Mr Lee Longstaff

Written by a patient at University Hospital of North Durham

Although it was becoming more & more painful to stand, walk, use stairs, do my job & to lead a normal "active" life ( for a sixty year old man in full time employment), as the date for my operation approached, the nerves & second thoughts crossed my mind more than a few times. I wondered if it was the right course of action to take, did I really need the operation, was someone else not more deserving of my place? It was with some trepidation that I went into hospital for total knee replacement surgery. Although Mr Longstaff explained to me that the success rate for the procedure is approximately 70 -75% I had visions of being one of the 25% with complications & that coupled with being squeamish about hospitals, needles, blood, pain etc etc. I need not have worried, it will be 6 weeks tomorrow since I had my operation & nearly 5 weeks since discharge from hospital, I know it is still early days but so far, results have been excellent, I could not thank Mr Longstaff, his team, all the nursing & physio staff at University Hospital North Durham enough. I am now back to work, walking like a new man, my posture has improved & the related back pain I suffered from has all but disappeared. Family & friends are commenting on the speed of my recovery. It is still early days, I still have discomfort, swelling around the knee & at night, interrupted sleep. I still have work to do to get my knee bend back to what it was before & to strengthen my leg but that will come with time. I hope this review helps & reassures anyone feeling as I did about this procedure - don't worry, you are in safe hands - go for it!

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Written by a patient at Spire Washington Hospital

Mr longstaff was very welcoming and easy to talk to explained everthing to me .my operation went well without any complications and the after care from both staff and mr longstaff was very good.

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Written by a patient at University Hospital of North Durham

After suffering left hip pain for 8 years I finally made the decision to see what can be done as I am 61 and at the younger age this was not easy . From the moment I met Mr Longstaff I was put at ease about total hip replacement, the X ray confirming advanced arthritis .The operation was done at Bishop Auckland ,a fantastic hospital and staff likewise . I can not thank Mr Longstaff enough for everything he did for me any anxiety I had was gone, the operation and recovery perfect I have no pain and walking well .I feel very fortunate to have had him as my consultant many thank 's.

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Written by a patient at Spire Washington Hospital

Since being referred to Mr Longstaff, I have had the most positive experience of healthcare from the outset. I was referred following years of treatments for osteoarthritis of both knees, none of which had worked for me. I have now had the first total knee replacement (2 months ago) and will be getting the second one done soon. Mr Longstaff provides clear and concise information at every stage from initial consultation through to the surgery and aftercare. He listens and is most considerate of fears and worries you may have about what the surgery will entail. In my experience it is quite unusual to come across a consultant who is so approachable and amicable whilst maintaining a high level of both professionalism and care! I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Mr Longstaff most highly to anyone requiring his expertise and skill.

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Written by a patient at University Hospital of North Durham

While out on a bike ride with my girl friend our handlebars got locked together. We both came off and I somersaulted and landed on my right (false) hip. The false hip was fine however my femur wasn't and fractured. I was admitted to Darlington hospital (not a good experience), then fortunately taken to Durham University hospital where I received excellent pre and post op care by Mr Longstaff and his team. The complicated 6 hour operation involving repairing my femur and a full hip revision was successful, and 3 months later I am able to fully weight bear. A full hip revision was undertaken due to my previous false hip being titanium and the pin also needing to be longer so that it sat in part of the bone that had not been fractured, and whilst I unlike others had not encountered any problems, Mr Longstaff considered it prudent to take no chances and replaced it with ceramic. An excellent decision as given how many problems others have had, it meant me not having yet another operation if the titanium hip had failed in the future.

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