When can I get my other hip replaced?

If you haven’t checked it out yet, this is my story pre-surgery, what you need to know about hip replacement surgery – and nobody tells you: https://lynntowin.ca/what-you-need-to-know-about-hip-replacement-surgery-and-nobody-tells-you

this is my story leading up to surgery, what happens before hip replacement surgery: https://lynntowin.ca/what-happens-before-hip-replacement-surgery

this is my story about my hospital stay after hip replacement surgery: https://lynntowin.ca/my-hospital-stay-after-hip-replacement-surgery

and this is my story a month after hip replacement surgery: https://lynntowin.ca/a-month-after-hip-replacement-surgery

I had my right hip replaced. My left hip is just as bad.

When I first knew that I had a problem with my right hip, I also felt a twang in my left hip once in a while. Of course, what I thought was a hip flexor injury turned out to be a hip with no cartilage, that needed replacement surgery.

There is one thing I can thank covid for. It got me to look at my health records on mysaskhealth.com. There, I saw the comments made on the x-ray taken of my right hip. Those comments of course led to the recommendation of hip replacement surgery.

The x-ray technician commented on the right hip, since the x-ray order was for the right hip. But the technician also commented that the left hip seen in the background looked like it was well on its way too!

After reading these comments, I spoke to my surgeon who first arranged for a cortisone shot that didn’t help at all, then added me to the wait list for hip replacement surgery. He later changed my status on the wait list to priority when my overworked knee became injured.

I said it looks like my left hip will need surgery also. I even asked about getting both hips done at once! My surgeon laughed and said oh no we don’t do both at once. He said, maybe we should get you on the waiting list for that one too – no, no, let’s just get the right one done first.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have insisted that my left hip surgery be added to the wait list then!

How long do you need to wait between surgeries?

I discovered that there is such a thing as a double hip replacement! I even got a quote for it from two private clinics in Calgary – about $50,000. You would definitely need a longer stay in hospital, and a dedicated caregiver for a couple of weeks.

When I was first taken to the operating room for my right hip replacement, I told my surgeon that if he was having fun doing it he should just go do the other one while he was at it. I don’t think recovery would have been very fun at all though. I really needed my other hip, bad as it was, to help me do things like get in and out of bed. I’ve seen comments from health professionals saying please don’t do both at the same time, you will be sorry, and so will anyone who is stuck taking care of you. But there is such a thing as a double hip replacement.

A friend living in British Columbia worked for an orthopedic surgeon there. She told me when both hips needed replacement, the surgeon arranged them on the waiting list so the second surgery happened six months after the first. That seems really reasonable.

My surgeon had no such plan for me.

Three months after surgery, my new hip is working great

I’m now over three months past my surgery, and that hip is doing well. I found a great exercise therapist who is helping me make sure my knees aren’t overloaded from helping out the hips.

I’ve been biking and golfing regularly.

I went on a road trip to Waterton and on to Montana. I went hiking a few times, and I’m a little slower than I want to be, but I did it!

I also went kayaking on that road trip.

Dancing is the last hurdle. I have danced a few times, but I have to be careful not to turn fast or I will hurt something. That does not make me a great dancing partner.

My other hip needs to be replaced, and my knees rehabbed, before I will be dancing again like I used to.

How long will I have to wait between surgeries?

I went to see Dr. Rodwan two weeks after surgery, mainly for him to check the incision and make sure it was healing properly. I took the opportunity to ask him when I could get my left hip replaced.

He said – wait until I see you again in six weeks. I’ll get you on my waiting list then. Six weeks won’t make any difference since my waiting list is 18 months long.

I said six weeks is a huge difference, please get me on the waiting list now. (I should have been on the waiting list a year ago!!)

He said ok, but actually a better idea is to get on Dr. Ardell’s waiting list, which is the shortest in the city since he’s new to Regina. Just get your general practitioner to refer you to him. Dr. Ardell is the surgeon who assisted Dr. Rodwan, so that I could have direct anterior surgery.

So, my general practitioner referred me to Dr. Ardell the first week of June. He won’t add me to his wait list until I have an appointment with him.

I went back to see Dr. Rodwan around two months after surgery. He just wanted to see if his surgery was successful. I walked a couple of steps for him in his small office and he was happy.

I made my monthly call to Dr. Ardell’s office on Sept 1. The receptionist told me that Dr. Rodwan also referred me to Dr. Ardell. That was nice of him. That should speed up my appointment, and hopefully I would get a call in the next month or two.

So, I will be waiting at least five or six months until I see the surgeon. Then he will presumably put me on his waiting list. I expect thay waiting list will be at least six months long, and getting longer the longer it takes me to see him.

I expect that I my other hip replacement will not happen for at least a year after the first hip.

What are my options for where to get hip replacement surgery?

There are options!

Wait for your surgeon.

This is the best option for comfort. There is nothing like being at home when you are not feeling so hot and can’t get around much. You likely have more friends and family at home to help you out.

And of course you don’t have to pay for the surgery, so there’s that!

But there is the waiting. How long will you have to wait?

Find a surgeon at a Canadian hospital who can do your surgery with a shorter wait time.

Another option I discovered –

If you need a surgery that you can’t have done in your province, you can go to another province and have it done for free! Who knew!

I know of someone who is going to a surgeon at a hospital in British Columbia. He expects to have the surgery done within three months. You need a referral from your surgeon, who would have to state that you can’t have it done at home due to the long wait list.

For more information on when you can have surgery done out of province and covered by your provincial health care, here’s a link. file:///C:/Users/Lynn/Downloads/Info-Sheet-OOP-Patient-April-2022.pdf

While checking out this information, I found a surgeon in British Columbia who uses “direct superior” method that I had not yet discovered. It’s a minimally invasive surgery like the direct anterior that I had, moving muscles aside rather than cutting them. I called this surgeon’s office, and found that you could wait up to a year to consult with him, depending on urgency. But after consultation, if you are a candidate for surgery it would be done within two or three months.

So this is a great free alternative to getting the surgery done at home. But you don’t have all the benefits of being at home. And you will have to pay for your travel and accommodation.

Travel to a private clinic in Canada for expensive surgery.

I have heard great things about the care you receive and how happy the patient is.

This will cost a nice chunk of change, and there is still a wait list of a month or two. The closest city to get this done seems to be Calgary, a day’s drive or an hour’s flight. You don’t have the benefits of being at home, and you will have to pay your own travel costs on top of the surgery fee, so in the range of $30,000.

What is your pain worth to you? And your inability to enjoy the activities you love?

Travel internationally to a private clinic for inexpensive surgery.

You can find a surgeon in another country and get the surgery done for as low as a few thousand dollars. It sounds like you can get first class treatment, including after surgery rehab and assistance, staying in a five-star hotel.

But – you’re not at home. You may not have anyone to accompany you, but you probably wouldn’t really need their help, just their company would be nice. You have to fly there, and fly home. Flying first class would be necessary so you could stretch out a bit.

And travelling is kind of a mess right now, with many flights delayed, cancelled or overbooked. Everyone wants to travel after staying at home for two years due to covid.

What am I going to do?

So far I think waiting for Dr. Ardell is my best option. But that could change.

Stay tuned!