'Same day' hip operations call
Patients with a broken hip should be offered surgery as soon as they are admitted to hospital, recommends new guidance that criticises current NHS waiting times in England.
Currently, half of patients wait over 36 hours and some wait several days before hip surgery, and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence says this is too long.
Outcomes are often poor - one in three die within 12 months.
Prompt surgery could help change this.
The new recommendations for England say timely surgery and effective treatment including physiotherapy after the operation can significantly improve patients' lives, reducing the length of their hospital stay and getting them back on their feet sooner.
Hip fractures are a serious problem which affect 1 in 6 women and some men. Around 75,000 hip fractures occur each year in the UK, costing the NHS £2bn a year in medical and social care.
74-year-old Sheila Bex, from West Sussex, waited in pain for over a fortnight with a broken hip due to brittle bones before having her surgery.
In A&E her symptoms were dismissed by a doctor as groin pain and she was sent home with a walking frame.
But the pain persisted and 12 days later she returned to her GP and was sent for an x-ray.
This revealed that she had a fracture and needed immediate surgery.
She was admitted to hospital but it took another three days and two cancelled operations before she finally had her surgery.
Sheila has made a good recovery and still manages to live an independent life, but she hopes the new guidelines will mean others do not have to suffer a similar plight.
NICE says the changes it recommends would cost very little to implement and would save money in the long-term.
It wants patients to be operated on either the same day, or the day after, hospital admission.
And immediately after the surgery a team of different experts, including surgeons, physicians, anaesthetists, nurses and physiotherapists, should work out a care plan to to help patients regain their mobility and independence as quickly as possible.
Falls and hip fractures in adults are often a sign of underlying ill health and a co-ordinated multidisciplinary approach from hospital admission to discharge is essential, says NICE.
Tim Chesser, a consultant orthopaedic and trauma surgeon who helped develop the guidelines, said: "Hip fractures are a major issue - they affect more women than breast cancer. Although there have been big improvements in the quality of NHS care, we know that, nationally, some patients are still waiting too long for surgery.
Hip Fracture Recovery - News
Dr Claire Bowring, from the National Osteoporosis Society, welcomed the guidance: "The consequences of a hip fracture can be devastating so prompt management and treatment is essential. "There are now 78000 hip fractures a year, 10% of these people
David Freese, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals: Freese suffered a broken bone in his left hand when he was hit by a pitch in early May but has been steadily making good progress in his recovery. He underwent surgery after the injury to stabilize the fracture
Several articles and guidelines indicate that surgical delay of hip fracture surgery in elderly patients has a major negative impact on in-hospital and 30-day mortality. 19,20 However, for this particular patient, recovery was uneventful,
Malnutrition is a problem for many older people recovering from a hip and other major fractures. Oral supplementation with high calorie high protein nutrients is a simple intervention that may help older people with fractures to improve their recovery
“Surgically removing bone and marrow from a patient's hip can involve considerable pain and a long recovery. We're hoping to avoid these problems while remaining at least as effective.” For most people who have suffered a fracture in one of their long
Hip Fracture Resources | Bone Fracture|Causes, Symptoms, and ...
There are a ton of available resources on the web these days that can help you in the prevention of or recovery from a hip fracture. The following is a listing and review of some great web sites and articles if you would like more information on hip fracture prevention, treatment, and recovery.
The Mayo Clinic
The Mayo Clinic is a highly respected non-profit organization and clinic that maintains clinics in Minnesota, Arizona, and Florida. They also have a very informative web site that is a great resource for countless medical conditions. The section of the web site on hip fractures is very in depth and organized in a way that you can find information very easily on prevention of hip fractures or help with recovery from hip surgery.
Care.com
Care.com is an interesting web site in that it deals with the care of patients following surgeries like total hip replacement. On this web site you’ll find questions and tips related to helping patients or parents who are going through a difficult hip surgery recovery.
Advice on how to deal with the medical condition is provided, as well as advice on how to help the patient mentally get through the recovery is discussed.
This web site also provides access to a network of caregivers and service providers in your area if you need additional help with recovering from hip surgery. You can find providers for any level of help that might be needed, from full time care to part time help with housework and chores. The great thing about this service is that you can post your needs and interview potential caregivers as well as look at a background check.
EveryDayHealth.com
Maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle are the best preventative measures that you can take towards avoiding a hip fracture. Working as an online community and resource, EveryDayHealth.com is a great resource and web site to use to maintain that active and healthy lifestyle.
Nutrition information and tools like their ‘meal planner’ and ‘weight tracker’ are great ways to make sure you are doing everything you can to stay healthy. Participating in the community forums is also a great way to meet other people facing the same issues or working towards the same goals.
Hip fractures are a common injury, especially among the elderly – so reaching out to a community like EveryDayHealth will give you the opportunity to find understanding support of what it is you might be going through following hip surgery.
Hip Fracture Recovery - Bookshelf
Hip fractures, a practical guide to management
In addition, this book covers epidemiology and mechanisms of injury, diagnosis, treatment principles, avoidance of pitfalls, rehabilitation, outcome assessment, ...Practical fracture treatment
4. treatment of fractures of the femoral shaft: In the adult, ... The good leg is extended at the hip while the affected leg is flexed at the hip to allow ...Hip fracture recovery in older women, the influence of self-efficacy, depressive symptoms and state anxiety
American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation
Previously, studies have shown that including strengthening exercise in the rehabilitation from hip fracture may lead to better results with respect to ...Brunner and Suddarth's textbook of medical-surgical nursing
Although prior research identifies factors associated with functional recovery following hip repair surgery for patients with hip fractures, these studies ...Day-to-day Information Directory
Hip Fractures - A Guide For Recovery
Hip Fracture Basics: Types and Causes of Broken Hips. Hip fractures are serious injuries that often require surgery to repair. ...
Hip fracture surgeries - Recovery
Hip fracture surgeries - Recovery, Hip fracture surgeries are procedures that repair ...
Hip Fracture Recovery - HealthCentral
Find out all about Hip fracture, including the most common causes, symptoms and treatments.
PakMed InfoGlobe: Osteoporosis: Recovery From Hip Fracture
A hip fracture is a broken bone near the top of the femur or thigh bone. ... Recovery from a hip fracture can take four to eight months. In the early weeks of ...
Hip Fracture Recovery | LIVESTRONG.COM
Recovery from a hip fracture can require a lengthy period of traction, especially for patients who have a pre-existing condition that makes precludes surg...