Cornish Man Returns to Golf Five Weeks After Hip Replacement in France

67-year-old Tony returns to golf after heading to France for treatment

A marine accident investigator from Wadebridge is back playing golf just five weeks after a full hip replacement, thanks to a private operation in France that helped him avoid a years-long NHS wait.

“I felt I had no option”

Tony Brown, 67, had already undergone joint replacements on his right knee in 2018 and left hip in 2020. But when his right hip started to cause serious pain last year, he was told the NHS wait could stretch to two or even three years.

“When you have reached the age of 67, you are very definitely time-limited,” said Tony. “The thought of two to three years of unproductive life was unappealing, to say the least.”

Despite being a strong supporter of the NHS, Tony opted to go private after finding Elite Surgery Abroad online. “The pain was such that I felt I had no option.”

A new route for surgery

Elite Surgery Abroad is a UK-based company offering orthopaedic procedures at a leading private clinic in Amiens, northern France. They arranged Tony’s total hip replacement just two weeks after his first consultation.

“I would not have believed it possible,” said Tony. “But five weeks after having a total hip replacement with Elite Surgery Abroad, I was back on the golf course.”

The company was founded by Raoul Mkoh, a former financial controller with French hospital group Pauchet Santé. Operations are carried out at the Victor Pauchet Clinic, where Tony was treated by Dr Thomas Rouanet.

Better care, lower cost

Tony described a smooth experience from start to finish. “We were met at the airport in a taxi and taken to the residence where we were to stay. The op was on the Friday, and the doctor came in to see me on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There is no way that would happen in the UK.”

Tony paid £11,090 for the full package, which included his wife at no extra cost. The same surgery was quoted at over £17,000 by a private hospital in Cornwall, and came with limited physio.

“The aftercare was equally brilliant,” said Tony. “Physio every day, and we could walk to a little boutique shopping mall nearby for our coffee and my daily exercise.”

The cost covered every aspect of the procedure, including:

• Pre-op stay with all-inclusive meals

• Consultations, X-rays, ECG, blood tests

• Five nights in a private clinic room with daily physio and medication

• Ten days of post-op care with meals, physio and nurse visits

• Six-month aftercare with an NHS-registered doctor

“No pain at all”

Tony, who still takes on occasional investigations and marine accident training work, says he’s now pain-free. “I simply felt cared for. I have recommended the service to friends and I am now going from strength to strength.”

With NHS orthopaedic surgery waiting times still high, services like Elite Surgery Abroad are drawing attention from patients across the UK and beyond, including from Canada.

Tony’s story may be a sign of what’s to come, as more people look abroad for faster and more affordable healthcare options.