Private

Aallyann

Hello everyone. Can you just ask for a knee replacement privately? I mean, is a private surgeon going to just give you a new knee whether you need one or not if you have the money? Thanks.

Aallyann

This seems like a really stupid question on rereading. I suppose what I meant was how does it work if you want to go private? I’d anyone can help that would be great. Thanks

RogerBill

Hi @Aallyann I had a hip replacement done privately in 2021. I started by self referring myself to the NHS funded physiotherapy service. They diagnosed that I had OA. After about three months we agreed that the exercises weren't making any significant difference so I then had an X Ray which confirmed the need for a hip replacement. The physiotherapy service checked around and found the waiting times in the two nearest NHS hospitals were over 12 months and likely to extend. At this point I asked to be referred to a local private hospital. I selected a consultant based upon details on the hospital's website. The consultant was able to access my NHS xray and after a brief examination confirmed that i had severe OA in my left hip. He listed the risks and we discussed the alternatives before deciding upon a hip replacement.

I had no medical insurance but I was incredibly fortunate in being able to afford the £16,250 cost.

stickywicket

My husband had his second hip replaced privately a couple of years ago . Our GP had already got x-rays but the NHS waiting list was about two years. Mr SW found the nearest private hospital which, luckily, got good reviews, then proceded as @RogerBill . We chose a chap who was qualified to do revisions reasoning he must be a good one. I think it was sl8ghtly less than @RogerBill 's but not by much.

Aallyann

Ok thank you. My situation is that I am 51 and I feel like I’m never going to be able to walk again! I keep having recurrent haemathrosis in my joint and every time it happens it knocks me for six as I literally can’t walk. The first time it happened was in December last year. Prior to that I had no idea I had arthritis. I had a bit of knee pain after wearing high heels all day but that was it. I’m now being seen by an NHS consultant who has now told me he will probably do an arthroscopy. Has anyone had this done? I feel like I’m going to go through lots of investigations to be told I need a new knee. I have a lateralised patella- my kneecap isn’t tracking properly because of a shallow trochlea groove. They said I may have had that for a while but arthritis has somehow affected it. I have now had four joint bleeds and every time I have one I feel a little bit worse. If anyone has had arthroscopic surgery I would be keen to know how it went. I have had two mris an and two x rays and am seeing the hospital physio. Re private, I can’t afford that sort of money but my mum has kindly offered to help. If anyone has any advice or experience I’d love to hear it. Thank you!

Aallyann

And I know I’m lucky to be seeing someone already I do know that as I can see some people on here are struggling to be heard.

Aallyann

And are you pleased with your new knee @RogerBill? thanks for all the info

Aallyann

Your new hip! Not knee!

cankman

Hi Aallyann i had an Arthroscopy last year to asses the damage of my OS of the inside of my knee and to see if the other side was viable to allow for HTO surgery the surgeon was great and explained that he had to remove a large area of damaged meniscus. Recovery from this was longer than i was expecting at about 16 weeks to get back to normal walking but your experience will be different to mine. Unfortunately my Arthroscopy has accelerated the degeneration of my knee and i am counting the weeks till i get the HTO i need to put off a partial knee replacement.

Aallyann

16 weeks! Aargh. Did it make you feel better for a bit though? Your story doesn’t fill me with much hope! What does HTO mean? Thanks

cankman

Hto is a High Tibial Osteotomy to re align the leg and relieve the side which has os . Sorry mine isn't a great story but it made things worse for me the recovery was due to the amount of meniscus he removed, if your surgeon goes in to yours he may not choose or need to do too much he may just take a peek and come out then you will be on your feet in no time. hope this helps

Aallyann

Ok thank you! Hope you get your op soon

RogerBill

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/708294#Comment_708294

Hi @Aallyann Yes I'm very pleased with my new hip. I can now walk 5 miles whereas before the op 15 minutes of walking or standing was my limit. But even with the replacement hip general aging means I can't walk the 10 miles or so that I could before the onset of OA. Also because I'm mindful of the risk of dislocation I'm more careful than I used to be so I now avoid scrambling up hills and some DIY tasks.

Clearly knees are different to hips and I don't know enough medical stuff to be able to understand the condition and treatment you describe. However, in addition to whatever treatment the medics can provide I am sure a successful outcome depends a lot upon doing the recommended exercises before and after the op and, of course, losing weight if necessary. I still do some exercises twice a day and try to do a reasonable amount of walking (which I enjoy) everyday.

Aallyann

Good- I’m glad it has worked out for you.

stickywicket

Just to be on the safe side, be sure any private surgeon is aware of your haemathrosis and lateralised patella. Private hospitals often only deal with absolutely straightforward cases as they often don't have the facilities to treat anything that goes wrong. If you check that he's aware of these conditions, and also that he's operated previously on patients with them (How Many? How Successfully?) I'm sure you'll be fine.

I've had three successful TKRs. As @RogerBill says, just do the exercises before and after. Good luck and enjoy!

Aallyann

Yes I will if I get to that stage. He told me that haemathrosis is very uncommon😭😭 and that the arthritis in my knee was quite mild. I don’t expect it is now, after four joint bleeds. I’m hoping he has a plan when I see him on Monday. Thanks for the advice.