Hip surgery in Dorchester

Hip pain is a very common complaint, occurring in up to 40% of the adult population in the UK. The most common reason by far for hip pain is osteoarthritis.

As a weight-bearing joint, any type of pain or stiffness in your hip can have a significant impact on your ability to move around freely and safely. Countless everyday movements, from sitting down into a chair, walking up the stairs and putting shoes and socks on, can all quickly become far more challenging when the hip is not working properly.

Most people will see their GP for guidance, who will often arrange initial treatment with pain relief medication or a course of physiotherapy. These can be helpful, particularly in the earlier stages of osteoarthritis. If your pain becomes severe and does not respond to these treatments, surgery may be needed to fully resolve the problem.

At The Winterbourne Hospital, our Consultant Hip Surgeons treat the causes of hip pain, helping people to get out of pain and back to a more active life, one without any stiffness or mobility issues. If you would like to meet with an experienced Consultant for assessment, diagnosis and a discussion about suitable treatment options for your hip complaint, why not get in touch with us today to arrange your visit?

It’s important to know that many people with hip pain will not need surgery. Many non-surgical treatments, such as painkillers, physiotherapy and steroid injections can often provide suitable symptom relief. If these options are not able to manage your symptoms, or become less effective, you may need some type of hip surgery.

Should surgery be advised, your Consultant will discuss which hip surgery would be most appropriate for you.

The most common hip operation is a Total hip replacement. This involves completely removing the damaged hip joint and replacing it with a new artificial one (known as a prosthesis). Total hip replacement is normally needed when osteoarthritis in the hip has caused such extensive damage to the joint that it is extremely stiff, and you are in a lot of pain. This surgery restores pain-free movement and function in the hip and is a very successful operation.

For certain symptoms and conditions of the hip joint, keyhole surgery (hip arthroscopy) may be considered. This can be used both to investigate the health of the hip joint and to carry out surgical repair inside it.

Your Consultant may recommend joint preservation treatment. This can help to protect the hip from further damage and maintain the function in your hip.

If you have previously had a total hip replacement, and it has now become painful, revision hip replacement surgery may be needed. This is a bigger operation, involving the removal of the old prosthesis and the insertion of a new one.

Whatever type of hip problem you have, your Consultant will tailor treatment to your specific requirements to get you out of pain as soon as possible.

When you meet with your Consultant, they will take your medical history and ask you about your symptoms. They will want to know:

• How long you’ve had your hip pain for
• Whether you have any other symptoms in or around your hip
• If any activities or movements make your symptoms noticeably worse
• Whether any of your symptoms have been getting worse over time
• Where exactly the pain is and what it feels like
• Whether you’ve tried any treatment already, such as physiotherapy or prescription medication.

They will carry out a physical examination of your hips, and often your knee and back as well as hip pain can be referred from a problem in one of those areas.

Depending on your symptoms, additional investigations may be needed. Our on-site imaging facilities include X-ray, CT, a brand new MRI scanner and ultrasound, giving fast access to them when needed.

Once a diagnosis has been made, your Consultant will discuss the results with you and explain treatment options so that you can make an informed decision. If you have any questions or concerns, they will be very happy to talk these through with you.

If hip surgery is needed, it can be arranged for you as soon as possible. The hip implants used at The Winterbourne Hospital are state-of-the-art and tailored to your exact requirements to ensure the best results.

Many people choose to visit our Consultant Hip Surgeons because of a recommendation from a friend or family member. Others are referred by their GP, physiotherapist, osteopath or private medical insurance provider. Some self-refer in order to get help sooner. 

As the only local private hospital, many of our patients are from Dorchester and other parts of Dorset, but some also travel from further away to visit with us, including Salisbury and even Cornwall.

When you choose to have your hip treatment at The Winterbourne Hospital, you will benefit from:

• Rapid access – Hip problems can have a real impact on your ability to enjoy life. The very last thing you’ll want is to be waiting months for an initial appointment. With a number of leading hip experts working on-site at The Winterbourne, we can book you an appointment quickly.
• Patient Satisfaction – In an independent survey, 98.4% of the people we treated said they were likely or highly likely to recommend The Winterbourne Hospital to their friends and family.
• Tailored treatment– Whether treatment will be non-surgical or surgical treatment, it will be tailored to your specific needs to get you out of pain and back to better hip function as quickly and fully as possible.
• Remote Consultation – Hip consultations are normally carried out face-to-face on-site at The Winterbourne, but we can also offer you remote consultations by telephone or online video call if required and where clinically appropriate.
• Custom recovery programme - After any hip surgery, a good recovery programme is vital to getting your hip working properly again. Our on-site physiotherapy team will support you before and after surgery, helping you to regain strength, movement and function in your hip again safely and sensibly.
• Support from a multidisciplinary team: With experienced Consultant Hip Surgeons, radiologists, nurses, physiotherapists and other healthcare professionals, you will always receive the best treatment, rehabilitation and care for your particular hip concern.
• Location – The Winterbourne Hospital is located just one mile south of Dorchester town centre and has a car park with 40 spaces.

Pain and stiffness in the hip can make a real difference to the quality of your life. If you’re finding many of your daily tasks and activities becoming harder to do, you may begin to worry about losing your independence.

It is good to know that you don’t need to stay in hip pain. There are a range of effective treatments available, all of them available through The Winterbourne. Your Consultant will investigate the cause(s) of your hip symptoms and discuss suitable treatment options with you. If hip surgery is needed to resolve the problem, it will be arranged at the earliest opportunity so that you can get back to doing the things you enjoy, sooner.