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Yesterday I was approved! Hip replacement surgery courtesy of the Thai government social healthcare system. Any improvement will be a blessing as I have been living in constant pain for three years with this condition.
Does anyone have any recommendations, advice or horror stories to relate?
How did you manage that? Don't you have to pay for it? :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by Humbert
Mate of mine quit his job as a logistics manager in Oz and bought a truck on the back of a permanent contract awarded by one of his contacts, shortly to be followed by a second truck.
Poor bugger was on the job for two weeks, fell backwards while dismounting from the truck and screwed both his hips.
He's had one hip replacement done, second one coming up.
My brother will have one done end of the month..
Best seems to be 2 shells placed around the end of thighbone. This instead of cutting end off and placing an insert. Less chance of wrong lengths and angles. Also this technique has better lifespan (30-40 yrs) as opposse to the insert (15 yrs).
The hip is totally shot so my health insurance pays for replacement. Since I work in Thailand, I am covered by the Thai healthcare system. If I was back in the US my out of pocket would have been sizable. I will just have to pay for a portion of my private room which is my choice.Quote:
Originally Posted by sabang
Sorry about your friend, ouch!
^ OK. Well I'm not sure where you are, but the Queen Sirikit hospital in Sattahip (about 40Km from Pattaya) is well stocked with Specialists and gets pretty good feedback. It's good enough for the Royal family, anyway. Good luck with it.
One is called Hip Resurfacing (HR). The other THR (Total Hip Replacement).
HR seems to have 1/4 of the complications of THR.
Birmingham Hip* Resurfacing System | Driven by experience (producer)
Corin Group PLC (producer)
Resurfacing is not an option for me because the joint degeneration is too advanced. Resurfacing is in its infancy in Thailand and I have read that people should avoid that procedure here.
i see..
Best of luck Humbert..
A buddy of mine has had both of his done at the RTAF Hospital at Don Muaeng one HR and one THR. He is back playing golf with the group now, plus the fact he is 72 years old.
I hope to be back playing golf soon too. I expect my handicap will be up in the twenties. Your friend has quite a few years on me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Thai Pom
^Good news on the Op/acceptance, Humbert. Friend of mines father was an orthopedic surgeon and he described the procedure to me once and showed me the new joints and stuff they insert, quite fascinating.
My Dear old Mother have had both hips replaced (back home in Denmark), the last one 9 month ago, she has no problems goes swimming twice a week and "races" around on her bicycle almost every day, she is 73 bless her, she is totally pain free and almost as mobile as before.
I wish you the best of luck Humbert, I'm sure it will be fine and that you will be pain-free once the post op re training is over, I think for my old Mother it was about 6 month with steady improvement the whole time, younger can probably do it more quickly.
:)
Thanks mate, when are you going in for your neck surgery?Quote:
Originally Posted by AntRobertson
Good luck to you. Hope you're up and around in no time.
A friend made that in Korat, he investigated and found a surgeon that had made 40 times the job on other patients allready...
As he was around 50 and a hip is supposed to last 20 years he had to impose his choice by the docs...
The hip was ordered from Switzerland...
Operation done may be 3 years ago, the guy is very happy with it, all works fine and the pain he suffered is gone...
Good luck with it Humbert...
I haven't got a hip replacement horror story but theres plenty here.
Knee & Hip Problems Board Index: hip replacement horror stories
A new hip.........????????????
I'm hip already but Hubert, I hope they sort your one out mate. It must be almost a pain in the bum.
First off, good luck Humbert. One of my best mates is a hip replacement specialist in the uk and he charges upwards of 50 grand a hip (uk price) so I hope you get it sorted a lot cheaper over here.
Let us know because I'm looking into health holidays for people in the uk to get shit sorted out cheaper over here and a holiday.
Are you in a load of pain?
Someone (very close to me, he might be 64 years old) I know had two of them done (maybe one year apart from one another) and I’ll share you his story when I get back to BKK (Tuesday?). Lived in pain for years like you,…………but now, no pain. Back in the saddle, again.Quote:
Originally Posted by Humbert
The worst part is when you sit on a typical Thai, plastic, noodle-shop style chair. The joint locks up and can't be re-extended until all the muscles relax, takes about 5 minutes. You are standing there with your leg up in air like a dog taking a piss. The pain is awesome, I would not wish it on anybody.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Fresh Prince
^ Hope it all goes well for you Hum and yr back on yr feet and in the saddle having a short time in no time.
My mother who is 79 had one replaced about 20 years ago, and has just had the other one done in June, she is back on her feet, driving and feels much better after having suffered for quite a few years with pain and discomfort. Hopefully, she'll be dancing at her 80th birthday party in February!!
Good luck with the op, please keep the story up-to-date on here as it happens.
Good idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by mediamanbkk
No photos of my bedpan adventures though.
Best of luck, HB.
My mates mother had a hip replacement 3 years ago in Bumung grad hospital.
Fooking ozzie health system would not do it and had her on a waiting list. Hip got that bad he bought her over here and paid cash which was a shite load cheaper than ozzie.
He was well happy as the service was brilliant and a top job was done, she was 77 by the way.
Many people will say that Bumung grad is a rip off but they came through on this occasion with a very competive price also the facilities at this hospital is second to none.
