Any good surgeons in Australia (Sydney)?

[AnnieS]

Hi,

My husband will see the doctor and get a refferal to see a specialist for his hips. He needs THR in both hips, but I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good doctor in Australia?

We would like to do the MIS method. I know most people are in the US but any one has done THR in Australia (Sydney)?

Thanks in advance.

Annie

 

[Sonia S.]

Hello, my name is Sonia, 42yrs, i am having bilateral THR on the 6th of March. My surgeons name is Dr William Walter (Chatswood office). He only perform knees and hips. He is very good at what he does, very well experienced otherwise wouldn't bother. His Tel# is (02) 9966 1955. Also, MIS is not suitable for everybody. In my case it was out of question! Good Luck!

 

[AnnieS]

Hi SoniaS,

Thank you for your reply.

Why are you not suitable for MIS? I thought MIS was just a surgical method and not dependant on the person.

Just a question, do you know approx how much in total it would cost for the THR?

Annie

 

[Sonia S.]

Hello Annie,
Where do you live? My surgeon is charging higher then others. He said that it will be about $9,000 out of pocket. (He better be good!) He is being recommended by many doctors and all of them knows him. I don't know the cost of the prosthesis but i know that Medicare and HCF covers the rest.
MIS is not for everyone because in my case, the surgeon need to have a good look to be able to work just because of my hip condition! Good Luck and reply if needed... Sonia.

 

[AnnieS]

Hi Sonia and everyone,
Just a quick update that my husband did his bilateral THR on the 18/12/07 at the Sydney Adventist Hospital. I must say that was one of the best hospitals I've ever been to in Sydney, our doctor was great and all the nurses were really good/helpful and caring and facilities were also the best.

After searching for a long time for the right doctor we finally made the decision and we are happy that we made the right one.
He is now in rehab at the Lady Davison Reb hospital. This was also the right decision as they are very experienced staff and well equiped facilities. He had a choice to discharge next week but he's so happy there he's decided to stay another week or 2. All he needs to do there is attend a range of different physio and that's it.
So anyone in Sydney is intending to have THR, the above places are the ones I recommend.
Annie

 

[Josephine]

Why are you not suitable for MIS? I thought MIS was just a surgical method and not dependant on the person.

It's very dependent upon the patient. Some of the contraindications for MIS THR (or TKR) are obesity, other predominant conditions such as heart or lung conditions (MIS often takes quite a bit longer than the traditional approaches) some kinds of medication (e.g. warfarin), frailty of body and/or mind.

I also gleaned this from a US medical centre's website: Contraindications: Certain disorders, including Parkinson's disease; dementia and other conditions of altered mental status; kidney disease; advanced osteoporosis; disorders associated with muscle weakness; diabetes; and an unstable cardiovascular system are generally considered contraindications to hip replacement surgery. People with weakened immune systems may also be advised against surgery. In the case of obesity, the operation may be postponed until the patient loses weight.

Glad to hear your hubby is doing well. Did he have an MIS in the end?

 

[AnnieS]

I think he did have the MIS, the cut was approx 10cm on each side.

At the moment the physio is concentrating on his back muscles as they have degenerated (not sure if this is the right word).
Because he had AVN for 7 years and during this period he did not walk or do any exercise because of the pain. So he needs to rebuild his back thigh muscles so he can walk with more strength.

His been making small progresses everyday, he can now get up from bed without using the crutches. But I think he will stay on the crutches for another 1-2 weeks as he still have some issues of balancing and scared of falling. Also the physio doesn't want him to bear full weight at a too early stage.

But overall, the operation was great and not as scary was we thought it would be.

I'm just regretting that we planned this holiday too soon after his surgery. I hope it won't affect the new hips.
Annie

 

[AnnieS]

Hi Josephine,
This of offi topic but I thought with your wealth of experience you could give me some insight to this.
My mother in law broke her ankle in a fall last year (she's 86 yrs old).
They performed surgery on the ankle and put in plates and screws to put it back together. They said they were not taking the screws/plates out because of her age.
She's recovered now (on the oustide), but she experiences pain when she walks over 500metres and after walking the ankle looks swelled.
Is this normal?
Will going to a physio help the issue/pain?
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
Annie

 

[Josephine]

It's very normal, Annie. Ankles can swell for a long time after such a fracture with surgery. The answer is the same as for knee surgery.

1. elevation
2. ice packs
3. a good compression stocking when she goes out

Fractures in the elderly will take a lot longer to heal and settle that in younger patients. Even so, they all take a long time. ANY fracture at a joint takes a long time.

But anything in the leg will be problematic as it is the weight bearing that causes a lot of the problems and there's not really and awful lot one can do to avoid that,m is there!!

Hope this all helps.