Review of a good book on Total Hip Replacement

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Dear Friends,

 

Sai Ram. Recently I read a good book on Total Hip Replacement. The

book is called, " Getting Hip " by Sigrid Macdonald of Canada. The

review is given below.

 

http://blether.com/blether.php?id=10167

 

Blether - The book review site

 

Getting Hip - Recovery From A Total Hip Replacement

by Sigrid Macdonald Published by AuthorHouse

 

Category: Non-fiction / Health

160 pages; ISBN: 1-4184-7837-7

 

Rating: 7/10 (Ratings explained)

Reviewer: Swamy

 

Review

 

" Getting Hip " is the first person account of Sigrid Macdonald, who

went through a Total Hip Replacement Surgery and felt the need to

share her experiences before, during and after surgery.

 

At places poignant, at places serious and at some places humorous, the

book gives a detailed account of what is involved in a Total Hip

Replacement Surgery, including the decision to go in for the surgery,

type of implant to be selected (given a choice) and what to expect in

terms of pain, restrictions on movement and post-surgery life style

etc. The author has referred to several books on the subject and has

added her own wisdom to the subject.

 

One interesting feature of the book is the chapter dealing with the

experiences of other people who underwent similar surgery. The widely

different experiences of these people confirm the author's own

experience that when it comes to a major issue, each individual has a

different experience and while other's experience has some educational

value, that does not and cannot form a benchmark. That is the message

of this good book.

 

The bibliography and electronic references given at the end of the

book add value to the book. The last chapter dealing with the Future

of Hip Replacements is a little speculative and should be taken as the

author's perception of various bits and pieces collected in the course

of her extensive reading and interaction. Brand names of drugs should

be acknowledged as such and wherever possible, generic names of the

drugs may be preferred.

 

The book doesn't deal with alternative or complementary aspects of

health care in detail since the author is totaly dependent on the

Canadian Health care system, which is dependent on the main stream

medical knowledge. Several people are however trying out alternative

systems like herbal supplements, Homeopathy, Acupuncture etc. because

of the adverse side effects of the main stream drugs.

 

The reviewer found some sentence usage patterns in the book rather

odd, but probably these are country specific and in any case there is

no difficulty in understanding the text.

 

If you are considering a hip replacement or if you need to support a

friend or relative who is contemplating such a surgery and are looking

for a layperson's perspective of what is involved in a major surgical

operation like Total Hip Replacement, this book is certainly recommended.

 

This book is also worth taking a look at if you are in the health care

profession, since it gives you the perspective from the customer's

point of view.

 

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Regards.

 

Swamy