Hip Replacement FAQ

Preparation makes a real difference to how well you recover. In the weeks before surgery, stop smoking, reduce alcohol, stay as active as possible, keep the joint moving with gentle walks, and eat a diet rich in protein and carbohydrates. Staying well hydrated is important too. If you have diabetes, your blood glucose should be well controlled before surgery. If you have high blood pressure, ensure your medication is optimised. Any skin conditions — particularly around the hip — should be treated and cleared before your admission date. If there is any concern about your weight or nutrition, whether your BMI is high or low, this will be discussed at your consultation.

Some medications need to be paused or adjusted. If you take blood thinners, anti-inflammatory drugs, or disease-modifying medications for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, this will be reviewed individually and clear instructions given well in advance.

Mr Kozdryk will see you personally before surgery — between 7 and 8am for a morning list, or around 12 to 1pm for an afternoon list. He will confirm your consent, answer any remaining questions, mark the correct limb, check your skin condition, and ensure all imaging, planning and anaesthetic arrangements are in place.

The preference is spinal anaesthesia with sedation — an injection into the back that numbs the lower body, combined with sedation so you sleep comfortably throughout without a breathing tube. This is supplemented by local anaesthetic injected around the soft tissues of the hip, and ice cooling to the area post-operatively. In the rare situation where spinal anaesthesia is not possible, a general anaesthetic can be performed, though this carries a slightly higher risk of postoperative nausea and vomiting.

The surgery itself takes approximately one to one and a half hours. From leaving the ward to returning — including the anaesthetic room, preparation, surgery and time in recovery — the whole journey is typically around three hours.

The aim is to get up and mobilise on the same day as surgery. If this is not possible due to pain, tiredness or the effects of the spinal anaesthetic, mobilisation will begin the following morning with physiotherapy support.

Most patients go home on the same day, the day after, or at most two days after surgery. Before discharge, three things need to be in place: you must be mobilising safely with crutches and able to manage stairs; your wound must be clean and healing well; and your pain must be well controlled on simple medication you can take at home. You also need to be eating, drinking, passing urine and ideally opening your bowels.

In the vast majority of cases, no. Mr Kozdryk closes wounds with intradermal sutures — dissolving stitches placed beneath the skin — meaning there are no clips or external suture materials to remove.

After hip replacement you will be given Clexane — a low molecular weight heparin injection of 40mg — once daily, self-administered into the abdomen at home for two weeks, followed by aspirin 150mg daily for 28 days. If you are already on anticoagulant medication, a tailored individual plan will be agreed in advance.

At two weeks, a nurse will check your wound and remove any sutures if required. Mr Kozdryk will then review you in clinic at six weeks to assess your progress, review X-rays and bloods, and ensure recovery is on track. The vast majority of patients are discharged from follow-up at this point.

Most patients can return to driving at around six weeks, provided they can perform an emergency stop without pain. It is recommended you first test yourself in an empty car park before returning to normal roads.

Most hip implants will trigger metal detectors at airports. No special card is required — simply inform security staff.

Yes. All implants used by Mr Kozdryk are MRI-safe and do not require special precautions.

Hip replacement implants are typically a combination of titanium and cobalt chrome, with a ceramic bearing surface articulating against highly cross-linked polyethylene — a specially engineered plastic that functions as a new cartilage surface.

Hip replacement has outstanding outcomes — approximately 95% of patients report a good to excellent result, making it one of the most consistently successful elective procedures in surgery.

Mr Kozdryk can be contacted by email at any time, or via WhatsApp in an emergency, and will personally reply within 24 hours.