Experience
For patients
Everything that helps you decide comes together on this page: educational videos in which I explain the disease and the method, the safety standards used in theatre, and stories from patients.
Video
Educational series
Nine videos, each answering one specific question. Every video links to the page where the same subject is set out at length.
- Where it all startsHow hip arthritis develops
- A common mix-upThe difference between osteoarthritis and arthritis
- What happens while you waitWhat pain does to the body
- A straight answerCan hip arthritis be cured
- The steps of treatmentWhat treatment changes in hip arthritis
- What the conservative route achievesWhat conservative treatment does to an arthritic joint
- Movement as treatmentExercise and rehabilitation in an arthritic joint
- When pain becomes an indicationWhen joint replacement becomes necessary
- What an implant is made ofTypes of implant
Seminar
Patient Team Education Seminar
A free meeting for patients and their families. Plain language, every term explained: this seminar is for patients, not for colleagues.
An orthopaedic surgeon who teaches patients is rare in Georgia. Let us cover what fifteen minutes of a consultation never fit.
- What happens inside the joint, and what the changes on an X-ray actually mean
- What can be done before surgery, and what each method really achieves
- When it is time for surgery, and why an image alone never decides it
- What happens after surgery: stages, limits, and the signs worth a phone call
The date is not fixed yet. Leave your number and you will get a text as soon as it is, then a reminder three days before and on the morning of the seminar.
Technology
Modern safety standards
Two systems that came into Georgian practice for the first time here. Both exist for one purpose: to lower the risk in theatre.
Surgical helmet systems
A surgical helmet system is a ventilated helmet worn under a sterile hood and gown. It covers the head and face of the surgeon completely and adds a barrier between the team and the open wound. The purpose is single: to lower the risk of wound contamination and post-operative infection.
STERIS ARCH leg positioner
An American system that holds the operated limb in a controlled, repeatable position throughout the operation. The leg moves on an arc, while traction force and angle are adjusted precisely. This adds accuracy when the implant is seated and reduces unnecessary load on the tissues.
Scar
The scar three months after surgery
One of the most common questions at a consultation is what the scar will look like. Here is what patients see at three months, and how the same place looks on the day of the operation.
5 photos
A scar takes months to settle into its final appearance and the process continues beyond the first year. Healing is individual: it depends on the skin, age, other conditions and aftercare. These photographs are the cases of particular people and are not an indication of the result another patient can expect.
The incision: marking and wound
The video first shows the site marked in theatre, where the incision will run, and then the closed wound under a transparent dressing: it is applied so that the wound can be seen without taking it off. The bikini incision is horizontal, 5 to 6 cm long, and follows the natural crease of the skin.
Stories
Patient stories
Five videos showing the experience of particular people: one patient speaks for herself, the others show walking at the hospital and at home.
- In the patient’s own words
A patient of 46 describes her own experience
- At the hospital
Walking after surgery, with the surgeon explaining
- At the hospital
Walking down the corridor with a frame
- At home
Walking at home with a frame
- At a follow-up
Walking with no walking aid
- At home
Walking at home with a frame
- At a follow-up
Anterior approach and a bikini incision: a patient at follow-up
- In the patient’s own words
A patient on the ward after surgery
- At the hospital
Walking down the hospital corridor
- At home
Walking at home with no walking aid
Each video is one particular person’s case and is not an indication of the result another patient can expect. The pace of recovery depends on age, the state of the joint, other conditions and rehabilitation.
Every patient photograph, video and story needs written, signed consent. This is not a formality. It is a legal requirement and a matter of professional ethics. Without consent nothing appears on the page.
These videos are on no external platform: the files sit on this site itself. They are not downloaded when the page opens and they never play on their own, only the first frame is shown. The video is fetched when you press play yourself.
Rules that are not broken
- Every item needs written, signed consent.
- A patient can withdraw consent at any time. The material is taken down immediately.
- Scar photographs only without the face.
- The result is individual. One patient story is not an indication of the outcome another patient can expect.
- Surgical video is posted separately, hidden, behind a warning screen. Never autoplay.
Invitation
If you are my patient
If you have had surgery and would like to share your experience with others, call or write to me. We will fill in the consent form together and you decide what goes into the material and what does not.
