Surgeries, being invasive procedures, have accompanying risks that are most likely to occur during the post-operative phase, when the patient is most vulnerable. Orthopedic surgeries are no exception, even if no internal organs are harmed. Hip replacements are commonly performed procedures, and the functionality of hip prosthetic devices implanted into the joints determines how a patient will react in the coming days.

The ideal duration for hip replacement patients to undertake rehabilitation therapy is up to three months, long enough to regain the strength in the hip area. Unlike most hip implants, however, those from DePuy Orthopaedics, particularly the ASR Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System, last for six months to a year. This is because of the defects that they carry, and having a failure rate of about 13%. It is important to note that therapy after revision surgery differs significantly from therapy following the first hip replacement.

On the first two days following the hip surgery, the patient is encouraged to gradually sit up, stand up, and walk with assistance.

Three to five days afterwards, the patient is discharged from the hospital, provided that no complications have taken place, otherwise the patient would still have to be monitored.

From discharge to six weeks after, the patient starts learning weight-bearing exercises to gradually develop range of motion, improve physical strength and promote well-being.

From six weeks to three months, the patient continues regular exercising, especially in the hips, trunk and the knees. The use of canes, crutches and walkers is discontinued. Strenuous exercises, like stair climbing, running and biking can be initiated.

After three months, the patient is expected to have regained most of the strength in the hip area without any complications.

This timeline mirrors the progress that the patient is expected to show after the hip replacement surgery. As mentioned earlier, the rehabilitation therapy after a hip revision surgery is a much slower and rather difficult process. Victims of the DePuy hip recall not only get to feel the complications of a defective implant, they also have no choice but to undergo a revision surgery to take out the faulty device. Truly, this is not the usual challenges that you face every day. What you need to do is file a lawsuit against DePuy, with the help of a good hip recall lawyer specializing in cases like these.