Open Reduction

Overall, our experience with Kennedy's open reduction was better than expected. First of all, the surgery was very long - about 6 hours from start to finish. Boy was that nerve-wracking! Kennedy's hip proved to be most uncooperative and actually fell out of socket during the first casting. Then Dr. Rubin wasn't happy with the second cast, so Kennedy had a total of three casts during that time. When she was out of surgery and in recovery Dr Rubin explained to us the difficulties of the procedure and how she may be facing a longer casting time or an additional cast after this. Then, I was able to go visit Kennedy and console her as she was waking. She really wasn't too uncomfortable or distressed as she was waking and we were able to leave about an hour & a half later. I will say I was so concerned about her being in pain that I was diligent about administering medication (Tylenol w/ Codeine) as guided for the first 3-4 days. Upon leaving the surgery center we rushed to Roseville Imaging for Kennedy's CAT scan which showed positive results for the hip's positioning.

The first couple days Kennedy was real tired - with the anesthesia slowing wearing off and under pain medication. She didn't appear to be uncomfortable during the day and was content as long as she was being held. However, first nights were pretty grueling. Despite how groggy Kennedy was she wouldn't actually sleep - just lightly rest. Therefore, I was unable to put her down and we spent the whole night with me holding her in the rocking chair. However, it slowly got better. During the first night I could only put her down for 15 minutes before she'd start crying but the second night improved to 30 minutes and the third night she was able to sleep on her own for a couple of hours. After that improvement I started reducing the Tylenol she was receiving, administering it mostly in the evenings and in preparation for night. My husband was absolutely wonderful during this time, caring for Kennedy in the evenings and mornings so I could get my sleep and be ready for whatever the night would bring.

By a week's end I would say that the swelling in the diaper region had gone down to almost normal and she was entirely off medication. Kennedy also adjusted well to being back in a cast and regained her happy disposition. Additionally, we were glad to pass through the experience without any infections or surgical complications.