The French connection: how I found orthopaedic surgery on the internet

One Saturday last December I found myself unpacking my suitcase in a room in a French clinic, awaiting a hip resurfacing operation. How had I got to this stage? How was I going to communicate with the staff, whose command of English seemed to be about as good as my command of French—not wholly adequate? All the notices were in French, and I had little idea what was going to happen next.

I had been having increasing difficulty with my left leg for about three years. As a keen walker I had assumed my problem was soft tissue damage. In 2003 I was referred to an orthopaedic surgeon who thought, after reviewing the x ray pictures, that nothing needed to be done about my mild to moderate osteoarthritis.

I can't wait to see the orthopaedic surgeon's face when I tell him it has all been done

Throughout 2004 and the first six months of 2005 the pain in my leg came and went and my mobility …