Mako robot-assisted total hip replacement
Modern hip replacement surgery was pioneered by Sir John Charnley in the UK in the early 1960s. The procedure and implant used were developed and refined over the next 30…
Specialist Hip Unit
Matthew Burwell, the surgeon in charge of Circle Bath’s Hip Unit, has just finished his fifth hip replacement of the week.
He explains that he and his fellow hip surgeons working at the hospital undertake in the region of 250 procedures each every year.
Hip problems can have a significant impact on an individual’s quality of life; however, many people put off speaking to their GP or a medical practitioner because the whole process is often an unknown. Taking away the ‘unknown’, by ensuring that any question a patient may have is answered by an expert, is the biggest advantage of the Hip Unit at Circle Bath.
So what exactly is a Hip Unit? “It’is a team of specialist surgeons, nurses and physiotherapists whose focus is treating all hip conditions and providing the highest level of support to patients choosing to have, in most cases, elective surgery.”
For a patient choosing to have a replacement, it’s a very different experience than going to a hospital for health-related problems so the choice of where to have a procedure done, as well as when to have it, is important. Circle Bath has produced an in-depth guide for patients considering surgery. This 65-page booklet contains a step-by-step description of the operation, answers a range of related questions, and includes illustrations of exercises that form part of any rehabilitation plan, helping patients to prepare themselves both physically and mentally.
Rapid recovery is a term which comes up frequently when talking to specialist physiotherapists.
With immediate post-operative recovery taking place, first in the recovery areas and then in one of the hospital’s well appointed, private bedrooms, complete with an en-suite and, in most cases a striking view of the countryside, as well as organic meals cooked by the head chef, it’s a surprise that patients ever want to leave.
A lot of patients ask what else they can do to support their recovery once they leave the hospital. Physiotherapy sessions are an integral part of rehabilitation; however, we have also created an optional exercise programme to help patients’ return to a more active lifestyle.
This six-week programme, which is overseen by a physiotherapist, conducted in classes of no more than six people, begins with hydrotherapy as soon as the wound is healed, and has been extremely well received.
