Patients are benefiting from a different type of surgery for their hip replacements.
Surgeons use a technique, which means the surgery is performed through the front of the thigh.
Hazel Grainger, 63, was the first patient to have the anterior hip replacement surgery at the Essex and Suffolk Elective Orthopaedic Centre (ESEOC) at Colchester Hospital.
The surgeries were carried out by consultant surgeons Mr Michael Field and Mr Anand Shah – marking a major first for East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) which runs ESEOC.
The anterior method helps preserve a patient’s muscles allowing them to recover quickly in the first six weeks and can mean the operation is less painful. In America over half of all hip replacements are now done using the anterior approach, with many patients going home the same day.
Dental nurse Hazel, from Felixstowe, said it’s a relief to have had her hip replaced. She said: “The pain got so bad that I was unable to do my job. I am now pain-free and was back at work within four weeks.”
The operation is performed by accessing the hip joint through a cut at the top of the thigh at the front. This approach was first used in the 1800s when surgeons first performed procedures on hips to treat tuberculosis.
Mr Field said: “It’s an exciting first for ESNEFT to be able to bring this new service to the Trust when there is an increasing awareness, interest and demand from patients to have it.”
Mr Field, right, with three patients to have the surgery done, including the first, Hazel Grainger (second left)