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'Home
in a day' hip replacements BBC news online Surgeons
say a pioneering operation could allow patients to be able to go home the
day after they have a hip replacement. Patients
who have standard hip replacements have to stay in hospital for an average
of eight days. Developers
of the new procedure say it could cut waiting lists and save the NHS
millions of pounds. The
news comes as the High Court ruled that patients suffering an "undue
delay" for an operation could claim the cost of having treatment
abroad. Yvonne
Watts, 72, lost her case to force the NHS to pay for her hip operation in The
National Audit Office has suggested a reduction in hospital stays for hip
replacement patients of between two and six days could save the NHS
between £15.5 and £46.5m each year. Experts
say the new hip operation looks promising, but patients need to be
monitored for several years.
The
company behind the 2-Incision procedure say it could reduce hospital stays
by up to 10 days and may eventually help save the NHS over £77m. It
claims 68-year-old Shirley Mattin from Hertfordshire, who had the
operation, set a European record by being able to walk just four hours
after the operation and being discharged from hospital only 27 hours after
surgery. 'No
comparison' The
2-Incision procedure is being carried out at three
In
the operation, the replacement joint is inserted through two cuts, as
small as four to five centimetres in length. Muscles are moved aside
during the operation. In
contrast the traditional procedure needs a 30cm incision, and extensive
cutting of the leg and hip muscles. The
company Zimmer, which developed the 2-Incision technique, say its benefits
include a shorter hospital stay, smaller scars, reduced blood loss, faster
and less painful rehabilitation and the possibility of a quicker return to
work and daily life activities. Mrs
Mattin said, "I've had both hips replaced by the same surgeon. "The
first one was done as a standard hip replacement and the second one was
done using this new 2-Incision technique. There is simply no comparison. "I
have had less bruising, swelling and pain this time and was walking up and
down stairs the day after my surgery. This time, I was ready to leave
hospital the next day. Last time I was in hospital for eleven days." Follow-up
Howard
Ware, the consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Chase Farm, who carried out
the procedures, said: "The 2-Incision has the potential to
revolutionise the way that surgeons carry out hip replacement procedures. "Seventy
per cent of patients in the He
added: "As soon as more surgeons are trained in the technique it will
become much more widely available. In the future this could benefit up to
70-80% patients who need a hip replacement." Mr
Hugh Phillips, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons, told BBC
News Online he welcomed the introduction of the 2-Incision procedure. But
he said the operation would not work with the kind of replacement joints
used in the majority of operations in the He
also said surgeons would need specialist training to use the equipment to
carry out the operation. Mr
Phillips added: "It's experimental in the sense that we don't know
the long-term results. "Then
it would have to be compared to the extensive results we have for the
traditional hip replacement operation. "Hip
replacements are currently one of the top four operations in terms of
improving quality of life." He
added: "If you can get patients out of hospital in two to three days,
the costs of their treatment will be transferred to the community."
Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