Suppose if you got insurance its worth a crack.
Good luck matey.
Good luck!! I will say that I have had knee surgery and that you must work hard on the rehab. The first 6 months are key...
Back to the story. The guy I knew who had both of hips replaced during the past couple of years is a manager of a small ranch in Florida,…a cowboy. He grew up riding and believed that is what contributed to his hips giving out.
Anyway,…..his pain started off gradually on one side. The pain grew as time went on and started to limit his mobility,…….he found it hard to get started after long periods of time,….like sitting in front of the TV and then trying to get up,.getting in and out of his truck and riding. After many visits to the doctor and pain pills he reluctantly decided to have the one hip replaced (doesn’t like doctors or hospitals). At times he thought it wasn’t worth it,.fighting with the insurance company, the time away from work, but the pain persisted. There was nothing he could do to stop the pain,.not enough drugs (which he doesn’t like doing), not even staying away from positions or work that would aggravate the hip.
On his journey to learn more about hip replacement he changed doctors, to one he thought would be better suited for him/his needs (the doctor he settled with is much more patient friendly and has done more operations). He had doubts that a hip replacement would solve his problem and I think he didn’t want to go through the procedure due to other health problems (heart condition,.he didn’t want to go under).
After a couple of years with agonizing pain he had one hip replaced. Within a year,.had the other hip replaced. He is now on a horse again riding where he is happiest although not riding as hard,….just kind of laying back, being boss. He has told me, if it ever happens to me, not to think about having the hip replaced,.just do it.
For years (while visiting) I used to watch him get out of his pickup and you could see the pain on his face. Those normal every day tasks, we all take for granted can come to a halt with a bad hip.
While listening to his story/stories he brought up two things that stood out to me,.the doctor who will be doing the procedure and the type of device that will be used as the replacement. Of course you might not be able to be as choosey with the doctor that will be in charge of your operation, because you are here in Thailand, but you should be able to check on the type of device they will be using. After finding out what type of device they will be using, you might want to check up on it.
Good luck,……….you will be so happy living without pain.
^ Thanks very much for your story and advice about being careful about the device they use.
I was out dancing the other night and pulled some muscles around the hip area and I was in terrible pain.
Thankfully that pain has subsided and I hope your relief comes soon and your operation is a success.
Gotta watch those John Travolta moves Toy. I think I got my problem by skiing too many mogul fields.Quote:
Originally Posted by Loy Toy
I wish you alll the best on your operation and recovery, Humbert.
I have one question, though.
Where did you read that the hip resurfacing surgery should be avoided here? I would be very interested to read that.
The hip resurfacing procedure must start out in it's infancy first, shouldn't it? It has to start somewhere. I think Thai surgeons are very well qualified to study this kind of procedure. It is less invasive and poses less risks than the THR, doesn't it? And a revision with THR in the future is a whole lot easier with the bone preserved by the hip resurfacing the first time.
I can't remember where I read that. Could have been Thaivisa. I agree with what you are saying, Thai surgeons are skilled and do have to start somewhere. My joint is totally deteriorated so I don't think that would work for me. Cheers.Quote:
Originally Posted by staggerleee
A neighbour of mine had this op. done under a epidural anesthetic while totally awake.Ex-fireman,so he coped ok. He says saws,drills reamers and hammers involved! Quite interesting were his words! Operation a total success. Best of luck with your op.
Doc assured me that I would be knocked out completely. My surgery is scheduled for Saturday morning. I hear they put you on a morphine drip for a few days.Quote:
Originally Posted by crippen
What hospital are you getting your hip done? Do you get to choose your surgeon or are you assigned one?
I had my hip resurfaced in Bangkok very recently and I used my Thai Social Insurance card as well. It went very well. I am now recovering now 2 weeks later. It is a long road ahead for full recovery. I had an epidural in my spine, not the general anesthetic. They told me it was better because it would last a few hours longer. I would not have any pain even after I woke up.
I remember I could hear the sounds of what they were doing at first, but then I asked for something to help me sleep, and they gave me a pill and I slept. But I woke up at the end of the operation and I didn't feel anything. I talked with the surgeon at the end of the operation and he told me everything went normal, but that one let was 1 centimeter longer than the other,and the incision was only 15 centimeters long.
I stay;ed in the hospital for 6 days total. The immediate recovery after was pretty hard. I had a catheter in and the whole experience was surreal. I had never had surgery before, so I didn't know what to expect.
I am now on crutches and I think I will be for a while. I'm just taking it slow, I want the hip to work, so I don't want to put too much weight on it too soon.
Best wishes for you and your recovery Humbert.
A good tip is to avoid ebay for these type of problems ,,I work with a man who bought false teeth off ebay and its a terrifying experience sitting in the same room eating sandwiches at lunch time .
It's being done at Ladprao General. I met the surgeons but did not choose them. They seemed very competent and their English was excellent. I have confidence that they will do a good job.Quote:
Originally Posted by staggerleee
How long before they got you up trying to walk? I hope you continue to progress on your recovery. Keep in touch.
Well....morphine is good, so you have that to look forward to.
The recovery period not so good.
My advice....when they give you the anaesthetic......try to stay awake for as long as you can, fight it, see how many seconds you can last. I have done it 4 times and the last time I lasted a lot longer before passing out.