How long will I have to stay in the hospital after a hip replacement?

I am 30 years old and in relatively good health. How long can I expect to stay in the hospital for a total hip replacement?

My husband had one in September. He was in otherwise excellent health and 40 years old. He had surgery on Thursday and was home on Sunday. He is a contractor and I was driving him around to job sites on Tuesday and he was back at work by the end of the week (although he could not drive for 3 weeks). He was finished with his physical therapy within 6 weeks of surgery and doing amazing things I'd never seen him do (like ties his shoe) only a couple of months later.

His hip replacement was from a catastrophic fall 20 years earlier (4 stories) as opposed to degenerative arthritis which is apparantely a harder recovery. His recovery was exceptional, although I believe his stay in the hospital was typical.

Hope that helps! Good luck! My husband hasn't felt this good in 20 years!

My grandmother had a total knee replacement, which is pretty close to the same thing, just smaller. Hers was due to osteoarthritis(she had no cartilage in either knee and was in terrible pain. They did one at a time, of course). She was in the regular hospital on a morphine pump for 5 days (including the day of her surgery). They then moved her to a rehabilitation hospital once they had switched her to oral pain meds. She was there for 2 weeks, then home with a walker. She had physical therapy every day in the rehab hospital (that is their purpose) and I drove her to PT for a month (she wasn't allowed to drive for 6 weeks, and even then her surgeon said she had bounced back REALLY fast). After that she was back on her feet. She just had her other knee done last year, and she's in great shape. Good luck!