At The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate, we offer a range of private hip surgeries to investigate and treat any problems that could be affecting the inside of your hip joint.
How does my hip work?
The hip joint is formed of a ball at the top of your femur (thigh bone), which is called your femoral head, and your acetabulum (a socket), which is attached to your pelvis. A rim of cartilage, known as your labrum, surrounds your acetabulum (socket), allowing your bones to move freely.
Why might you be advised hip surgery at The Duchy Hospital?
If the structures inside your hip become damaged, you could be advised to have surgery. These internal structures can become irritated or damaged through accident or injury, or because of certain medical conditions.
Common conditions that cause damage to the hip joint:
- Osteoarthritis: This type of arthritis can occur due to the natural wear and tear of your joint over time. It’s more common as we get older, but can affect people of any age. Osteoarthritis can damage the cartilage that surrounds your joint and cause bony growths to form on the outside of your joint.
- Rheumatoid arthritis: This is caused by an autoimmune response where your immune system wrongly attacks your synovium (a layer of cells that line your joint). As a result, your synovium becomes inflamed, causing it to release chemicals that damage the tissue around your joint.
- Labral tear: Your labrum is the cartilage found around your acetabulum (hip socket). It is responsible for stabilizing and lubricating your joint. A labral tear commonly results from an injury and can cause severe discomfort, as well as impacting the movement of your hip.
- Fracture: This refers to a break or crack at the upper part of your femur (thigh bone).
- Bursitis: A bursa is a fluid-filled sac that acts as a cushion between different parts of your joints. You have two main bursas in your hip – one that covers your greater trochanter (the bony part of your hip) and another that is located on the inside of your hip, which is called your iliopsoas bursa. If your iliopsoas bursa becomes inflamed, it can lead to hip bursitis. Inflammation in your bursa located over your greater trochanter is called trochanteric bursitis.
- Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI): Impingement means part of your hip is pressing on an area it shouldn’t be. FAI occurs following abnormal contact between your femoral head (the ball at top of your femur) and the acetabulum (socket). It can be caused by unusual bone growth that prevents your bones from fitting inside your joint. Hip impingement surgery can be performed through an arthroscopy (keyhole surgery). The procedure involves reshaping these bones to help them fit inside your joint.
At The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate, your Orthopaedic Surgeon will often consider surgery after initial treatment such as pain relief medication, injection therapy and physiotherapy have all been tried. If these have not improved the condition of your hip, surgery can be considered.
Your Orthopaedic Consultant at The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate will also suggest surgery if you are experiencing the following symptoms:
- Sudden pain: This could point to a fracture (a break in your femur or thigh bone), which can be treated through hip fracture surgery such as internal fixation (using screws or rods to hold your bone in place), or a joint replacement operation.
- Severe pain: Hip conditions can cause severe pain in the affected joint, and they can also cause something called referred pain, which is where the effects of the hip issue are felt elsewhere in the body, for instance in your back. If you are in severe pain, hip surgery could help investigate and treat the cause of your pain.
- Pain that impacts your movement: You might notice that your pain is aggravated by certain activities. You could have trouble putting weight on the affected side of your hip, which can make it difficult to stand up.
- Severe stiffness: This could have a significant impact on your mobility. You might find it hard to perform certain tasks or activities that require you to rotate or bend your hip, for example putting your shoes on.
At The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate, you will be seen by an Orthopaedic Surgeon, who you might also hear referred to as an Orthopaedic Consultant or a Consultant Surgeon.
At your initial consultation, they will ask about your symptoms and your medical history, and they will examine the affected area. Diagnostic tests, for example an X-ray or MRI, could be performed to help establish the cause of your symptoms.
After a diagnosis has been made, your Orthopaedic Consultant will work with a multidisciplinary team of specialists, including Anaesthetists and Physiotherapists, to build a treatment programme tailored to your individual diagnosis. This could include pain relief medication, physiotherapy sessions to encourage movement and strength, or a course of steroid injections to reduce swelling and stiffness in your joint.
Although our specialists are trained surgeons, we will always try and use non-invasive treatments first. If your symptoms do not improve with this treatment, surgery will be considered.
If you decide to go ahead with hip surgery at The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate, your Orthopaedic Surgeon will discuss whether you need to make a few lifestyle changes before your operation. This could include giving up smoking (if applicable) or losing weight if your body mass index (BMI) is above the normal range. Both lifestyle changes can minimise your risk of post-surgery complications.
As well as making the above changes, you will need to have a preoperative assessment with one of our team. This will consist of a health check, where a Nurse will check things such as your weight, height and blood pressure. They may also take a sample of your blood or urine and perform a swab to test for MRSA (a type of bacteria).
At your preoperative assessment, you will also be asked about your current medication and if you have any questions about your operation.
Depending on your personal circumstances, this preoperative assessment may be done over the phone rather than at the hospital. If this is the case, we might ask you to pop in quickly for any tests we need to do, or we might do the tests when you come in for your procedure.
Prior to your operation at The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate, you will be administered either general anaesthetic or local anaesthetic (an injection that prevents pain by numbing the area to be operated on).
At The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate, your surgical treatment could involve:
Hip arthroscopy
If you require an arthroscopy, your Orthopaedic Surgeon will a few small incisions in your hip. An arthroscope (a thin telescope with a camera) is inserted into one of these incisions and passed into a space between the ball of your hip joint (femoral head) and the acetabulum (socket). This allows your Surgeon to see the inside of your joint.
