"Surgeon has made me feel terrified about operation"

Last Friday I had an appointment to see my surgeon at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn in regards to a hip replacement.

Of the half an hour I spent with him about 15 minutes was spent telling me what could go wrong, with great emphasis on the possibility that I could get an infection and have to have the implant removed and how would I feel about living the rest of my life with no hip.

Whilst I appreciate that I should be made aware of the downside of the major surgery I would be undergoing it made me feel very uneasy indeed, in fact it made me feel positively queasy to keep listening to him telling me over and over again that I could end up with no hip and bedridden for the rest of my life.

It appeared that as far as he was concerned there were no positives and I wonder why he is still performing this operation when he feels so negative about it. As I am on maximum pain killers and need a walking stick now there is no alternative but to have this operation as without it I will end up in a wheelchair anyway. I have already had one hip replaced and it has been very successful.

I will still go ahead with this operation when I eventually get to the top of the 4 month waiting list, but when the time comes I know I will be absolutely terrified, which is surely not conducive to the healing process.

Surely there should be a balance between the positive and negative results to be gained from such an operation. As it is I am left feeling fearful of what is to come.