Mr Ashwin Unnithan 2018-06-23 Person 5 5 0

I recently had a total hip replacement done by Mr. Unnithan at Ashford Hospital. My handful of interactions with him have been necessarily brief due to his time constraints, but never less than laser-focused in terms of his clarity of procedural explanation, his ability to reassure me about my recovery potential and his infectiously bulletproof confidence in his own abilities. For example, as I was/am young(ish) and fit(ish), he tried to get me to walk down to theatre with him to save time and have a chat on the way, giving the nurses on my ward palpitations as they summoned a porter and a bed. He was morbidly yet realistically hilarious about my odds going in to surgery ("95% chance you'll sing and dance again, 5% chance you'll never walk, and 1% chance I'll kill you...but these are good odds, we'll take them!" And even yesterday, 6 weeks down the line, we reviewed my X-rays and he pointed at the site of the implant in my femur and said, "That...is sheer technical brilliance." And you know what? I totally buy it. Each time I've seen him, I have come away feeling massively positive, uplifted and hopeful about my progress post-op - no easy task when dealing with a commonplace but nevertheless majorly complicated surgical event. He and his secretaries have even gone out of their way to issue me with a piece of documentation relating to my recovery that my GPs refused to provide without charging an exorbitant fee, a kindness that I truly appreciate and which will provide concrete financial assistance to my family. As a patient in the NHS system, sadly it is often possible to feel very defeated about the time and effort it takes to get anything meaningful done...however, once I was assigned Mr. Unnithan I have felt incredibly well looked after and comprehensively informed and educated about the procedure I've had. Physically, the surgery itself came and went ridiculously quickly (just 2 nights in hospital) and it's a testament to the skill it must have taken to perform the operation that I was up and on my feet so soon afterwards with no after -effects other than one routine BP crash. My wound is enormous (25 metal staples the shape and size of The Joker's grin) but neat as anything and has healed impeccably with no complications. Having undergone the meds and exercise regime once I was home, I genuinely feel stronger every single day. My sense is that the operation has been 1000% successful and my recovery is progressing very well too, giving me a new lease of life at the tender age of just 46. I cannot recommend Mr. Unnithan highly enough and I thank him for everything he has done to change my circumstances with great good humour, honesty and unimpeachable expertise.