Mr James Hutchinson 2021-02-18 Person 5 5 0

I have felt very lucky to be a patient of James Hutchinson. After an x.ray at a local NHS hospital in early March, which demonstrated severe osteo-arthritis and the likely need for a replacement hip, the whole process stalled for several months. In early September I had a regular appointment with a different consultant for a separate medical condition. He noted that my walking had deteriorated markedly in a few months and didn't think it was related to my other condition. So he immediately organised an x.ray and an appointment with Mr Hutchinson. This was arranged very quickly, and he showed me the two x.rays which demonstrated a marked deterioration. There was no space between the hip joint and the socket, which had caused my left leg to be 1cm shorter than my right, and also a cyst on the ball. Consequently this made me limp and gave me very bad back pain, as well as down my leg. Mr Hutchinson advised me that he thought a more robust than normal hip joint would be preferable. My other medical condition causes involuntary movement, sometimes severe, so a normal one could dislocate. He also advised that with my other condition being progressive that sooner rather than later would be advisable as it was possible that I could have eventually dislocated the existing hip. At no time did he put me under any pressure to have it done, but told me he thought it would be a good idea. When I asked he told me the consequences of not having it done he told me that my mobility would steadily get worse, with me working out the obvious and inevitable result. The consequences of having the operation were the normal medical statistics, which I was familiar with from having a knee replacement some 4 years previously. The operation was done on 1st December. Mr Hutchinson saw me a few hours later and said he was very pleased with the operation. He had been surprised with the severity of the involuntary movement under anaesthetic. My legs had to be stabilised during the operation. I am sure this fully justified the advice to have a more robust hip; it was a kind of double-jointed one to cope with movement in different directions. Throughout the whole process Mr Hutchinson was completely professional, and it was reassuring to see his permanent smile, alongside his optimistic and positive outlook. We were in no doubt that we were in good hands, to say the very least. Both my husband and myself are very grateful to him for everything he has done for me. The appointment six weeks after the operation was a continuation of before and he was genuinely very pleased at the outcome. Once again 'thank you, thank you'.