**morning. This time last year due to the NHS crisis last winter i had my hip replacement cancelled and for various personal reasons was unable to have it done at all last year.
unfortunately my hip has got so much worse this year and my mother in law has very kindly offered to pay privately and has suggested the new minimal invasion surgery as i was a dancer and would very much like to be able to continue to some lower level. . does anyone have experience of this op and anywhere they could recommend for the op?
thanks
HI HEATHER
YOU ARE VERY LUCKY TO HAVE IT DONE PRIVATELY ITS A WHILE SINCE I USED THE PRIVATE PATIENTS SCHEME, I USED TO USE BUPA BUT IT DEPENDS WHERE YOU LIVE, MY FRIEND GOT HERS DONE PRIVATELY SHE RECOVERED WELL AFTER FIRST OP. SHE HAD SECOND OP ON OTHER HIP AFTER 6 MONTHS AND IS NOT DOING VERY WELL AT ALL! PLEASE BE CAREFUL AND MAKE SURE THEY HAVE A GOOD REPUTATION! BEST OF LUCK
How kind of your mother in law - you are very fortunate!
Many surgeons offer minimally invasive in the UK. The difference I think being that they try not to cut through the muscle, but to part it, as much as possible. This usually means a slightly faster recovery. It is still a long recovery though, and it is still major surgery. I had minimally invasive and it was good, but not effortless.
Google the term and see the nearest surgeons to your county, and then you can start to research their stats, meet them and see how you feel, they can run through it all with you, and also the hospital where you will be having your surgery and their rating etc. You can ask on the forum if you can tell people where you are.
Best of luck!
Not sure if minimal invasion op is the same as the super path method but I've had both hips replaced last year using the Superpath method and I'm very happy I chose that method. They use a special technique where they move ligaments etc instead of cut and reattach and they don't need to dislocate the hip to replace it. My scars are 3.5 inches plus a key hole scar which is great in comparison to the standard approach. It's still major surgery and although you'll be out of hospital quicker, it apparently doesn't reduce the overall length of recovery (as you're still getting your leg sawn off!) Good luck whatever you decide.
hi im in buckinghamshire and currently under the oxford orthopeadic centre .
The most important decision regardless of the approach is your choice of surgeon rather than the approach. Base it on records and not if you like him or her. In the end assuming competent surgery the recovery period and what you can do will be dependent on several factors:
Your fitness and general health prior to your surgery how positive you are and how much work you put in on the exercises and a bit of good luck. Both my original hip replacement over twenty years ago and the revision eighteen months ago were a complete success and botb done using the posterior approach. I live a perfectly normal and active life and do not have any feeling of having had surgery!
Be aware that when you go for the anterior approach which is often promoted as a quick recovery procedure there is a far greater incidence of nerve damage than the tried and tested posterior approach. Nerve damage can have long term pain issues.
cheers, Richard
hi, I am 5 weeks post op and had the op done at Leeds Nuffield through Bupa by a surgeon called Jon Conroy using a robotic assisted method. am having good physio and am walking unaided (as of today). only got 1 crutch in the car incase i ache but I feel confident that I wont. can drive short distances. had posterior approach so had some muscle trauma. I would definately recommend finding a surgeon who specialises in robotic assisted surgery. Nuffield site has a blog about it I think if you Google jon Conroy's name. good luck x
Hi Heather:
I've had 2 hip replacements both anterior and minimally invasive. The worse issue was loosing surface skin sensations/feelings on my left thigh which have now healed and back to normal. On the right, I had a hematoma which is swelling due to fluids escaping from the internal incision area.
Other than those two issues I am extremely happy with the outcome. The comment that it is the skill of the surgeon is very valid and most important. The anterior approach is more difficult technically (carefully moving muscles, tendons and nerves with no cutting) and you want to look for a surgeon who specializes in this technique. That's why most hip replacements are posterior approach: less technically challenging and surgeons do not master the more difficult method.
Post op, you must be vigilant with your physical therapy routine. Stretching is important for a long term, successful recovery to help make sure ligaments extending from the hip down the leg are stretched properly to avoid lower back pain.
Today I am fully recovered, riding a bike and working out regularly at the gym. Life is of a much better quality. I am pain-free.
I hope your surgery goes well. You also want the best possible outcome and I am convinced, through my experience, that the anterior method is the way to go..
i had private surgery 3 years ago and it was very successful .
i chose the surgeon carefully and everything went to plan.
i a having other hip replaced ne xt week by the sa me surgeon at the same p,ace but on the nhs .
whereab outs are you based ?
i think that the most important factor is the surgeon an d your confidence in them .
i hope all goes well
apparently it is the same thing? the other problem is i need the other hip done furher down the line and i doubt whether my inlaws will be in a position to pay for that as well so may have to have a traditional op. any thouhts on how that would work having two different kinds of ops?
i have been considering a nuffield more local to me . i live in milton keynes and the nearest hospital
offering this op is leamington spa. i will enquire whether they offer a robotic method
Dear Heather to be honest I do not understand what you are expecting to gain from a costly private surgery. It may help us to help you if know as much detail as possible. Cheers Richard
Dear Heather it is your right to ask your GP to request your choice of surgeon and hospital if you live in England and Wales but not Scotland.
I live on the Isle of Wight and chose the surgeon I wanted for my hip revision in Southampton and my total ankle revision was carried out by a top revision surgeon of my choice in. a World class hospital in the London area all on the NHS. . Talking on the phone may help you best. If you would like to do this please send me a message. Cheers, Richard
i think the robotics part is only available in London, leeds or Manchester but I may be wrong. def worth looking at though for the benefits it gives.
Jumping the queue is really what you pay for and possibly better food!
I would be interested in knowing how a robotic approach with regards to a total hip replacement benefits the patient over the more conventional method or. methods. Cheers, Richard.
Good point. I've just checked the Southampton hospital website where I had my very successful unstraightforward hip revision surgery and they are showing three months from first appointment to surgery. The surgeon there was top notch in every way and it did not cost me a bean!
I can walk easily six miles a day at a fast pace and swim the breaststroke for an hour and a half five days a week with absolutely no pain or limitation. Please note that although I can run I only do it in an emergency as I strongly believe that the jarring of the joint can cause premature joint wear and potential loosening of the stem which of course would mean a revision. My primary hip joint lasted me over twenty. years of very demanding work.
Hope that helps someone. Cheers Richard
Hi its not about jumping the queue or the food, although that could swing it for me ! I have been seeing my surgeon now for 4 years and if I go ahead on the NHS I would have every confidence in him. Unfortunately he does not perform this new surgery . I have been told by fellow dancers and from what i have read that this new super path proceedure has enabled them to literally get back on their feet and dance. Wayne sleep , craig revel
horwood and darcey bussel have apparantly had it done at a top london hospital. so for me if i have the chance to be able to dance, even if its at a lower level or a few more years that would be wonderful and i would be eternally grateful to my generous inlaws!
Hi Heather, I live in North London, and had minimally invasive surgery on my right hip a few years ago. I would thoroughly recommend my surgeon, who is very experienced. I saw him at the Whittington Hospital as an NHS patient, but he also does private work at several London hospitals. I was lucky, saw him in June 2016, he just got out his diary and we fixed up a date for a month later. I had the pre op the same day. I had a very straight forward recovery and I do all the things that I used to do, except for distance running.