Hip surgery

Hip pain can cause a number of unwanted issues, such as difficulty walking and bending, having major ramifications on your quality of life.

When your hip is stiff or in pain, you can often end up compensating when walking, causing further difficulties for your knees or lower back. With timely treatment, you can avoid any further damage, making accurate assessment and diagnosis a priority.

Consultants at The Princess Margaret treat a wide range of hip conditions and symptoms, offering the most appropriate form of treatment to get your back to good health.

Common symptoms of a hip condition may include:

• Hip pain (felt in the groin, outside the hip, or down the thigh)
• Knee pain
• Stiffness
• Reduced mobility
• Developing a limp

Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI) is very common with both male and female patients, especially sporting adults, ranging from in their 20s to late 50s.

This is where they have developed an oblong or oval-shaped head of the femur that comprises the ‘ball’ part of the ball-and-socket joint in your hip. Due to this irregular shape, which tends to happen over time, the bones rub against each other, causing pain, swelling, and associated impingement problems.

Nowadays, patients want to keep active for longer, so conditions like this can start to hold patients back. A timely operation is often key, as the longer you wait, the worse you become. Having to wait on an NHS waiting list can have detrimental effects on your long-term recovery, which is why Princess Margaret offers consultations without delay, getting you seen at the earliest opportunity.

Arthritis is another of the common causes of hip pain. This may feel worse after periods of inactivity, especially in the morning. Depending on how far the arthritis has progressed, your symptoms may be able to be effectively managed with steroid injections, avoiding the need for surgery. These injections can be administered in our consultation rooms, often within your initial consultation, making treatment a ‘one stop shop’ for less severe cases.

For patients suffering with FAI, a biological reconstruction can be done, rather than a joint replacement. This enables your existing joint to be preserved, shaving off the extra bone to restore the smooth and round quality needed to fit comfortably in the socket.

Focused cartilage repair is another option, as well as labral reconstruction, which allows you to get back to normal function while also maintaining your natural joint.

If a hip replacement is needed, the highly-specialised MAKO® robot can be used for assistance in surgery, offering accurate measurements and precise placement of the artificial implant. This reduces recovery time and promotes even greater success rates.

We also have high performance hip replacements, using a minimally-invasive approach where muscle and tendon tissue is spared, allowing for quicker recovery, with patients normally able to recover within a few weeks. You will be walking straight away after surgery, and the latest generation special bearing used typically lasts around 30 years, bringing tremendous benefits for appropriate patients.

This means that even with a hip replacement, you can still lead a very sporting or active life, whether it be hiking, rowing, or even running.

Our surgeons use ceramic-on-polyethylene implants, offering the best results with a high success rate. These practices are regularly reviewed, ensuring you receive the latest evidence-based techniques and methods for surgery.

During your first visit to see us, your consultant will ask for your medical history, as well as a detailed breakdown of your symptoms to get to know your concerns better. They will most likely want to know:

• What symptoms have you been experiencing?
• How long have you had them?
• If you are in pain, can you describe it? Is it a stabbing pain or does it spread out? Constant or intermittent?
• Have your symptoms become progressively worse?
• Is your pain felt solely in the hip or does it radiate down towards your knee?
• Have you tried any other treatments?

Following this, your consultant will wish to assess your hip joint and will perform a physical examination. This involves various exercises to bend and/or lift the leg, looking for signs of ligament injury, as well as testing your stability. Any presence of knee pain will also help to indicate if that pain is referred from the hip joint.

If your symptoms are severe and surgery is being considered, further scans will likely follow, such as an x-ray to assess the health of the joint and show the bone structures of the hip. This can also help diagnose arthritis and allows your consultant to plan treatment accordingly.

Once a diagnosis has been confirmed, your consultant will meet with you to discuss your options, presenting you with a personalised treatment plan. Normally this involves conservative options such as steroid injections, physiotherapy, and pain relief, working towards surgery if these have been ineffective.

With an excellent nursing team and pre-operative optimisation thanks to our physiotherapy team, you will be well prepared for any surgical operation, seeing your consultant regularly to ensure you are in the most capable hands throughout.

Choosing to have your hip surgery at Princess Margaret comes with a host of benefits, such as:

Assessments ASAP – If you’ve been experiencing any of the associated symptoms of a hip condition, you won’t want to wait to be seen. Our consultants can see you for an assessment without delay, getting you an accurate diagnosis rapidly, starting you on the necessary treatment before your symptoms progress any further.

Patient Satisfaction – 97.9% of patients in 2020 said they would happily recommend Princess Margaret Hospital to friends and family in an independent report, and we’re confident that you’ll agree. 98% also said that the quality of care here at Princess Margaret Hospital was either ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’. We aim to make your stay with us as comfortable as possible, and these results highlight our continued efforts to ensure this is achieved.

One-Stop Shop – Some minor procedures can be done on the same day as your initial consultation, making Princess Margaret a ‘one-stop shop’ for certain treatments, such as steroid injections to relieve symptoms and ease your pain. With minimally-invasive procedures available under local anaesthetic, you’ll be able to recover quickly and get back to your normal routine as soon as possible.

Dedicated Physiotherapy – Our consultants work closely with a dedicated physiotherapy team, who offer a wealth of experience and knowledge in rehabilitation of your hip concerns. Physiotherapy can provide great success on its own in reducing your symptoms, and is instrumental in ensuring good results after surgery.

Robotics-assisted Surgery – Allowing even greater accuracy, our theatres are equipped with robotics-enabled MAKO® guiding systems to assist your surgeon in a variety of complex surgeries. This cutting-edge technology increases the likelihood of a successful surgery and is favoured by surgeons and patients alike.

Personalised care – We believe in a bespoke approach to treatment, tailoring each experience to our patients’ needs and whatever may be best for you. This is regularly reviewed, ensuring you get the necessary treatment at every stage of your patient journey.

A Multidisciplinary Approach – Our teams at Princess Margaret work in tandem with each other to provide you with the best possible care from start to finish. Working closely with a dedicated physiotherapy team, alongside specialist musculoskeletal radiographers, anaesthetists, and nurses, you have support from medical professionals every step of the way during your treatment.

Convenient appointments – With flexible appointments available at dedicated clinics throughout the week, you are sure to find an appointment slot that suits your needs and availability.

If pain in your hip has been causing you difficulty, why not book a consultation with one of our orthopaedic specialists today? Our consultants can outline all treatment options for you promptly, arranging any necessary diagnostic scans, treatment and surgery if required.

For peace of mind and expert care, please contact The Princess Margaret to book an appointment now.