Frequently Asked Questions

At Ortho Precision we understand the burden of the increasing cost of healthcare.  The good news is that Dr Edirisinghe has agreements with most private health funds to provide you with surgery with no gap required.

If you do not have private medical insurance, you can still opt to pay out of pocket and undergo your procedure. Before surgery, we will provide you with a complete quotation of fees, ensuring that you are equipped with the necessary information to make an informed decision regarding your treatment options. Special consideration is extended to pensioners and concession card holders.

If costs are still an issue Dr Edirisinghe conducts public hospital clinic/surgery sessions where he sees complex hip and knee conditions and trains future surgeons. This clinic sees and offers surgery free of charge. However, unfortunately, the South Australia Health wait times to be seen and offered surgery in the public health system currently has a waitlist of 4-5 years. We are happy to facilitate a referral to this clinic if you wish at any time.

Please refer to the 5-point quiz recommended by Dr Edirisinghe to decide the answer to this question. Please also refer to the section on how to treat your hip and knee pain without surgery.

Joint replacement surgery allows a significant reduction in pain, improves your walking, allows return to your hobbies, and enables sleeping without pain.

When joint replacements are performed well the outcomes can be life-changing. It allows return to function and activities you enjoy and gives back your independence.

All surgery has risks. Dr Edirisinghe will discuss the individualised risks that are important in your consultations.

When considering joint replacement surgery, it is very important to make up your mind with the correct information. A lot of misinformation can be perpetuated with the internet and social media.

Please note that not all joint replacement surgery is the same and you should not rely on individual testimonials. Joint replacement surgery may improve your quality of life greatly and it is important to give it a fair consideration.

All surgery has risks. With improvement in surgical techniques, the risk complication following joint replacement surgery is very rare and often ‘one in a hundred’. However, these risks can be higher if you have other medical conditions.

Dr Edirisinghe will discuss the specific risks that apply to you in your consultation.

Unfortunately, joint pain from arthritis is a problem that only gets worse with age. There is no ‘CURE’ or any treatment to reverse arthritis. So please be cautious of people promising therapies with unrealistic results. These practitioners are often unbound by the practice requirements and ethics of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulatory Agency (AHPRA) and make wild unsubstantiated claims for monetary gains.

However, there are many therapies you can use to ‘CONTROL’ your joint pain. Please refer to my section on ‘managing your joint pain without surgery’ section for scientifically proven and recommended non-operative strategies.

With the current technology, you can expect your joint replacement surgery to outlast you (with certain exceptions when done on very young patients).

Current data from the Australian Joint Replacement Registry indicates that approximately only 1/10 hip and knee replacements required a ‘redo’ within 20 years!!!

The current technology and personalised alignment strategies may yield even better results.

Joint replacement therapy is an end-stage option when you have exhausted all other options. Please refer to Dr. Edirisinghe’s 5-point questionnaire for a quick screen of your situation. Essentially its an option to consider when you are not enjoying your hobbies and losing your independence.

For early arthritis, joint replacement is NOT the correct path of treatment. Often great results can be achieved with many strategies to improve your hip and knee health.

Please refer to our information on how to manage your knee pain without surgery for more details.

The simple answer is THIS IS NOT CORRECT. Joint replacement surgery can be done on overweight patients. There have been multiple studies that have shown that overweight patients (BMI over 35) have EVEN MORE improvement in their quality of life than non-overweight patients with joint replacement surgery.

Dr Edirisinghe is happy to perform joint replacement surgery against body weight.

However, being overweight carries more risks with surgery. These risks are individually specific, and Dr Edirisinghe will discuss them with you after your consultation.

Also, the joint replacement may require an individualised plan and may require complex planning and hospital arrangements.

The simple answer is THIS IS NOT CORRECT. There is no age cut-off for joint replacement surgery. Surgery is very safe now compared to in the past. Also, with the current advances in medical technology our life expectancy is longer and it is not unreasonable to expect to enjoy your hobbies and maintain your independence at any age.

Dr. Edirisinghe often performs knee and hip replacement surgery even in patients above the age of 90. However, you may have increased risks associated with other medical problems with advancing age. Thus, this requires an individualised discussion of risks and benefits.

Robotic joint replacement surgery has been shown to deliver improved accuracy of a surgical plan. However, if the surgical plan is bad the results also will be bad. Also, a lot of the decisions that determine the outcome of the joint surgery replacements are made in the middle of the operation based on what you see and based on the surgeon’s experience. There is no robotic substitution for this.

Neither the Australian National Joint Replacement Registry nor international systematic review studies have proven to improve patient outcomes by using robotic joint surgery thus far.

Dr Edirisinghe uses robotic total knee replacement in some situations. However, Dr Edirsinghe supports the official stance of the Australian Joint Replacement Registry and multiple international studies that it is the surgeon who makes the difference to your surgery than the robot.

Hip replacements can be performed through anterior, lateral, and posterior approaches.

Traditionally in Australia, we have performed hip replacements through a posterior approach. However, in the last decade performing hip replacements through an anterior approach has become very popular.

Direct anterior approach involves an incision through the groin region in the front of the hip which approaches the hip BETWEEN muscle groups rather than piercing THROUGH the gluteal muscle group (Buttock muscle). This offers an early advantage by allowing the immediate ability to have a normal walking pattern and the ability to use steps more effectively. However other approaches also catch up to this advantage by 6 weeks after surgery.

Currently, there are no long-term improved functions or outcomes demonstrated using anterior, lateral, or posterior approaches as per the consensus statement from the Arthroplasty Association of Australia (see attached below). However, each approach has its pros and cons and risk profiles that may offer advantages, and disadvantages in the short to medium term (between 2 weeks to 12 weeks).

Dr Edirisinghe commonly does hip replacements through a direct anterior approach. However, in complex ‘redo’ hip scenarios or complex hip replacement scenarios, Dr Edirisinghe uses the posterior approach as it allows more options to ensure safe surgery for you.