Once they have identified the problems causing your hip pain, your Surgeon will – if possible – perform treatment to fix the issue. Procedures that can be done arthroscopically include:
- Removing loose bone or cartilage
- Treating a femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) by reshaping the bones in your hip
- Removing or repairing a torn labrum
An arthroscopy normally takes between 30 minutes and two hours to complete.
Hip resurfacing surgery
During a hip resurfacing operation, your Orthopaedic Surgeon will trim any damaged cartilage from around the hip joint. The damaged surfaces of your femoral head (the ball at the top of your femur) and acetabulum (socket) are then replaced with a protective cover, which is normally made of metal.
Total hip replacement surgery
There are two main types of hip replacement operation: a partial hip replacement, also known as hemiarthroplasty, and a total hip replacement operation, which is also called an arthroplasty.
In total hip replacement surgery, your Orthopaedic Surgeon will first make an incision on the side of your hip. Then, your femoral head (the ball at the top of your femur) is completely removed and your acetabulum (socket) is hollowed out to allow an artificial socket to be fitted.
A metal stem with a ball attached to its upper end is then fitted into the hollow of your femur (thigh bone). This connects with your socket to form your new joint.
Partial hip replacement surgery
During partial hip replacement surgery, only your femoral head (the ball at the top of your femur) is removed. This is replaced with a metal stem and ball. These artificial parts are known as prosthesis and are secured in place using either bone cement (a synthetic substance) or special coatings that allow your prosthesis to fuse to your bone.
A hip replacement operation – whether total or partial - could take up to two hours.
After your hip operation at The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate, you will be transferred to a recovery ward, where a Nurse will offer you something to eat or drink. While on the recovery ward, you will be visited by a Physiotherapist, who will guide you through a series of exercises to help boost your recovery. You’ll start doing these while you’re still in hospital and continue with them during your recovery at home.
Before you go home, you might be given crutches to help you walk, as well as pain relief medication to relieve any post-operative pain.
Which operation you have will affect your recovery time as well as factors such as how many nights you need to stay in the hospital, how soon you can walk without help, when you can drive again, and when you can go back to work.
Your recovery from a hip resurfacing operation
After your hip resurfacing treatment, you will probably need to stay at our hospital in Harrogate for around three days. Although some people might not require crutches, others will need them to help with walking or climbing stairs for up to six weeks following a hip resurfacing operation.
You should be able to do most of your normal activities again after six weeks. Your return to work will depend on your profession, so you should speak to your Consultant about what’s best for you. Your Orthopaedic Surgeon will also advise that you avoid driving for at least six weeks.
Your arthroscopic hip surgery recovery timeline
If you have a hip arthroscopy, your Orthopaedic Surgeon at The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate could discharge you from our hospital as soon as the next day. During the first few weeks of your recovery, you might need to use crutches to assist with walking. As your operated hip becomes more comfortable, you can gradually return to your normal activities.
After one to two weeks, you should be able to drive again.
Your hip replacement surgery recovery timeline
After hip replacement surgery, you will need to remain at our hospital in Harrogate for up to three days. You should be able to walk with the support of a walking aid within the first two days after your hip replacement operation.
At two to six weeks, you can begin doing gentle exercise. You should also be able to return to work around six weeks following your hip replacement surgery. Your return to work will depend on your profession and could take closer to 12 weeks if you have an active job.
Whatever hip surgery you undergo, if you are a driver, you will be advised to avoid driving for a while. Your surgeon will advise you on what’s right for you. Be sure to speak to your car insurance company too as they may have different guidelines that could affect your cover during recovery.
As with any treatment, there are possible risks that can occur following your operation. These include:
- Bruising: It is normal to have bruising around the site of your operated area and this should resolve with time.
- Swelling: You might experience some swelling after your operation. But keeping your legs elevated while sitting down or resting could reduce this.
- Blood clots: Your Orthopaedic Surgeon will provide you with medication and compression stockings to lower your risk of developing blood clots.
- Infection: This could be treated with antibiotics or further surgery.
- A loosening or dislocation of your prosthesis: If your prosthesis from a replacement operation becomes dislocated or loose, your Orthopaedic Surgeon can perform revision surgery to correct this.
The cost of private hip replacement surgery at The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate can range from £12,140 to £13,385. Hip resurfacing treatment at The Duchy Hospital can cost about £15,081.
Alternatively, a hip arthroscopy at The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate can cost between £6,914 to £8,022.
It is important to note that these prices are only for reference purposes. The final cost of your treatment will always be confirmed in writing.
You can pay for your treatment at The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate through your private medicate insurance or by using our flexible payment plans.
With 99.6% of our patients likely to recommend The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate to their loved ones, our satisfied patients are proof of the benefits of choosing treatment with us.
When you go private with us, you can expect:
- En-suite hospital rooms that give you private access to your own TV and bath and shower
- Catering services that offer a broad selection of healthy and delicious meals throughout your stay at our hospital
- Plenty of car parking spaces
- Easy access to our hospital via public transport from Harrogate and nearby towns across West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire
- Exceptional patient satisfaction rates with almost 99% of our patients rating their quality of care as very good or excellent
Start your hip treatment at The Duchy Hospital by phoning one of our friendly advisors on 01423567136 or booking your appointment online.
Content reviewed by Circle in-house team in November 2021. Next review due November 2024.
