Mr Mark Ashworth FRCS (Orth)
Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
HIP AND KNEE PAIN
Total Knee Replacement
Whilst this is usually performed for arthritis, there are many other reasons why a hip replacement may be needed:-
Other Causes-
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Dysplasia is a condition where the knee's femoral groove is shallow.
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Following other knee surgery, when the results have not been successful.
Procedure-
The operation is performed under a spinal or general anaesthetic and takes an average of 75 minutes.
Risks-
Thrombosis, Embolism, Stroke, Heart attack, Death
Infection, Wearing out or loosening, Fracture,
Limping/weakness
Numbness around the skin incision
Rarely, numbness & weakness of the foot/ankle (usually temporary, occasionally permanent loss occurs)
Ongoing pain- most settle, but occasionally further treatment is needed such as physiotherapy, cortisone injection, arthroscopic surgery and very rarely re-operation.
Results-
Infection-
Mr Ashworth audits the infection rate of all hip and knee replacement operations in conjunction with the Torbay Hospital Microbiology department.
In the UK, around 0.5–1% of patients receiving total hip replacement subsequently develop deep prosthetic joint infection (PJI), a potentially serious and devastating complication.2 ,3
Mr Ashworth's deep infection rate for both hip and knee replacement operations has consistently been below 0.3%.
Wearing out or loosening-
The graph below is from the latest National Joint Register (for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man).
Mr Ashworth's results are in the lowest 1/4 of revision rates in the register.
Patient related outcome scores (PROMS)-
Hip and Knee Replacement pre-operative videos-
The link below details the process at Torbay Hospital. The process at Mount Stuart is similar but not identical. The videos are useful in relation to what to expect before during and after your operation and after discharge.
http://www.torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/trauma-and-orthopaedics/support-videos/
PROMS are one method of assessing how a patient feels about the results of their surgery. Mr Ashworth has collected PROMS in Mount Stuart Hospital since 2013, his results have consistently improved since then, the figure above represents the most recent 12 months.