April 8th, 2010
Not so long ago, most patients would stay in hospital for about two weeks after hip replacement surgery. Nowadays, the average length of stay has reduced to about 5 or 6 days. In some centres it has been possible to reduce this to just a couple of days. I recently visited the Conquest Hospital in Hastings where consultant orthopaedic surgeon Hugh Apthorp and his team have perfected a pathway which allows patients to get up within a few hours of surgery and go home the next day. The multi-disciplinary team of anaesthetists, nurses, physios and occupational therapists work closely together and the results are very impressive. I’m sure that within a few years it will become the accepted way of managing patients who have had a hip replacement. We will introduce this pathway into Southampton General Hospital in the near future. I will also develop a similar pathway in the private sector. If you would like to discuss this in further detail, please get in touch.
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