My husband had a total hip replacement about a year ago and went home from the hospital after five or six days. Now he has to have a second operation on that same hip. Should I expect about the same length of time in the hospital?

You can expect at least as long a stay as before. Sometimes revisions have more complications and require transfer to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) before going home.

Some of the post-operative events depend on the general health of the patient and activity level before surgery. Patients with higher functional level coming into the hospital seem to do better afterwards as well.

It also depends on why he’s having revision surgery. Patients with a loose implant do better than those who have a joint infection. Age makes a difference: younger patients often go home sooner than older ones.