Paperback)

I am 43 and am having a hip replacement next week. After reading this book, I still have questions. I would have liked to see more about what takes place during a hip operation, as I have found better descriptions on the web than in this book. I would have liked more info on anesthesia choices. Also, I found myself having to sift through information on the knee (which I cared nothing about) to get to the information on the hip, often treated as an afterthought and dismissed with words like "the hip replacement follows the same general pattern as a knee replacement." I would have also liked some comments about cemented hips versus uncemented (he does talk about the knee) and the new ceramic hip, and in general, more specific information about the hip throughout the book. This book might have worked better if it had two sections, one for the hip and one for the knee. That would reduce the frustration of having to read through pages of knee information before finding out if the author thinks it is applicable to hips also (and mentally trying to separate the info). To sum up, I guess the book is worth it, but it is not everything you need to know.