Hip Replacement at 39

[volatile]

Jaycey, thank you for this.

What about researching/selecting who you want to use. Short of Googling and checking them out on NJR, I'm at a bit of a loss. The surgeons widely mentioned as the "top" don't have particularly good stats and there is very little to separate everyone. Is there something I'm missing?

 

[Miss Muffet]

Completely agree with Jaycey. You choose your surgeon and are not subjected to being allocated one.

I elected to go for a private consultation as I wanted to have an absolutely clear diagnosis and prognosis and was then put on his NHS list. My surgeon’s stats were clearly available and he had (at that time) already performed over 1300 THRs with a very low revision rate. At the consultation I felt hugely reassured with the manner in which he conducted himself.

I went armed with a written list of carefully considered questions and made a note of his answers. It is easy to overlook something you have concerns about and equally easy to forget what their answer was. Use the opportunity to raise any anxieties or doubts.

I photographed the xray of my hips (useful reference for later on) and asked how bad he rated my OA. I was told it was advanced and I would pretty soon find the pain intolerable so I had made a wise decision to go ahead.

There is a set number of weeks from consultation to being admitted which varies from area to area which may influence your decision. My wait was approximately 3 months. By that time I had gone from walking in pain to using a stick and finally was full-time on crutches and practically housebound. All of which confirmed that I had the right man on the job.

The fact that you have come back to BS demonstrates to me that things have gone downhill which is what I would have expected. Push ahead now - a better life lies ahead.

 

[volatile]

You choose your surgeon

What was your process, how did you decide?

The fact that you have come back to BS demonstrates to me that things have gone downhill

Actually, strangely, while I would say it is worse, it's definitely not gone downhill as fast as I expected.

On that note, I still feel like a fraud sometimes. I did half an hour on the spin bike the other day, pain free. Got off the thing, thinking of the people that can barely walk and had a wave of "you don't need hip surgery you idiot", and how I'm perfectly fine.

Then again, I had to be carried out of work the other day too, and I've started to feel my other hip now, and twinges in my knees. Loving the mixed messages. Anyone else?

 

[Jaycey]

What was your process, how did you decide?

For my first THR I had little choice as I was living in a rather rural area. Having said that - I was very pleased with the result. That surgeon does just over 100 THRs per year. I had NHS surgery in a private hospital.

Fast forward to when my right hip started complaining - I researched surgeons in my local hospital and found an excellent surgeon in a facility totally dedicated to "elective" orthopaedic surgery. That surgeon does over 240 THRs per year. That recovery was weeks instead of months.

Are you willing to travel to Surrey? If so, I can highly recommend Southwest London Elective Orthopaedic Centre. David Ward was my surgeon.

I agree with Ms Muffet - get this done as soon as you can. Waiting only means a longer recovery.

 

[Miss Muffet]

Actually the surgeon I chose was word of mouth. I had been attending Pilates Studio 1:1 sessions to strengthen my core in readiness and a lady there who had recently had her THR spoke highly of him. I Googled the local hospital for more detail on him and elected to have a private consultation primarily. You can select both a hospital and surgeon who are not necessarily on your doorstep, so you are not bound by geography.

You say it has not gone downhill - but you have been carried out of work?! Just how bad do you think it needs to be?

I suggest you re-read Josephine's description of a crumbling concrete step. You have rubbish in your joint which is going to shift and cause this sort of thing on a gradually worsening basis. The other hip pain and knee twinges are also what we advised you about earlier - your gait has adjusted to compensate which is creating referred pain. I can guarantee it will get worse, that is unless you think B&Q can provide a solution!

I am not sure what is holding you back. My delay was purely because of a misdiagnosis and I was eternally grateful that I was given the facility to move in and finally deal with the source of the problem. I didn't want to live on medication and dearly wanted my life back. My new hips will outlive me and now I can look ahead without a second thought about how I can manage my life. The longer you leave this the worse things will get. It is, of course, entirely up to you when and whether you proceed but with current NHS cuts you may find you will be forced to wait longer than you want when this evil creature to dominate your life. Good Luck

 

[Josephine]

There is a set number of weeks from consultation to being admitted which varies from area to area

Actually the number of weeks is a stipulation by the Guide to NHS waiting times in England.

It says this:

The maximum waiting time for non-urgent consultant-led treatments is 18 weeks from the day your appointment is booked through the NHS e-Referral Service, or when the hospital or service receives your referral letter.

