Hip replacement on the nhs?

does anyone know what the minimum age is for a hip replacement on the nhs,my husband is 44 and at the moment is waiting for an appointment at the local hospital,he is in constant pain and has a job that requires him to be mobile,but the doctor has said that he will most probably have to wait because he is to young,if true this is so maddening ,the pain he has is damaging his quality of life and affecting our family too, how long would he have to wait,we are even thinking of topping up our mortgage to cover the cost of a private op,does anyone know what it would likely to cost.also does anyone have any advice on what he can you use for the pain.

Hi

There is no such thing as being too young for a hip replacement. The surgeon should go by the amount of damage to the joint, the amount of pain and limited movement etc and effect on the persons quality of life.

I had both my hips replaced on the NHS at age 24 (last year) Ive had arthritis since a child and my hips were awful. I was in agony I got to the stage when even thou im on a lot of drugs I couldnt even stand or put weight on my legs at all.

I was worried about having them done but its made such a difference to my qaulity of life. I feel like a miricle has happened! Im a new person. I can walk about everywhere and have no pain or limp or anything! Obviously there are things and movements you cant do with hip replacements they arent as good as feel hips. You can crouch down with them at all! or do heavy sports and shouldnt run as it losens them etc.

I would suggest he asks his doc to refer him to another surgeon or another near by hospital for a second opinion (you are allowed to do this on nhs) and see what someone else says.

A hip replacement ive been told shouldnt be done until the hip is so worn that the amount of movement is serverly limited and the pain is no longer responding to other medication.

Has he tried having steroid injections into the hip under ultra sound? They kept me going for a few years by doing that. They are pretty good.

I think it may be worth seeing another surgeon. Tell him to go back to his gp.

Good Luck with it all.

X

I've never heard of being too young for a hip replacement, especially if there is a chronic problem and degenerative joint disease going on. Then again I live in the U.S. where the almighty dollar rules and they'd do a hip replacement on a 20 year old if the insurance would pay for it.

Any surgery is fairly expensive. For a hip replacement you're looking at $50,000-$100,000 by the time you cover all of the costs and that is with a 3 day hospital stay and without complication.

He can use any non-steroidal anti-inflamatory like Advil or Motrin - 600mg every 6-12 hours. If that doesn't work, see if his doctor will prescribe Percocet or Oxycontin for the pain, but these are short term options.

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