Considering a hip replacement can raise many important questions. In this in-depth Q&A video, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Mr Syed Ahmed, a specialist in hip surgery, answers the most common concerns patients have when exploring treatment options.
From understanding the right time to consider surgery, to recovery timelines, implant longevity, and choosing the right surgeon and hospital, Mr Ahmed shares clear, expert guidance to help you make informed decisions about your care.
Covered in this video:
- When is the ideal time for a hip replacement?
- How do you choose your surgeon and hospital?
- Am I too young to have a hip replacement?
- How fast can you recover after hip replacement?
- How long do hip replacements last?
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If you are experiencing significant hip pain and want to discover the treatment options available to you, book a consultation with The Horder Centre. Our team is on hand to support you through the treatment process, from your initial consultation to any aftercare you may need.
Transcript
Q1. When is the ideal time for a hip replacement?
A. First of all, the symptoms of a hip replacement are pain and stiffness. So pain in the groin and stiffness in moving your hip. And if these symptoms are impacting your lifestyle to an extent where getting dressed, wearing your socks and shoes, getting in and out of the car is becoming an issue, so much so that despite painkillers, analgesia, physiotherapy, it's still impacting your quality of life, then you've probably got to a stage where you require a further investigation and potentially surgical treatment. Now, x-rays do help, and the x-ray will tell me that you have an arthritic hip that requires a hip replacement. But the decision is really based on how bad your symptoms are. And my role here is to make sure that we don't intervene too early, but also that you don't suffer in pain for too long before we can improve your quality of life.
Q2. How do you choose your surgeon and hospital?
A. The important thing to consider all the hip replacements are very successful operations is that outcomes certainly vary by surgeon and by unit, and patients should feel extremely confident asking about these outcomes. So what you want to know is what volumes are done by the unit. You want to know how many hip replacements or knee replacements your surgeon performs in a year, and what that complication rates are. Here at The Horder Centre, we have some of the highest volume hip and knee surgeons and The Horder Centre itself does over 2,500 hip and knee replacements in a year. I myself perform a high volume of minimally invasive hip replacements. And the protocols that we've developed here means that patients have less pain and a very enhanced recovery following their procedure and therefore, choosing your unit and the surgeon is a very important factor in this journey.
Q3. Am I too young to have a hip replacement?
A. Modern hip replacements are extremely high performing. We choose the hip replacements based on the material, the bearing surface, and the National Joint Registry shows that the survivorship of these is between 15 to 20 years. The hip implants are chosen based on the patient's age, anatomy, your level of activity. And what this does is that it allows you to go back to having a naturally moving hip, and all your normal activities fairly early on. So, I certainly wouldn't be worried about longevity in terms of the modern implants.
Q4. How fast can you recover after hip replacement?
A. What we have seen with the modern implants is that age is no longer a barrier. The modern implants are built for longevity. So, what you've got to decide is if the symptoms are limiting your function and your quality of life. So, the key really is careful implant choice, accurate implant positioning and making sure that you choose a surgeon who performs a high volume of these. And with that one can get their quality of life back really quickly for a longer period of time.
Q5. How long do hip replacements last?
A. Most patients are walking on the day of surgery. You usually stay in hospital for one or two nights. The Horder Centre uses enhanced recovery protocols, but your pain is optimised. You have physiotherapists here who mobilise you on the day or the next day of surgery which means that you actually go back to doing all your normal activities a lot early on.
So, most people are back to walking independently by two weeks. You're driving by the four-week mark, and by the six-week mark you can go back to most normal activities including returning to work. So with modern techniques of surgery and the implants. And one does not need to fear about how long the recovery is going to take, but you can actually plan it a lot better.
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The Horder Centre is an award-winning Centre of Excellence that offers patients a unique therapeutic environment. Specifically designed for orthopaedic surgery, our facilities include a physiotherapy inpatient gym and courtyard gardens designed by clinical experts to enhance recovery. Finance options available.
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