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what is the procedurewhere you live ?

Posted , 20 users are following.

irish_linda
irish_linda

hi all just wondering  about the difference in countries  of waiting times to get tkr ,i live in south of ireland and here if you dont have private health insurance the waiting time to get tkr is over 5yrs which is crazy to say the least so in my case my husband needed hip replacement and i needed two knees ,we had to make sure we had private insurance its cost us a fortune this year it was over 3,000 euro for insurance       and we had to have it and god knows how much it will cost next year as we have to keep paying it because my husband needs to get his knee done  in the next 12 months .is the waiting times better in your country ?

1 like, 26 replies

26 Replies

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  • christine26761
    christine26761 irish_linda

    Posted

    I'm in Australia..I was referred by a private dr... but I only went private for to the Orthapaedic surgeon for diagnoses, he then sent me to the local hospital, I didn't have a knee replacement only day surgery for scraping my the torn cartledge etc...it was bone on bone..OA....and I only waited 3 weeks...I think it depends on what your original doctor writes on your referral, wether the hospital puts you on top of the list or down further.(depends on the urgency) as people couldn't believe just how quickly I got mine done.....there is a couple of years on the waiting list here, depends on what state you live in too..some are longer, however,  as I've said, It really does depend on, where you are on the waiting list..as sometimes you may get near the top and someone more needy as their doctor sees it goes on the top.. hence, putting you down lower..actually when I went back for my scheduled checkup the doctor said how come you got an MRI, then he said: O' right you went to see a private doctor first..so I just guessed that was why I had it done straight away...maybe not..maybe it was worse than I thought..do hope all goes very well for you Linda..be blessed..have a lovely day:-) xx
  • moandrieu
    moandrieu irish_linda

    Posted

    Linda, I am from the USA, but living in India. When I met with my doctor, he would have done the surgery that week. Absolutely no waiting here. I was able to schedule it when I had family here to help me through the recovery. I initially paid out of pocket; a bilateral cost about the equivalent of 6,000 euro. Friends in Las Vegas (USA) had to wait a number of months just to see the surgeon and then another couple of months waiting for the surgery. But nothing like a 5 year wait.
    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 moandrieu

      Posted

      That m y be the case in Vegas but certainly not where I'm from, the KC metro area. I now go to the university medical center because o f the rare tumor that originally caused my problem. I had an appointment with the ortho oncologist 1 st and saw her in less than 2 weeks. She referred me to the teaching assoc professor ortho and I saw him in a little over 2 weeks. I had to have several tests and the final decision that I would need a revision was made and I was offered surgery in 3 weeks. Due to the holidays I opted to wait until after the 1st of the year as did many i there so it was the 3rd week Of the year. I have referred 3 people to my surgeon and no one has had to wait more than 6 weeks. 2 had surgery within 45 days. The local ortho group of 8 seems to be running less than 6 weeks from 1st appt to surgery. 4 of that group specilize in knee/hip. 2 are shoulder, hand & arm. I guess it just depends on the demographics of the area. A late friend of mine sintered in Palm desert CA and they had more high calibre eye, ortho and other elderly (wealthy elderly) problems than any place in the country during the winter months. What a lot of people don't know, unless you have been hospitalized within the last 4 months, you can take your records and walk into a mayo clinic and get immediate attention. We saw any number of mid eastern dignitaries up there and their or i hate jets were sitting at the airport.
  • sarah87162
    sarah87162 irish_linda

    Posted

    I live in Wales. Come and live here?!!

    I had TKR 3 years ago. I waited less than a year from first seeing GP being referred to consultant and having the operation.

    I have to say I had an excellent consultant and although I still have one or two problems with my knee the operation itself has been a total success story.

    Sarah

  • irish_linda
    irish_linda

    Posted

    a huge thanks to ye all for the replies yes its just what i thought im living in the wrong country our health system is nothing short of disgracefull . to test the system here last october my husband put himself on the list to see a consultant (now we do have private) he has not heard a word back from going through the national health  and i dont expect to hear anything anytime soon  , the lists here are endless and i feel for people not able to afford private .we do struggle to pay private but it has to be paid it now seems in this country that you have to pay health insurance before you eat ,
  • Annodoremouse
    Annodoremouse irish_linda

    Posted

    I waited 27 days Yes days in Newcastle UK. Private at The Nuffiels Hospitals is about £4500. Google total knee replacement at Nuffield and you will find a few. I can recommend Nuffield
  • joansgarden
    joansgarden irish_linda

    Posted

    I'm in Oregon in the US and have retired and am on Medicare. By the time I pay all the premiums to cover health, vision and dentist it comes to about $3000/yr but then so long as I have something that Medicare covers, I have no more costs (drugs are extra). If Medicare doesn't cover it (eg varicose veins) then it is all out of pocket.

    Before I retired and had private insurance through my work, the premiums were about the same but in addition I had to pay 20% of the costs until I reached another $3000, and then they paid it all.

    If you have not seen an orthopedic surgeon then it may take a few weeks to get an appointment, but once you are in the door they take X-rays on the first visit and decide right then if you need a tkr. Then you can get it done as soon as the sugeon has an opening, which is usually 3-4 weeks.

  • denise35025
    denise35025 irish_linda

    Posted

    Hi Linda, I'm in Australia and didn't have private health ins. When I was told I needed a tkr, there was a waiting list of about 2 &1/2 years in the public system. My GP suggested I join a fund where the wait was 12 mths before I could claim. I did so, and had my op 14 mths after joining. My knee was a mess, bone on bone, but because I could still walk, there was the possibility that I would be kept on the bottom of the waiting list, while others who complained louder would be moved up. It cost me about $2,000 for the singles ins cover (£1000) and $5,000 for the "gap". That's the difference between the ins payout and the surgeon's fees etc.

    All I can say is, it was worth every penny, as I had a faster recovery than most and I had wonderful care while in hospital.

  • Dotty_Lotty
    Dotty_Lotty irish_linda

    Posted

    Hi Linda the delays you have had sound awful, From seeing the consultant to the actual surgery I waited 3 whole week ! My condition was pretty dire but even so I found this remarkable. I had it done in an NHS treatment centre , the only thing they do there is knee replacement and hip replacement, the clinic has only 1 ward and runs like  a dream, which begs the question of why there are not more of these centres as a model of nhs units it is fantastic, the only down side was the distance I had to travel to it, best wishes to toy
  • mandy71412
    mandy71412 irish_linda

    Posted

    Hi Linda originally I was having my knee sorted on the nhs started the ball rolling last May and up until April of this year I was still be fobbed off! Fortunately I have private medical ins through work and used it! Waiting time from start to finish was about 6 weeks it would have been quicker had I not had a chest infection right before surgery due date! I am 2 weeks post op now and it's getting easier each day! Had I continued with nhs I would still be waiting although initially I was told waiting time was about 3 months!

    very skeptical at that! 

    Good luck with it all

    Mandy 

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