Knee Surgery - Consultant and Costs

IsThisOneFree

Hi All

I've no idea if this is the best forum for this or not, so apologies in advance if it's not. My Mum has bad arthritis in both her knees and I'm looking for some advice. What I'd like to know is:

- Can anybody recommend a good surgeon in Ireland (preferably west, or Dublin, but we can travel if we really have to) for knee replacements/consultations ?

- Does anybody have any ideas what the costs can be roughly ? I've heard it can be 10k per knee, but I've never seen any figures written anywhere. Also, do any of the health insurance companies cover any of this ? Or if they wouldn't cover the cost of the op, would they at least cover the hospital costs ?

- What are the complications/risks with an operation like this (obviously I know a consultant would be in a better position to answer this, but just wondering if anybody knows from experience) ? My Mum has a few complications of her own including being prone to infections and having a bit of a dodgy stomach. Still, she's only in her mid 60's and I'm sure people much older than her have had this op successfully.

- Anything else anybody feels I should know about

Thanks in advance

Brewie

Hi there,

I was having serious trouble with my knee 2 years ago. I went to my GP and he referred me to Mr Owen Brady. He's based in the Sports Surgery Clinic in Santry.

I know its a sports clinic but on the day of my operation there definitely were patients of his that were not of the sporting nature. I was 1 of 5 patients he operated on the day I was there, a middle aged woman had her two knees replaced (obv. not that day) and Mr Brady was looking after her.

I noticed you mentioned your mother had health insurance. My op was covered by insurance excluding the first €100 and I was able to claim back a percentage of the consultancy fees (€160 first app & 100/120 after) - this will depend on what cover.

From family & friends, I mentioned Mr Brady's name and anyone that knew of him couldnt speak any more highly of the man (3 aunts are nurses).

Get your mother to talk to her GP and/or ring the surgery to see if his services cover your mother's needs. Below is a link to his profile on the SSC website. Worth a phone call!!


Mr Owen Brady

http://www.sportssurgeryclinic.com/about/surgeons_physicians/surgeons/orthopaedic_surgeons/Mr-Owen-Brady.html

nice_guy80

Padraic Murray based in the Galway Clinic

did my knee earlier this year

was very informative, explained exactly what needed to be done using the scans that had been done and the costs involved.
he was really determined to get a good job done

Depends on the surgery, but my total bill was just over €3000 (including consultant meetings, gp visits, scans, hospital fee, surgeon fee, anesthetist fee) which luckily was covered by insurance.

narwog81

nice_guy80 wrote: »

Padraic Murray based in the Galway Clinic

did my knee earlier this year

was very informative, explained exactly what needed to be done using the scans that had been done and the costs involved.
he was really determined to get a good job done

Depends on the surgery, but my total bill was just over €3000 (including consultant meetings, gp visits, scans, hospital fee, surgeon fee, anesthetist fee) which luckily was covered by insurance.

+1 on Mr Murray, I got an ACL reconstruction there in 2009 and i couldn't recommend him highly enough.

Insurance should cover the bulk of the costs, as far as I remember my surgery cost €5000.

€1500 to the surgeon
€800 to anaesthetist
€2700 to the Galway clinic for the bed for 2 nights

Apart from that expect an initial consult with the surgeon for about €150, an MRI for ~€450 and then Physio bills.

IsThisOneFree

Thanks for the replies guys. My Mum doesn't have insurance, I was hoping I might be able to get her on through my work insurance but I wasn't 100% sure if it was the kind of thing insurance companies covered (subject to waiting periods) - although I see now for an over 65, the waiting period is 2 years !!!

Anyway, thanks again for the replies. Cost wise it looks like 10k would be the absolute minimum for 2 knees.

Anybody got any experience with Dr. Derek Bennett in Galway Clinic ? I think Mum might have seen him previously as a HSE patient, so he would be a little more familiar with her situation I guess.