Fast access to expert joint surgery
Transparent package pricing with aftercare
Consultant-led care from start to finish
Private Surgery – The Cost
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Hip replacement: £15,500 to £16,800 (Package)
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Knee replacement: £16,000 to £16,500 (Package)
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Robotic Hip or Knee replacement: £18,500 to £19,000 (package)
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Hospital Fees: Surgery and inpatient stay
What the package includes:
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Surgeon’s Fee
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Anaesthetist’s fee
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Postoperative physiotherapy
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Two post-op consultations with surgeon
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Package can be paid in instalments (10 months) at 0% APR. Please enquire with the hospital.
Why does the price vary?
The cost of the implants will vary depending on whether they are cemented or uncemented. The choice between uncemented and cemented is determined by patient age and bone density. Mr McKenna is happy to discuss his recommended implant choice for you.
For patients under 70 years, Mr Mckenna would recommend a ceramic head for their hip replacement, as this will last longer than a metal one. This option increases the implant cost slightly.
Why does private surgery cost this much?
Healthcare is expensive. There are many unseen costs to the hospital and the surgeon.
In the USA, the cost of a private hip or knee replacement is 5-10 times higher than in the UK.
Many US hospitals are charging in excess of $100,000 for a joint replacement.
In the operating theatre there are several members of staff looking after you during the operation – a surgeon, a surgical assistant, an anaesthetist, an anaesthetist's assistant, an ODP (fetching the patient from the ward and helping with positioning the patient for surgery), a scrub nurse, and a runner (fetching implants and kit from storage).
The cost of the implants used for your surgery varies from £1000 to £2500 per joint replacement. The private hospital needs to maintain an inventory of multiple sizes of each component to cater for each patient being operated on that day. Mr McKenna performs five joint replacements on an all-day list.
To perform a hip or knee replacement, 6 or 7 trays of sterilised kit and instruments are required. Each tray needs to be cleaned and sterilised for use and turned round for use the next day. The cost per tray to the hospital is around £150-£200 each time it is turned over. On top of these expenses there is the maintenance cost of keeping instruments working or replacing instruments that wear out or become blunt through use.
On the ward there are nurses, physios, pharmacists, occupational therapists, ward receptionists, and a resident medical officer (doctor) who look after you throughout your stay.
Insurance: Mr McKenna maintains personal liability insurance of up to £10 million per claim. The private hospital has its own liability insurance to maintain. This requirement adds to the cost of the surgery.
Private secretary: Mr Mckenna employs a private secretary to type your clinic letters, send out invoices, take your calls, answer/chase queries and make bookings for you.
For robotic surgery, the cost to the hospital of buying a MAKO robot is over £1 million with servicing and maintenance contracts on top.
Operational costs to the private hospital include drug costs, equipment maintenance, staffing, electricity, heating, and waste disposal (clinical waste services). All of these are unseen but keep the apparatus that delivers your surgery running smoothly.
Why have your hip or knee replaced privately?
Choice of surgeon: Privately you can choose who you wish to see, and you will see the consultant at every appointment. Do your research. The experience of a surgeon varies. Some surgeons perform more hip or knee replacements than others. The surgeons performing higher numbers tend to have better outcomes and fewer complications. Mr McKenna performs over 300 joint replacements a year (NJR data 2025-2026) and publishes his revision rates and outcomes.
Time: A common frustration of the NHS patients is "Why does it take so long to get my surgery?”
Sadly, the usual timeline for an NHS patient is 2-3 months to see their GP. After that, you will wait a further 2-3 months for a referral to a physiotherapist in an MSK hub. Then 6 months of physiotherapy that did not work (and in many cases was never going to). After failing the physiotherapy referral, it's on to see a specialist orthopaedic surgeon – a 4-6 month wait. Being placed on a waiting list with a 12-15 month wait for surgery. Many have experienced a wait of 2 years from the point of seeing their GP to the point of surgery.
Going privately for your hip or knee surgery, you will usually be seen within a week (you can even book yourself into a clinic online the next day without referral). On the day of the x-ray and diagnosis. MRI scan within a week. Surgery to replace your hip or knee will be scheduled within 3-4 weeks. All surgery (every stitch) is performed by the consultant of your choice.
Private room – ensuring adequate rest and peace during your recovery with its own personal bathroom. The food quality in the private hospitals is far superior to what the NHS can provide.
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Physio: More physiotherapy, more frequently than the NHS can provide. Most patients having NHS hip or knee replacements are given a booklet of exercises to follow. Private patients will have regular one-to-one physio sessions for as long as they need within the 6-month package of care.
While the NHS does its best, the demands on the service are overwhelming. In the UK, surgeons perform over 100,000 hip replacements and 100,000 knee replacements each year, and the number continues to grow. The NHS also has to cope with a large burden of revision surgery – hip replacements and knee replacements that have worn out or failed. Revision surgery takes twice as long to perform with implants and costs that are often five or ten times the cost of the implants used for first-time joint replacement. Mr McKenna maintains a full-time NHS contract, doing predominantly complex hip and knee replacements, as well as revision hip and knee replacements (and trauma), within the NHS outside of his private practice.
Discuss your hip or knee surgery options
Call us today to discuss orthopaedic treatment fees and your private surgery options.
