is it safe to have surgery away from home?

[ArtD]

First off hi everybody! I'm a 57 year old Male,In reasonably good shape and health, but have very bad arthritis and extreme pain, etc in my right hip. I have been diagnosed as needing hip replacement. Here's the "catch"; My Wife and I moved to Washington State from Florida a couple of years ago. We are on her insurance from her pension package from the Florida career that she retired from. And the insurance has strings attached. There are no "approved" providers anywhere around here, most of them are in Florida. It will cost us many thousands of dollars, in fact, no-one can tell us exactly how much out of pocket if we get the surgery done here. We have found a good "approved" clinic in Tampa, and, of course, the doctor insists on seeing me first, and then will do the surgery "soon" after that, again, we can't get out of him "how soon". Now, I do have relatives in the area, but they are not really in a position to take care of me during a recovery time. My wife can be down with me, but we do not live there, thats the bottom line. My question to you folks is, is this wise to get this done 3,000 miles from home? How soon after can I travel by air? What about walking? There would be airports involved, is any of this safely feasible? And what is the shortest time between the proverbial doctor's consultation, and then the surgery? How long will I need to stay in Florida? When can one safely fly cross country, dealing with airports, etc? What about driving in a car or van (we own both)? I am really apprehensive about all of this, my wife is pushing hard for the surgery because she cares and does not want to see me in the constant pain, but I'm thinking that there are things worse than this is now, and getting this done cross country could have some major applications of Murphy's Law. Please advise!!! thank you folks, Art

 

[Josephine]

Good morning, Art, and welcome to the forum. What a quandary you have!

I will leave some of the points for others to answer as there is no substitute for personal experience. However I can make some suggestions.

Now, I do have relatives in the area, but they are not really in a position to take care of me during a recovery time. My wife can be down with me, but we do not live there, thats the bottom line. My question to you folks is, is this wise to get this done 3,000 miles from home? How long will I need to stay in Florida?

I know of people here in the UK that have travelled to Europe the get their hips done. As I understand it, they book into a local hotel for about 2-3 weeks so they are able to get to the surgeon should anything untoward occur and also for immediate follow-up. Considering the number who have done this without complications, it would seem to be satisfactory.

The problems come when there are problems as once home, they are effectively under nobody's care so making arrangements with a local orthopaedic surgeon for any necessary aftercare would seem to me to be a good move.

How soon after can I travel by air? What about walking? There would be airports involved, is any of this safely feasible? When can one safely fly cross country, dealing with airports, etc?

I know in the UK patients are not allowed out of hospital until they can safely negotiate stairs and visit the loo (bathroom!) with the aid of a walker. However, you will find walking very quickly tires you for the first 4-6 weeks but short walks from car to the side walk should be possible within a couple of weeks.

I know airlines usually go out of their way to accommodate passengers with disabilities by means of providing wheelchairs and assistance from car to airplane and back. You can also arrange for extra space so you can lie down though I'm not sure what the cost implications would be.

Make no mistake, it will be tiring but even 3,000 miles by air will pass! As for the journeys to and from airports, you will need a vehicle in which you can stretch out, even lie down so maybe look into a driven hire car if it's a long way.

What about driving in a car or van (we own both)?

Driving for you will be best left until you are at least 4 weeks post-op but check with the surgeon when you go for your preliminary consultation.

I hope all goes well for you.