However, your right to an 18-week waiting time does not apply if:

you choose to wait longer
delaying the start of your treatment is in your best clinical interests – for example, where stopping smoking or losing weight is likely to improve the outcome of the treatment
it is clinically appropriate for your condition to be actively monitored in secondary care without clinical intervention or diagnostic procedures at that stage
you fail to attend appointments that you had chosen from a set of reasonable options
the treatment is no longer necessary​

You have the legal right to ask to be seen or treated by a different provider if you're likely to wait longer than the maximum waiting time specified for your treatment. The hospital or clinical commissioning group (CCG) will have to investigate and offer you a range of suitable alternative hospitals or clinics that would be able to see you sooner. If you're not happy with the organisation's response, you can complain using the NHS complaints procedure.

Waiting times may vary between hospitals, and you should consider this when choosing a hospital.
When you are referred for your first outpatient appointment, the NHS e-Referral Service lets you book the appointment at a hospital or clinic of your choice, on a date and at a time that suits you.

You can compare waiting times for hospitals on this site. Simply select hospitals from the Services near you dropdown at the top of any page. Select the "Surgical Procedures" tab and enter a treatment and postcode into the search field.

Note: Waiting times shown are for the speciality or service that the procedure sits under as a whole. For example, if you look up hip replacement, you will find the average waiting time for an orthopaedics inpatient at that hospital.

The length of time you wait will depend on your specific treatment and clinical needs, and you could be seen quicker or wait longer than this average waiting time.

 

[amb3k9]

Good discussion on when "to pull the trigger". I am 35, and I have severe hip dysplasia as I have talked about before. I don't know why I have this "magic" number of my head that I really wanted to get to 40. I had times about 1 year ago that I was still playing soccer and running, but now it is hard to walk more than about a mile, can't really run anymore, and even playing golf causes limping. Also causing more night pain and I am aware of my hip constantly. While it wasn't causing much qol issues, I feel like it is now and I am not able to do things I enjoy. I even don't want to get on the ground with my kiddos because that will start hurting in about 2-3 minutes. The technology is really good and likely I may need a revision given my age, but who knows what they will have in 10-30 years and I think qol issues are important. I also sometimes feel like a "fraud" as I am still in pretty decent shape and can hammer out a bike or something that doesn't load the hip. Kinda got made fun of by some staff as I recently almost maxed out a physical fitness test because they let me do it on a bike instead of run. (push ups, sit ups, and then limp over to bike and get after it). I think I will probably be a lot happier with a new hip though and not sure exactly what is holding me back aside from age.

 

[Horseshoe]

@amb3k9 you're fortunate to have the choice to wait and can understand wanting to put it off. Have observed that many people with great recoveries had thrs before they were limping, where the body was out of alignment with muscular pain, tilted pelvis, etc.

I had to wait (misdiagnosis and genuine fear ) and in hindsight, I would run to OS when the first signs of OA appeared. The hips themselves healed very quickly, very little pain, if any, but the muscular contracture part of recovery was very painful and slowed things down plus the pelvis had to realign from limping. Also bear in mind that chronic pain can affect your good nature and mood

Imo.. just do it and get your life back !

 

[MammaT]

I waited on left until it was a total mess. I am not waiting on tight to do the same. Have surgery scheduled for February 5(first opening). Os office advised based upon my X-rays it is totally my choice when. Hoping sooner leads to even quicker recovery and not getting new hip off kilter.

 

[Susan209]

Hey @amb3k9 I had the magic number of 40 in my head, too. Didn't work out. QOL was suffering too much.

@volatile I was also getting mixed messages from my body, but in the end, not being able to walk or sleep confirmed it was time. I was with one of the best OS in Australia at the time, but unfortunately he only treats patients privately now. He referred me to one of his colleagues (younger, trained by OS1), who put me on his public wait list. Unfortunately, I really didn't like OS2, and neither did my partner. My sister and a couple of friends work at a different hospital than OS2, so I asked for recommendations. Four people got back to me, all with the same name. I booked a private consultation with OS3, which was - I think - a two month wait? I really liked him, he listened to me and my concerns, and he also offered the option of paying for the surgery myself and then claiming back from Medicare (the Australian equivalent of the NHS). I went with this option, as I'd already been on the public wait list with OS2 for six months at this point, and as mentioned, didn't like #2 anyway. I waited seven weeks for my surgery, which was one month ago today. All the best