1st assessment appointment with orthopaedic consultant

lucy61

I have my first assessment meeting with the orthopaedic consultant for right hip replacement due to osteoarthritus what can I expect please ? I am also neurodiverse so getting very anxious I won't remember everything I am told .

Many thanks

Trish9556

HI @lucy61

Welcome to the group first of all :)

I find it's always best to take my husband in with me as he can remember stuff I can't.

The consultant/surgeon will ask about your pain, where it is, scale of 1-10, how far you can walk, do you use a stick/crutches, can you manage stairs, do you live alone, what can't you do that you did before, etc.

He will also manoevre your hip about and may want to watch you walk to look for limps etc, stand on one leg etc.

All consultants/surgeons are different and they all ask different questions. You may also be sent for an x-ray and seen again straight after that to discuss the x-ray.

Try not to get too worked up about it, like I said, I find it easier to take someone with me which you may also find useful.

Please let us know how you get on and feel free to ask any questions.

Good luck

Trish

lucy61

Many thanks . I'm going to struggle as I like to be ultra independent I will take a pen & notepad with me . I live with my 3 rescue lurchers . I'm hoping there is an alternative to surgery . I will keep you posted .

lucy61

Jane18

Hi @lucy61, as Trish said, it can be helpful to take someone with you to the appointment if you can. I also looked at the resources on the Versus Arthritis website to give me an idea of what to expect when preparing for hip surgery.

Before I went to the appointment I read through some of the hip diaries on here and made a list of questions to ask. I made sure I ticked them off as I went through and made a note of the answers.

Don't be afraid to ask for clarification if you need further information at the time.

Hope the appointment goes well and let us know how you get on.

Jane

cocoa

@lucy61

Am niw 2 weeks post surgery .
my first appointment with my Consultant went like this (had xray one year pre this app) you need a full right hip replacement , I can do this for you , one year waiting list .
no examination no further x rays. I asked about injections and any other ways I could avoid surgery he said waste time alternative treatments ( even going to a healer)! No questions about how far I could walk or lifestyle just handed me a paper to sign if I wanted to go on the list ! I hovered he was just gonna put paper away and I said ok I go in list snd I signed ( my husband was with me and has had two knee replacement s) and because I was getting where coukdnt walk far went in the list as you can opt out right up until surgery day. So glad I did because over next year got where I couldn’t even walk across the room or sleep without pain. And pain killers are not the answer only when pre op snd post op. No cure ! So rest assured go on the list then relax and just be grateful to go on the list . I am sooo glad niw I went fir surgery furst couple weeks hard but hey not much time out of your life and it coukd get so much worse if bottled it.
keep us posted and start exercises as soon as during wait

Cocoa