"My hip replacement"

When I was first diagnosed with hip dysplasia in both hips I was in my 40s, and the troublesome ceramic joints were being used, after seeing my grandmother having worn out 7 of these, I waited for these ceramic joints to eventually go out of use (this took some years).

The staff at Fremantle hospital were very friendly and helpful, I had a good stay and my surgeon did a good job. In hospital, I observed what I believe to be a lack of updating with assistance equipment and contradiction to some written information. For example, I was told not to bend my hip unnecessarily yet the high chairs used created just the circumstance where hip joints needed to be bent, it made no sense at all. I had the distinct impression that the literature was a leftover from some 20 years ago when ceramic hip joints were being used, this seemed to be confirmed when my surgeon later confirmed that if treated moderately, some of the current hip joints could last up to double the period of 10 years as was put in that brochure. This gave me much more hope of a longer-lasting hip joint.

The questionnaires I filled in were at times, in my opinion, from a different world where the people asking the question did not understand the patient's situation, like asking the question how long before I returned to normal! I had great difficulty answering that question, did they mean before I developed hip pain (which was 25 years ago when I was fully employed) or compared with a semi-retired person! A second example was asking about falls, a young person can trip, but over 50 is regarded as a fall, no matter if you accidentally hit yourself in the face with a 25mm solid steel bar over a metre in length like I did! Now was that a fall or what? However, on leaving I was handed a brochure explaining that the hip joint would only be expected to last 10 years (that's the part that stuck in my mind ) This was somewhat of a let down as I was not elderly and hoped not to require a revision at a later time. I hoped that I could get longer than that having waited 25 years for this operation, waiting for the technology and my age to change.

The wound dressing was done by a nurse at the Australind  Medical Centre, (200 kms from Fremantle) and no issues there, they were nice to deal with and I was making steady progress.

The problems I did have with my hip started when going through the physio and 6-week check periods (not with my surgeon) and almost nobody seemed to have any idea how to deal with a patient that had more than one health issue.

The physio was carried out at the Bunbury Hospital Western Australia, (200 km from Fremantle) where the physio, from their actions, caused me some set back as described. In my opinion, another case of bad work from Bunbury hospital, no doubt, in the guise of medical research data gathering I think. In my opinion, there is research linking a person's ability for balance to their age longevity, and it would seem that this injury to me was an attempt to gather data for such research! I believe the physio was obviously more interested in getting data, than focusing on the real-world situation. Multiple factors affecting my balance. I am not, and have never been an elite sportsman, and it is wrong to treat the whole population as if they were, as I think they do.

The 6-week check was performed at the Fremantle hospital (200kms from home) where a medical person did this progress check on behalf of my surgeon, however, they wanted me to strain my hip more than I believe was required, and it caused a tear in my healing hip muscle. I heard and felt this occur! This later needed a cortisone injection to get past this, if this had not worked a further operation was later offered to rectify this. The cortisone injection in my left hip and the treatment of the right side hip pain were both conducted by Bunbury radiology 200kms from Fremantle Hospital and 20kms from home. The key to this issue is, don't let anyone push you past the point where you can feel is your limit.

The recent instance in Bunbury as I said was one of two instances during my hip recovery where I feel medical persons were not able to understand multiple conditions, and instead focused totally on one aspect while ignoring all else. In no way am I criticizing the surgeon or the nurses, I believe it was the associated medical checks that caused all the damage.

At my 6-month check, my surgeon had returned and conducted this check themselves and put things into place for interventions for both hips as I have explained in my story. Their operation on me had been a success, however, the aftercare by others had set me back in my recovery, and this, in my opinion, was totally unnecessary and used up medical resources that otherwise would not have been required.

I do realise that it is a difficult time due to covid and shortages within hospital staff, but I will remind you that at the time of my hip recovery was going on, my operation was in a specialised hospital that does not have a general emergency department, and Western Australia was, to my understanding, Covid-free with the borders shut, so everything hospital wise was operating quite normally (so I believe they should not use Covid as an excuse).

I eventually made a full recovery and have asked my brilliant surgeon for the other hip to be replaced. I have had my pre-admission appointment and currently waiting for my second hip replacement.