FAQ - How long will I be in hospital?
This varies quite a bit from individual to individual. Some hip resurfacing patients have been out in as little as 2 days.
The average for resurfacing is just under 5 days and between 6 or 7 for conventional total hip replacement patients. Knee replacements average at 5 days regardless of age or type of prosthesis. [These figures relate to my own practice and are not necessarily representative of other surgeons]
The main factors determining hospital stay are general fitness and motivation or personality.
General fitness varies most with age, but one does see remarkable exceptions!
Motivation and personality are the aspects most difficult to define and predict. Highly strung, nervous and introspective patients tend to take longer to get going and therefore be confident enough to leave hospital.
Outside the UK, very short hospital stay figures are often quoted.
Recognise, however, that most of the time the patient is being discharged to a nearby hotel room or other step-down facility, where they are visited 2 or
3 times a day by a specially trained nurse. This is not the same as sending the patient home!
So, if you want to get home quickly, you should be very fit and have a positive attitude. You should be determined to get up out of bed early on in your recovery and start walking, even if this means some discomfort. You should be pushing the physiotherapist to let you do more, not the other way around!
At the end of the day, realise also that it is not a race. It is nice to go home early, but no-one will judge you if you are only 'average'.
Be assured also that we will NOT molly-coddle you if we think you are being unusually precious or timid!
