On the road to recovery after bilateral hip replacement with Mr Mahmud

I had always been a very active person, whether it be water skiing, hill walking in the Peak District, or just plain working, especially around the home. I had written a walking book with a colleague, “Peak District Trigpointing Walks”. It was at the latter end of writing this book that the first twinges were felt in the groin area. I put this down to sciatica. As things developed a visit to the GP followed, sciatica was confirmed. Months later, I requested to be referred to a consultant privately, as the pain was becoming intense and crutches were required to move the smallest distance.

The first consultant I was referred to, was a neurosurgeon. Upon examination he made a decision that I had been sent to the wrong person, I required an Orthopaedic consultant. Enter Mr Mahmud, an extremely personable and competent consultant who after an examination and X-ray, confirmed, one very severe hip, one severe hip. Every aspect of the way forward was explained to me, complete with approx. time scales.

At this point things moved apace, preparations being made for the replacement of my right hip first, as this was the worst affected. After the checks and tests had been carried out at the Spire Regency hospital, I was admitted, Mr Mahmud carrying out the necessary surgery. I was informed at this stage that due to my months of inactivity, my leg /pelvic bone were a little softer than normal. My Physiotherapy was started immediately but continued for several months in a restricted manner due to my soft bone. Three days and two nights later I was at home. As my operated hip improved, my left hip became noticeably worse. Once again, I was admitted to the Spire Regency hospital under the office of Mr Mahmud who performed a second operation, this time on my left hip. Due to my new found mobility my left hip showed no sign of bone weakness. Again after physiotherapy, I was allowed home on my third day. I continue to improve, and am currently down to using just a walking stick. I cannot express my gratitude enough to Mr Mahmud, the Physiotherapists and nurses at the Spire Regency hospital for giving me back something I had always taken for granted.

Peter Whittaker