Hip Surgery in Stirling

Acute and chronic hip pain can make the simplest of activities difficult. Kings Park Hospital in Stirling offers rapid diagnosis by an experienced Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and swift access to up-to-date treatments that alleviate pain and help you regain strength.

The hospital provides a range of treatments for hip pain, from non-invasive physiotherapy to total hip replacements requiring complex surgery under general anaesthetic.

Our highly trained Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeons have extensive knowledge of hip pain and other clinical interests that help diagnose hip problems.

Kings Park Hospital is easy to get to for patients in Forth Valley and further afield, with access from the M9, A91 and A905. The hospital also has free parking.

Hip surgery deals with problems arising from the hip joint and is a sub-speciality within orthopaedic surgery.

Issues with the hips can arise from injury, bone diseases such as osteoarthritis and avascular necrosis (AVN), the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis, and fractures and dislocations.

Our Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeons mostly see patients with hip arthritis at Kings Park Hospital. However, they also see those with bursitis, tendonitis, labral tears, piriformis syndrome and trochanteric syndrome.

Surgery is always the last resort; our orthopaedic surgeons will begin with non-invasive treatments first. Examples include painkillers, local anaesthetic (steroid) injections for soft-tissue pain around the joint such as bursitis, physiotherapy to improve movement in the joint, and walking aids and exercise.

Your orthopaedic hip surgeon may suggest a hip replacement operation if your range of motion is limited. Other reasons include the pain being so bad it interferes with everyday tasks, disturbing your sleep or causing depression, and affecting your quality of life.

The procedure takes between an hour and an hour and a half and is done under a general anaesthetic (you’re asleep). Surgery is open, rather than keyhole, and complex. It involves removing the damaged or worn hip joint and replacing it with an artificial implant (prosthesis). Today’s sturdy artificial joints last for at least 15 years.

Our Consultant Orthopaedic Hip Surgeons also offer hip revision surgery, which removes a worn implant and replaces it with a new one.

You can expect to see a skilled Consultant Orthopaedic Hip Surgeon with a wealth of experience at Kings Park Hospital. You can refer yourself, or your GP or other specialists can refer you.

Our consultants prefer to have a GP letter, as this provides information that helps diagnose your complaint. It may also include details of any related health issues such as metal implants that might impact potential diagnostic tests and treatments. Private medical insurers also usually ask to see a copy of your referral letter before agreeing to cover any diagnostics or treatment.

After checking in at our friendly reception desk, you’ll take a seat in the outpatient waiting area. Your consultant will come and get you and take you to a private consultation room where they’ll put you at ease and discuss the issues you’ve been having.

They will examine your hip for swelling and tenderness and ask you to move around so that they can check for any abnormal movement. If your consultant needs to find out more about the cause of your pain, they may request an x-ray. Our radiographers can often perform x-rays at the same time as your consultation.

After you have had your x-ray, you will return to the consultation room. Your consultant will review the x-ray straight away and either provide you with a diagnosis and treatment plan or organise further investigations.

At this stage, your consultant may advise you have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. An MRI scan is a safe procedure that takes detailed images of the body’s organs and tissues. It uses strong magnets, so if you have any metal in your body, such as a pacemaker or rods used in a fracture, please endure you inform your surgeon.

We always offer non-surgical treatment options as the first-line treatment for hip pain at Kings Park Hospital. For example, our consultants work closely with our Chartered Physiotherapists so that they can tailor any exercise treatment plans to you. Your consultant may also offer a steroid injection, which they can perform at your initial appointment, to reduce the pain.

If they advise hip replacement surgery, your consultant will explain everything that happens in layman’s terms. We encourage you to ask questions if anything is unclear. They will give you an email address to get in contact with your surgeon if you have any further queries after you’ve left the hospital.

After you have had time to think everything through, and if you wish to go ahead with surgery, you can contact the hospital to book your procedure. We can usually arrange surgery within a couple of weeks.

