Hip help for Rugby's St Cross Hospital patients

The Hip Preservation Service at the Barby Road hospital, run by UHCW NHS Trust, has taken delivery of two arthroscopes.

They are used during keyhole surgery procedures to repair damage to the hip joint to reduce or avoid the need for hip replacement surgery.

The donation is thanks to the Friends of St Cross Hospital.

Consultant surgeon Michael Cronin said: “The three consultants who lead the Hip Preservation Service treat younger patients with severe hip pain.

“We use keyhole surgery techniques to correct minor malformations of the hip joint, or repair damage. These keyhole operations can postpone the need for patients to have a hip replacement, and in many cases avoid it altogether.

“As well as requiring major surgery and lengthy rehabilitation, hip replacements wear out over time. This can happen even faster in younger, more active patients, so delaying or avoiding the need for a hip replacement makes such a difference.”

Theatre Sister Mary Villasis added: “The new scopes donated by the Friends are connected to High Definition screens and have internal mirrors which enable the surgeons to look at the joint using either 30 or 70 degree angles from the tip of the scope. They allow our surgeons to create highly detailed images of the hip joint’s surface, and repair the problems causing our patients pain.”

Willy Goldschmidt, Chairman of the Friends of St Cross, said: “I have known for some time that the team at St Cross deliver the vast majority of hip and knee replacements carried out by the Trust but was amazed to learn about this service and that patients travel the length and breadth of the country to have this treatment which makes an enormous difference to so many people.”