Assessment For Suitability For Hip Replacement...

[sandyRoe]

I'll be going with someone later today for this. Are there any questions we should ask?

[Sqad]

Never heard of "Assessment for Suitability For hip Replacement"

If you are in pain due to osteo-arthritis of the hip and your are fit for anaesthesia either general or spinal then you are fit for hip replacement.

Sorry i cannot be more helpful.

[jennyjoan]

Ask for a genuine answer "how long will we wait " and could we have that in writing please????

[jennyjoan]

Sqad - you wait in NI a long time from 5 friends I know.

[Sqad]

jenny......yes, it is generally a long wait anywhere in the UK.

[sandyRoe]

Thank you both.
I'm reminded of the saying that many men die with prostate cancer rather than because of it. If the wait's long enough for a hip replacement then many people with osteo-arthritis will die with it rather than from it.

[slaney]

As well as the waiting time these are a few questions that could be asked (of many)...

How well does this kind of surgery work for someone my age?
How soon will I be able to walk without pain?
What are the complications of surgery?
What will happen if I don't have the operation?
How much help will I need when I go home?
I'm sure all these questions will be answered and there may well be a leaflet to take away with you as well.

[slaney]

And I forgot ...
What kind of anaesthetic would I have?

[chanel5]

I am in Northern Ireland and I had my hip done at Musgrave Park Hospital. The wait was approximately nine months from my first referral by the GP. First I saw a local consultant, who then sent me to a consultant at Musgrave Park. One question I didn't ask, because I didn't know I needed to, was "what kind of anaesthetic will I be having?" Some consultants use general anaesthetic, while others use epidural. I had epidural and I would thoroughly recommend it. There is no sickness after the op, and no sense of dizziness often associated with general anaesthetic. Being awake during the operation is not nearly as gruesome as it sounds, because they sedate you into a pleasant sleepiness and give you earphones with music playing. I have the utmost praise for the care and treatment that I received at Musgrave Park Hospital, and can reassure you that you need have no worries about the operation. My own op was two years ago and it has given me a new lease of life. Good luck with your operation, I am sure you will never regret having it.

[Sqad]

Good post by chanel5.

[jennyjoan]

Chanel 5 you were certainly one of the lucky ones as the ones I know had a much longer wait. Great you are doing so well. JJCon

[woofgang]

sqad, I know a bit about this....in the Uk people who need hip replacements get referred into the waiting list while they still have things which make them unfit for surgery at that time eg uncontrolled blood pressure issues, also the assessment clinic can offer advice on how to manage while waiting and tell people what they will need to do post op in terms of exercise and precautions. Some people even get referred for hip replacement when its completely inappropriate for various reasons and these people can be offered the treatment that will help them. i agree, if GP's did better referrals, then such assessment clinics wouldn't be needed!
sandy, you should be given printed information, but its as well to take the wherewithall to make notes. if your friend isn't told, ask for post op do's and don'ts, at what point will your friend be discharged and what post op care arrangements are including rehab and get a contact number (24/7 if poss) in case anything which should happen doesn't or anything which shouldn't happen does.

[Sqad]

woofgang...right.

[ChillDoubt]

Didn't you post a similar question some 18 months or so ago sandy? If memory serves you were considering having it done privately?

[ChillDoubt]

I thought as much:

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Body-and-Soul/Health-and-Fitness/Question1276528.html

[sandyRoe]

ChillDoubt, you're right. It seems like it took me an eternity to even get her to go to the GP and get some basic rain relief, co-codamol 30-500. She's afraid of the prospect of this operation and it was only by telling her that it's at least a year or more in the future that she agreed to go today.
I would pay, reluctantly, if we could get this done and dusted.

[anneasquith]

when the time comes for surgery sandy, do you think she will agree to attend hospital ?

[woofgang]

....and what will you say to her if it goes wrong?

[maggiebee]

I have had two hip replacements. I waited for 6 weeks for the first and had the second 5 months later. Best thing I ever did as I was so crippled I could barely walk. Was driving again 10 weeks after ops.

[woofgang]

yup, the success rate is high...but not 100%

[sandyRoe]

If it goes wrong could she be any worse off than she is now, in constant pain and needing a mobility aid to get about?