Hip surgery in Canterbury

Hip pain occurs in up to 40% of the adult population. The most common reason for this is osteoarthritis.

Your GP will usually have provided your initial treatment with painkillers or arrange physiotherapy. If pain becomes severe and does not respond to simple treatment, surgery may be needed.

At The Chaucer Hospital, our consultant hip surgeons have helped countless people with debilitating, life-limiting hip pain, to get back to a more active life, free of pain and stiffness. If you would like to meet with a consultant for assessment, diagnosis and a discussion about any suitable treatment options for your hip condition, please get in touch and we will arrange that for you.

The Chaucer Hospital is found in the historic city of Canterbury, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the English county of Kent. Our patients come to us from local areas such as Faversham, Thanet, Herne Bay and Whitstable, as well as Deal, Wye, Ashford and Maidstone. Our expert consultants, world-class facilities and truly compassionate team also attract people from further afield, across the UK and even abroad.

Should non-surgical treatments such as painkillers, physiotherapy or simple activity modification not provide you with adequate symptom relief, you may require some type of hip surgery.

Our surgeons will be able to advise which kind of hip surgery is appropriate for you.

The most common operation is a Total hip replacement. This involves removing the damaged hip joint and replacing it with a new artificial one (a prosthesis). This is usually required when advanced osteoarthritis in the hip has caused such damage in the joint that function and movement is severely limited.

For certain symptoms and conditions of the hip joint, keyhole surgery (hip arthroscopy) may be considered.

In some circumstances, your consultant may advise joint preservation treatment to help protect and maintain the function in your hip and avoid or delay the need for a total hip replacement.

If you already have a total hip replacement, which has become painful, your consultant will advise you whether revision hip replacement surgery is an option.

Whatever the nature of your hip pain, your consultant will ensure you receive the ideal treatment to get you out of pain and to effectively manage any other symptoms.

When you meet with your consultant for the first time, they will take your medical history and talk about your symptoms. They’ll ask you a number of questions to help narrow possible causes down. These will be questions like:

• How long have you had your hip pain for?
• Do you have any other symptoms?
• What makes your symptoms worse?
• Have any of your symptoms been getting worse over time?
• Where exactly is the pain and what does it feel like?

A physical examination of your hips and a general examination will take place.

Additional diagnostic tests and investigation a may be needed. Our comprehensive on-site imaging facilities include X-ray, CT, MRI and ultrasound, giving you fast access to them if required.

Once a diagnosis has been made, your consultant will discuss the results with you and talk through suitable treatment options so that you can make an informed decision.

If it’s determined that you do in fact need hip surgery, we can arrange that for you as soon as possible. The hip implants used at The Chaucer are state-of-the-art and tailored to your exact requirements to ensure optimal results.

People choose to come to us for help with their hip problems for a number of reasons. Whether you live in Canterbury itself, elsewhere in Kent or will travelling from further away, some of the key benefits of choosing The Chaucer include:

• Rapid access – Hip problems can have a significant impact on life and the last thing you want is to be waiting months for an appointment. With a number of leading hip experts working on-site at The Chaucer, we’ll help you book an appointment quickly.
• Patient Satisfaction – In an independent survey, 97.9% of the people we treated said they were likely or highly likely to recommend The Chaucer Hospital to their friends and family. We continue to work hard on making sure that everyone who trusts us for their care always receives the very highest level of support.
• Treatment just for you – Whether non-surgical or surgical treatment is needed, it will be tailored to your needs to help get you out of pain and back to better hip function more quickly.
• Remote Consultation – Consultations are routinely carried out face-to-face here at The Chaucer, but we can also offer you remote consultations by telephone or online video call if required.
• Personal recovery programme – Following any hip surgery, a well-structured recovery programme will play a key role in determining how well you adapt to and start using your new joint. Our on-site physiotherapy team will support you throughout your time with us, pre- and post-surgery, helping you to regain hip strength, movement and function safely and sensibly.
• Support from a multidisciplinary team: With experienced Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeons, radiologists, nurses, physiotherapists, radiologists and other healthcare professionals, you will always receive the best treatment, rehabilitation and care for your particular hip problem.
• Location – The Chaucer Hospital is located on the southern outskirts of Canterbury, around two miles from the centre and sitting next to the Kent and Canterbury Hospital. It is easy to get to us and our (paid) car park has 124 spaces, making parking easy.

It is perfectly normal to feel anxious about hip pain and stiffness, particularly if it starts to get worse. As more of your daily tasks and activities become harder to do, it can be easy to start worrying about losing your independence and freedom

It’s important to know that you don’t need to stay in hip pain. There are a number of good, effective treatments available, treatments that we can help you to access them without undue delay. Your consultant will investigate the cause(s) of your hip pain and talk you through all suitable treatment options. If hip surgery is needed to resolve the problem, they will arrange it for you at the earliest opportunity so that you can get back to doing the things you love, sooner.