After surgery, you’ll spend a few nights in Kings Park Hospital, which has private rooms equipped with TVs, WiFi and en-suite bathrooms. Our experienced nursing team will care for you during your stay and will see your consultant and one of our physiotherapists.

Daycase Hip Replacements

At Kings Park Hospital, we offer daycase hip replacements using the traditional posterior approach (where the incision is to the side of the hip). 

There are numerous benefits to this procedure for patients - it aids in post-op recovery, enhances the rate at which the hip function is restored, increases post-op mobility, and improves overall patient experience as there is no need to stay in the hospital overnight.

Hip replacements need to be performed for a variety of conditions that end up with the hip joint becoming arthritic. Some of these conditions, in particular those occurring in childhood, may be associated with a degree of bone and soft tissue deformity. In these cases, the direct anterior approach may not be the optimal approach to the hip because correcting these deformities and reconstructing the hip requires greater access in order to provide a well-functioning joint. 

Mr Gavin Love (https://www.circlehealthgroup.co.uk/consultants/gavin-love) is our Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Kings Park Hospital able to perform this surgery for patients.

 

Daycase Minimally Invasive Hip Replacements

At Kings Park Hospital, we offer a direct anterior approach to hip replacement, also known as minimally invasive hip replacement surgery. An incision is made at the front of the hip and this approach allows the surgeon to work between both the muscles and tissue without any need for releasing muscles and tendons from the pelvis or femur. 

In recent years, the treatment of hip disease has made incredible advances in the durability of hip prostheses, as well as enabling patients to return to high levels of function. The direct anterior approach has only aided in further facilitating this – particularly in patient recovery post-surgery. The approach helps to restore hip function and enhance the speed at which patients are able become mobile again – this is a result of the reduction in muscle required to be cut (no muscle is actually required to be cut at all) to gain access to the joint. By accessing the hip joint through the front, there is much less damage to the tissues, resulting in less blood loss and less pain; both of which positively impact pain management and recovery.

This is a minimally-invasive approach to hip replacement surgery with numerous benefits. There is an increasing wealth of evidence to suggest the direct anterior approach supports a faster recovery and an improvement in short term outcomes versus a posterior approach. This surgery can be carried out as a day case procedure, meaning patients can be ready to return home hours after their operation. In some cases, a small cosmetic incision may also be appropriate – a 'bikini line' incision if possible. As such, the chances of minimal scarring are also much higher. Patients will also be able to move, walk and drive quicker. 

Mr Graeme Nicol (https://www.circlehealthgroup.co.uk/consultants/graeme-nicol) is our Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Kings Park Hospital able to perform this surgery for patients.

 

Hip Arthroscopies

At Kings Park Hospital, we offer hip arthroscopies for conditions such as labral tears, hip impingement and tendon issues. These are carried out on a day case basis – meaning you are not normally required to remain in the hospital overnight and can return home the same day as your operation.

The procedure is minimally invasive and carried out via two or three small incisions which measure around 1-2cm. 

After a hip arthroscopy you will be required to spend between 10-14 days on crutches; this is necessary for the wounds to heal properly. A number of simple ‘muscle activating’ and ‘range of motion’ exercises will be provided for the first two weeks, before gradually advancing into a more thorough rehabilitation programme. You can expect to return to normal active hobbies within 3-6 months – football, running, cycling, gym, horse riding etc.

Hip arthroscopies can be carried out for a range of hip conditions:

• Tears and damage of the cartilage
• Impingement lesions (bony lumps around either side of the hip)
• Tendon issues/snapping
• Bursitis 
• Loose or foreign bodies

Mr Graeme Nicol (https://www.circlehealthgroup.co.uk/consultants/graeme-nicol) is our Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Kings Park Hospital able to perform this surgery for patients. 

Seeing a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon quickly at The Kings Park Hospital gives you the best chance of getting back on your feet fast and doing the things you love.

As highly qualified sub-specialists in hip pain, our Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeons are best equipped to tell you whether surgical or non-surgical intervention is required.

If you go ahead with hip replacement surgery, we offer an enhanced recovery programme (ERP) to support your health and wellbeing as you recover.