“To anyone requiring a hip replacement, I would without a doubt recommend Mr Asopa. If I have to have my left hip replaced, I will only want Mr Asopa to do the surgery. I ignored the early signs of my hip needing to be done before, I recommend not ignoring the early signs and ensuring you get a full work up if needed.”
Towards the end of November 2023, I was in the gym lifting kettlebells, progressing from 24kg to 28kg. When I lifted the heavier weight, I felt a pull on the righthand side of my groin. After this happened, I was in constant pain and had limited movement in my hip. I had poor sleep on a daily basis, waking up at 2am due to the pain.
I was convinced that I had a groin injury. I took two weeks out from the gym, only to discover that the pain hadn’t gone away. But because I thought it was a groin injury, I didn’t seek treatment outside of resting.
My quality of life became extremely poor – I had to give up running, could hardly walk and I was unable to cross my right leg over my left leg. I couldn’t do any exercises or movement that involved flexing my right hip. Thankfully, I have great instructors in the gym that I attend, who were able adapt the strength classes so that I could still maintain a level of fitness. I normally walk over 40,000 steps a day, but this was now an impossibility.
I made the decision to book an appointment, and subsequently have the surgery, because my quality of life was deteriorating every day. Walking had become painful, sleeping was constantly interrupted due to the fact that any movement by me asleep resulted in me waking up and then not being able to go back to sleep. I also found that I had to allow extra time to get ready each morning.
So, I did my due diligence once Axa PPP had approved a list of three potential surgeons. I asked several people I knew for their opinions, and I was recommended Mr Asopa.
My first consultation was an eye opener, I honestly hadn’t expected to hear the news that I would need hip surgery – a total right hip replacement. Mr Asopa gave me the options to delay the surgery by having a steroid injection. However, he made it very clear to me that the end result would be a total hip replacement. Once I heard this, I immediately agreed to the surgery.
He then proceeded to outline the steps of the surgery and recovery. He advised me to lose weight before the surgery (I am glad that I did as it made the recovery easier, in that I weighed less, was stronger, and this I believe helped the recovery). I had two appointments before surgery, this included an MRI and CT scan.
Mr Asopa is a straight shooter. Meaning that he was open and honest, provides the facts and as much details as you need at that particular point in time. His experience has shown that he doesn’t overload you with everything at once.
On 2nd March 2024, my husband and I arrived at the hospital at 7.30am as instructed, and we were guided to my room. After a nurse arrived with my surgery clothes, Mr Asopa and the anaesthetist arrived to outline the surgery. The anaesthetist was reassuring, walked me through every step and put my mind at ease. He explained what would happen to my body post-surgery, and therefore I had no surprises following my surgery as I knew what to expect.
I didn’t feel nervous as I had had a couple of Teams meeting chats with Mr Asopa who had put my mind at ease. When it was time for my surgery I changed and was then taken to the operating theatre. The anaesthetist gave me my injection for my spine and then I was operated on and woke up in the recovery room.
After my surgery, I couldn’t get out of bed as soon as I would have liked because the anaesthetic from my epidural hadn’t yet worn off. I eventually got up and did my first walk around by 8pm that day. I started off using two crutches to walk around and was able to move quickly from two to one during my recovery. It took another six weeks before I felt confident that I would manage without using a crutch.
12 weeks on from the operation and my scar was hardly visible. In fact, there are now days that I have forgotten that I even had surgery. My surgery has 100% helped with my injury. I no longer had any pain in my right hip, I could cross my legs, and I slept without any pain at all.
After four months, my physiotherapy was reduced to every other week. I am at the gym two to three times a week. As I started working out again, I felt reassured to know that I can contact Mr Asopa if anything with my condition changes.
During my recovery I quickly realised how important it is to listen to the advice of your consultant, and I am grateful for the advice I was given on returning to exercise. I had to reassess elements of my life such as walking, and try not to do too much too soon. Now, nearly eight months on from surgery, I have no pain at all. The final stage is my nine month follow up appointment at the end of the year.
If I can give any advice, it’s two things. 1) take all your pain meds, don’t be a hero. 2) get physio as much as possible. It will really help with your recovery.
To anyone requiring a hip replacement, I would without a doubt recommend Mr Asopa. If I have to have my left hip replaced, I will only want Mr Asopa to do the surgery. I ignored the early signs of my hip needing to be done before, I recommend not ignoring the early signs and ensuring you get a full work up if needed.
By LC, November 2024
Disclaimer: All case studies are based on the personal experience of the individual patient. It is important to be aware that each person’s treatment, surgery and recovery times may differ based on many variables. This patient has consented to the use of their case study and their medical imaging and/or their photo.