"Full Hip replacement"

From the outset I wanted to have my hip replacement carried out at Shepton Mallett as I was aware of the hospitals good reputation.

I am glad to say I was not disappointed.

Every step of the way I felt I was looked after during the whole process from the pre admission phase through to the big day itself. On the day of surgery I had some pre op nerves but these quickly passed as everything was explained in detail by the various staff members so by the time I went into surgery I felt relaxed and more to the point, ready.

I had a spinal anaesthetic and having never had one before, found this a new experience but with no problems.

Previously I have had a general anaesthetic and found the spinal version a much better experience as the anaesthetic continues to act as pain relief for a number of hours without all the usual side effects of a general anaesthetic, such as feeling sick.

I was given a sedative on top of the spinal anaesthetic and was also given music to listen too. I felt aware of what was going on up to a point but felt no pain what so ever and could not feel or see anything. Due to the sedative I don't think I really cared either so its probably a good job everyboby checked prior to the op as to which side was being operated on just to be sure.

Coming out of surgery I was well looked after and spent about 30 mins in recovery before being moved back onto the ward which was a room for two people.

Once back on the ward the level of care continued at a very high standard.

Now heres the thing, I did experience some pain and discomfort for the first 24 hrs but this was managed well by the staff both during the day and night.

The next day things started to get better where the pain was concerned and it just got easier from there onwards

The pain turned into more of a discomfort.

I have had problems with allot of swelling on the whole of my left leg since my op for the last two weeks but have kept using ice packs and elevating both legs when sitting and lying down which has done the job as the swelling has gone now.

The key to all of this is the part the physio excercises play in the recovery stage.

If you opt for Shepton you will be given plenty of information in advance of surgery regarding the exercises you will need to do each and every day which gradually increase after the first two weeks.

I continue to do my daily excercises averaging 4 x sets of bed excercises and 2 x sets of standing excercises as per the instuctions issued, plus regular walking.

I am now up to about a 40 minute walk a day with a view to increasing the walking time week on week.

It's now been 17 days since my hip op and I am already seeing the benefits. I have greater movement and being pain free when I walk is a bonus compared to the problems I had prior to my op. I am now using one crutch for support which works for me.

In short, I would highly recommend Shepton Mallett Treatment Centre to anyone one in need of hip surgery.