My one mistake was trying to drive too early. Going down a steep hill, I realised I couldn’t put proper pressure on the brakes. I managed to switch the car from automatic to manual and crawled home in first gear.
But there were frustrations. I only had a couple of short, outpatient physio sessions included with my package, and six weeks after surgery I developed an infection in the incision wound, which set me back. I was on antibiotics for six weeks.
Hidden costs
Gradually, I got back to normal life. For three years everything was fine, then my other hip started to go. I had to shorten my walks, give up croquet games and even stop volunteering at my local food bank.
In 2025, a private MRI scan confirmed bone-on-bone loss of cartilage in my hip. I didn’t even consider waiting for the NHS – I’d read too much about the staggeringly long waiting lists. After all, you can’t take your savings with you to the other side. But what would it cost this time?
I was shocked to find my surgeon’s price had risen to £15,000, and he was pushing robotic surgery, which was even more expensive. Having been underwhelmed by my first experience, I decided to do some proper research.
By then, prices in the UK private hospitals I looked at ranged from around £15,000 to £20,000, often excluding imaging and extras. Where on earth was all the extra money going? According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, a hip replacement costs the NHS approximately £7,800.
Then, while searching online, I came across a medical tourism company, TailorDoc, offering hip replacements in Spain for significantly less than UK prices. That got my attention.
The package included the minimally invasive surgery with a very experienced orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Fernando Corbí, and 12 days’ rehabilitation, including accommodation and meals in a four-star hotel. This would set me back £11,400, including flights which I booked myself. It had gathered plenty of five-star reviews on Trustpilot.