- X-ray schedule and Office visits: Office visits are scheduled at the time of discharge from the hospital and at subsequent office visits. If interval visits are required they can be scheduled by the appointment office at (919)684-4007 or if a problem arises that will require you to be seen on an emergency basis call the respective doctor's office. At DUMC: AP pelvis and frog leg lateral x-rays will be obtained at 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months, one year and yearly or every two-three years thereafter. - With local Orthopaedic surgeon: Many of our patients have follow-up visits performed by their local orthopaedic surgeon. The patient is seen postoperatively at 2 weeks, if sutures or staples need to be removed and then at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and yearly with AP pelvis and frog leg lateral x-rays. The referring physician sends the Duke orthopaedist a summary letter about your visit accompanying your x-rays for the Duke orthopaedist review. After the Duke orthopaedist reviews the x-rays he relates his finding in a letter to your local orthopaedist. At times patients will call our office requesting early review of x-rays. The doctors make it a practice to review all x-rays and send a letter to the patient or local doctor as soon as possible. - Wt Bearing and Exercise: - Travel: If temporary handicap parking permits are necessary, the form can be obtained at your state licensing bureau and forwarded to your orthopaedic surgeons office for completion. The patient is to fill out the form and send it to the doctors office for the doctor's signature. We also have North Carolina temporary handicap parking permits forms in our clinic that can be made available to you while in our clinic. A patient should wait 2 weeks from the time of surgery to do any traveling outside the home. Return to driving should be after 6 weeks or early if permitted by the doctor. Remember to avoid twisting of the involved leg during transfer in and out of the car. - Return to Work: The length of disability from work will vary for each patient depending on the type of work you may return to and the severity of avascular necrosis. As a rule, most patients return to sedentary work, with the use of crutches at six weeks. Patients who return to positions that require walking without crutches may return at six to twelve months following surgery. Patients returning to hard manual labor return to work after one year or to some other form of work earlier. Some employer require a doctor's statement allowing a patient to return to work and our offices will do so upon request of the patient. The patient needs to inform the doctors office by telephone or letter where the statement should be sent. - Shower or tub bathe: 1. At anytime after surgery if an occlusive dressing such as Opsite covers the incisions. 2. Four days after surgery (without occlusive dressing) if there is no opening or drainage from an incision. Report to the doctor's office if new incisional drainage occurs. - Sexual relations: Intercourse may be resumed when the one feels the body has sufficiently recovered from surgery.