My dad who is 78 years old went through hip surgery as a ...

In most cases a low grade fever is a sign of the body trying to fight infection, so it is possible even though he has had improvement that he is still fighting a little infection or abnormality due to his recent surgery. With taking the antibiotics and aspirin it is keeping the infection to a minimum but not fighting it completely. If his physician is not aware that he is running the low grade temperature it would be wise to let them know as they may want to prescribe a different or stronger antibiotic. It is wonderful that he is showing improvement and I do not think that this is something that is a major concern, as with him having to go to the physical therapy that can cause a slight raise in temperature if he is exerting himself in the therapy sessions. But in most cases the cause of a low grade fever is a sign the body is fighting infection and that can be a good sign as well as if his body was not trying to fight it, he would have shown signs of regression in his progress which he is not, but it is still something I would ask his physician and ask about a possible change or stronger antibiotic to see if his body does not respond better to it as the two antibiotics he is on are good but not the strongest available to fight infection like Cipro.

Edited by here2helpU on May 22 2006 at 6:04pm

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Is a cross sectional scan for the hip and leg mandatory to determine if there any infection?

Not mandatory but it is very effective as well as a full CBC to determine if there is any infection present.

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Could the fever happen as a result of inflamation in the bone as a result of the fall?

Yes this is very possible to be honest, and with him being older it takes more of a toll on the body as we age so the good thing is that he is improving which makes this not a bad sign at all it is just something that his doctor needs to be aware of so they do monitor it and if they feel he needs other antibiotics I am sure they will do what they feel is best for him. The way everyone responds to injuries and surgeries are all different but the good thing is that he is responding well and not showing any other signs of any type of problem.

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Thanks So much. One more question.He is not walking yet and he is still in pain Is this normal? Please note that he had the surgery 2 weeks a go.

Yes this is perfectly normal with his age and the timing taken into consideration I think this is normal for this situation. If he continues to not start having decreases in pain or become able to walk within the next 7-10 days then it would be something that you would want to make sure his physician is aware of, but the first few weeks are the roughest, but then once they get past that the improvement signs speed up drastically.

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