Hip surgery gets Flora back on her feet

Highvale resident, Flora Kandiero is now living pain free thanks to a double hip replacement at The Prince Charles Hospital (TPCH) back in May.

Flora, who is in her mid-fifties, had experienced persistent leg pain for some years. As a registered nurse, Flora had fulfilled roles at TPCH and other locations but ultimately had to stop work in February 2022 due to the pain.

After seeing various health practitioners who gave her different diagnoses and treatments with little relief, Flora was eventually referred to the physiotherapy department at TPCH, her former workplace, for further assessment.

“I was in so much pain all the time. It took great effort to even just walk around and I had a lot of trouble sleeping which left me exhausted all the time,” Flora said.

“I didn’t want to stop work, because I loved nursing. But I needed to find out what was causing my problem.”

Conservative physiotherapy strategies to manage the pain were unsuccessful and she was advised to pursue further investigations.

A referral to TPCH’s Director of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dr Simon Perkins, led to a diagnosis of hip dysplasia and severe arthritis, which would require a bilateral total hip replacement.

As one of Queensland’s leading joint replacement centres, TPCH performs around 1,350 joint replacement surgeries each year, also performing the highest number of public hospital robotic surgeries in the State.

Flora had surgery in May this year and has never looked back. While still undergoing rehabilitation, she is now back walking independently nine weeks post-surgery.

“I’m like a different person. I can’t believe I lived with so much pain for so long. It was so debilitating,” she said.

“I can’t thank the staff at The Prince Charles Hospital enough for their care, they are wonderful.”

Flora is eager to return and contribute to the nursing profession in any way she can.