How do you know if a surgeon is good? (Orthopedic for hip replacement surgery)

[HipHipAway]

I need to have hip replacement surgery in one hip for Arthritis.
I can get it done on NHS or privately in the next few months.
I really liked the NHS surgeon I met.
I didn't really gel with the surgeon I met through the private health insurance.
A friend has recommended the surgeon she used who I can get through the private health insurance but will have to pay 6/7 hundred pounds as he is Fee Limited.

How do I tell who is best to go with?

When I had a BSO T-hysterectomy, I googled my proposed NHS surgeon in advance. I was very impressed and proceeded on the understanding that this was the surgeon I wanted and the surgeon who would definitely be operating on me.

He was amused that I had googled him!

@HipHipAway this could be a useful starting point, just search for your location

It’s tricky because often the people who post online on these doctor rating websites will do so because they are unhappy with their care, and the hundreds of people who were perfectly happy don’t tend to post. Surgeons will also have stats about how often their surgeries are successfully but again that doesn’t always tell the full story, as a lot of it will depend on what type of procedures they are doing, on what patients, and what kind of patients are they choosing not to operate on. I think this video sums it up nicely:

Personally I’d go with the doctor you felt most comfortable with!

Dd had spinal surgery at the Royal Orthopaedic in Birmingham and they were excellent. There's one in London too. Not sure if there are others. They do hips too

There's a private wing there

Ask for recommendations and who friends have used

Why would he be amused. I wouldn’t see any doctor I hadn’t googled first. Surely that’s the first thing most people do when they get a name.

Moat Dr's doing hip replacements will have some hundreds if not thousands I would go NHS, it's not a particularly difficult operation.

i think you can look them up to see when they were registered with GMC - hopefully years ago so experienced

But not so many years ago that they’ve become dinosaurs who’re still using old fashioned techniques and having poorer outcomes than their ’less experienced’ colleagues! There’s a fine line!

the national joint registry will give some basic info (numbers per yr/mortality & some info about the type of patients they look after). Best bet though is to ask around people you know and see if they have recommendations. You might not get much choice though unless you’re paying for it.

how sensible the private is vs nhs may also depend on your medical history & the private set up. It’s not wildly uncommon for surgeons/anaesthetist to decline higher risk customers in the private.

I found my orthopaedic specialist by googling. He has written articles on the condition I have and goes around the world teaching about it. He’s so good at what he does.

I would only go to someone personally recommended, preferably by a few people. Then I would check their credentials.

There’s one in Stanmore.. also excellent.

The National Joint Registry publishes all surgeons data on joint replacement. You can see how many they do a year, how they perform against their peers. Well worth looking at.