I've had both my hips replaced and my sister is going in to have hers done on Monday afternoon and expects to be discharged on Thursday (if not earlier!)

Generally the physio makes sure you can manage stairs before discharge and then it's a question of building up your stamina. When you come round after the op the overriding feeling is that the excruciating pain you've been in for yonks has stopped. The fact that there's a six inch scar down your leg complete with staples is only a minor irritant!

Oh and you do have to wear the ever so glamorous surgical stockings to stop the blood clots

Love Craig look forward to him being back on the show very soon. Good luck with the op

I hope she's not having them both done at the same time, or she'll need a set of castors!


Just to expand on what has been said.

These days, you're "in and out with a hip operation," depending on how complicated it may be and how old you are, but if you're reasonably otherwise fit, no more than a week.
You're up and walking about on the following day albeit on crutches.
The important thing is to keep your leg elevated for as long as reasonably possible. This stops the blood collecting around your ankle which if it happens, can be painful, restrict your movement and slow your recovery rate.

But you have to do all the exercises you're given as often as you can. On the NHS you'll just get a quick visit from a physio to tell you what to do.

The "test" for discharge, (the next and last time you might only see a physio) is usually when you can walk up a flight of stairs using one crutch and carrying the other. Which makes sense.

I had a new hip four years ago, which required a bit of "chiseling" off of some calcified spurs around the joint by my surgeon, but I was out within four days and was back playing a full round of golf after six weeks. So it was no big deal. No one would know I've had the operation (not even me now) and as mine has no metal parts, it doesn't set off the scanner alarm at airports.

Anyone contemplating this operation should go for it.
But regardless of your recovery rate, you mustn't drive until your consultant signs you off, as it'll invalidate your insurance.
If Craig has his operation on a Monday, there's no reason why he can't sit in a chair on SCD for a few hours on the following Saturday night.

Possibly a slighly ambitious schedule for getting back to scd, but good luck to him & I hope the op goes well.

Is his sore hip the reason for his grumpiness?
Once he's free of the pain, can we expect to see a cheery happy Craig?

I suspect the pain medication may be why he is making sure to get his positive points in. He seems less grumpy to me.

Remember, this is, in parts, a thinly disguised "pantomime."

I put that down to recent more benign scripts

Hope it all goes well for him. Can't imagine the show without Craig.

Sitting still on a chair for two hours might be very uncomfortable indeed after a hip op only days earlier. I wish him all the best, but please don't take risks Craig.

Craig will be very brave if he manages it.

Is it eck!

He will be relieved at how much less painful his leg will be. It's just the swelling of the leg and stretching of the muscles which restricts your movement for a while.

These days, you're up the day after your operation and encouraged to steadily regain your mobility, starting with a Zimmer frame and then progressing to crutches within a few days. It's actually no problem sitting in a chair for hours on end. But you should resist doing it and keep your leg elevated as much as possible, frequently getting up and getting the leg moving.

If you're reasonably fit as he is, then he'll have no problem on Saturday night.

As I mentioned earlier I was back to playing golf in six weeks after my operation and that involves a walk of about four miles.

As everyone says, I wish I had it done a few years earlier.

It's all a bit of a jungle behind the scenes. The set is built within a massive box of a studio, so I'm not sure there would be any lifts within the set itself.
I think there are some posters who've sat upstairs this series, who may know for sure.

He'll probably arrive in a private ambulance with a ramp, to get him off in a
wheelchair.

"Everywhere" has to have disabled access these days, so it won't be a problem.

So now we know, he's having his operation tomorrow.
So it's six days until his next appearance. In that length of time I was out of hospital and had my first walk down to our village (albeit on crutches) for a pint. A return trip of about 600 yards. I'm sure many others have done something similar.
Why are they making such a fuss about it?

They are missing a trick to try someone else out - although Craig could still give his scores.

Maybe James Jordan or Ian Waite could step in - and give their comments on the dance - then Craig text his scores in - or do it via Skype.

Although if he does do the show he will get an adrenaline kick like most performers so will not probably notice much pain. Just depends on what other people have said about blood clots form sitting etc.

Is he having a hip replacement? if so they must have improved a lot recently. People I know had it a few years ago and they had to convaless for at least 6 months, one friend nearly died, it could be a fatal operation.

Not sure exactly what op Craig is having? after the initial burst of enthusiasm, "resurfacing" aka "Birmingham hip" has been widely criticised recently. But total hip replacement is one of the safest and best tried operations there is. A surgeon of my acquaintance recently did one on a 98-year-old lady, who made an excellent recovery and is now free from the pain that was making her life intolerable.

OH has had both his done this year. Out of bed within a day or so following the op and walking straight away. For Craig - or anyone - sitting for long periods in one position may be uncomfortable depending on the chair but he'll be on blood-thinning injections, pain-killers, etc, so I can't see that, if all goes well, he'll have any difficulty doing the judging thing next Saturday.