- Nearest rooms
- Maroochydore
- Operating hospital
- Maroochy Private Hospital
- Hospital stay
- 1 to 3 nights
- Walking
- Day of surgery, with aids
- Driving
- About 2 to 6 weeks
- Referral
- GP or nurse practitioner
Total hip replacement for Gympie patients.
A total hip replacement replaces the worn ball and socket of the hip with an implanted socket, stem and bearing. It is one of the most reliable operations in surgery for pain relief, and it is offered for established arthritis that is limiting daily life once non-operative treatment has stopped working.
Professor Rodda most often performs hip replacement through the direct anterior approach, which works between muscle planes at the front of the hip rather than detaching muscle from the back. The full account of the operation, the implant choice, the evidence and the risks is on the total hip replacement page. This page is about what it looks like from Gympie.
Where you are seen.
Gympie patients are seen at the Maroochydore rooms, on Level 9 of Maroochy Private Hospital on Future Way. It is a little over an hour south, down the Bruce Highway and across through Cooroy.
These are the only rooms Professor Rodda consults from, so every appointment is at the same address and booked on the same number. If travel is difficult, say so when the rooms call: telehealth is available for the first consultation and appointments are grouped where they can be. Patients from Cooroy, Pomona, Tin Can Bay, Rainbow Beach and Kilkivan are seen at Maroochydore as well.
Where the operation happens.
Gympie patients travel the furthest of anyone in the catchment. The rooms and the operating hospital are the same building on the coast: consultations and surgery both at Maroochy Private, Maroochydore. This is worth being direct about, because a joint replacement is not one trip. It is a consultation, a pre-admission appointment, the admission itself, and four reviews across the following year. Telehealth and grouped appointments are used to keep the number of drives down.
Getting there and getting home.
The practice works around that in three ways, and it is worth asking for all of them. Telehealth is available for the first consultation where the drive is difficult, and for most of the follow-up reviews once you are recovering normally. Appointments are grouped so that a single trip covers the consultation and the imaging rather than two trips. And the pre-admission assessment can often be arranged through your own GP in Gympie rather than on the coast.
What cannot be done remotely is the physical examination before the decision to operate, the operation, and the first wound review. Plan for at least two trips down before surgery and one after it. If you live alone, or the person driving you cannot commit to a full day twice, say so at the pre-admission appointment. Discharge planning changes a great deal when the drive home is long, and it is far easier to arrange in advance than on the ward.
Worth counting the trips before you commit to a date. A hip replacement is a consultation, a pre-admission appointment, the admission itself, four reviews across the following year, and a short course of physiotherapy rather than the twelve to eighteen sessions a knee replacement usually needs. That makes the total number of journeys substantially smaller than for a knee.
Recovering in Gympie.
Hip replacement recovery is less protocol driven than knee replacement. You walk on the day of surgery, full weight bearing, and after an anterior approach there are usually no formal movement precautions. Most people are walking unaided somewhere between two and six weeks, and the second half of the first three months is about strength, balance and endurance rather than about range of movement.
A hip replacement is considerably kinder to a Gympie address than a knee is. It needs a short course of physiotherapy rather than a six-week programme, and most of the recovery is walking that you do yourself, so the number of appointments you have to get to is small and all of them can be in Gympie. That changes the arithmetic of the distance substantially. Gympie is hilly, so the river flats are the easier ground for the first fortnight of walking. Tell the rooms which practice you are using and the written protocol goes to them, and later reviews can often be done by telehealth with imaging arranged locally.
You are reviewed at about two weeks for the wound, then at six weeks, three months and twelve months. Written rehabilitation protocols are provided and your physiotherapist can request them directly through the referrer page.
Who this operation is for.
Not all hip pain comes from the hip joint. Pain over the outer hip that is tender to press and painful to lie on is more often gluteal tendinopathy, and pain in the buttock that runs down the leg is often the lumbar spine. The hip pain guide and is it time for a hip replacement set out how that is separated out before an operation is considered.
Fees and cover.
Where you live does not change the fee. You receive written informed financial consent covering the surgeon, the assistant, the anaesthetist and the hospital before anything is booked. See fees, no-gap cover and, if the injury is work or motor vehicle related, WorkCover and CTP.
Frequently asked questions.
Where does Professor Rodda see Gympie patients for hip replacement?
At the Maroochydore rooms, Maroochy Private Hospital, Level 9, 12 Future Way, Maroochydore QLD 4558. Appointments are booked on (07) 5493 8038, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm.
Do I need a referral for a hip replacement consultation?
No, not immediately. If you have a GP referral it comes straight to the rooms and the rooms contact you within two business days. If you do not, you can start with a telehealth consultation with a GP or with our nurse practitioner, who can provide the referral. A referral is still needed to claim the Medicare rebate on the consultation.
How much does a hip replacement cost from Gympie?
The same as from anywhere else in the catchment. Location does not change the fee. You receive a written estimate covering the surgeon, the surgical assistant, the anaesthetist and the hospital before anything is booked, and Professor Rodda participates in no-gap arrangements with several health funds.
Is a hip replacement more manageable than a knee replacement from Gympie?
Considerably, because it needs much less formal rehabilitation. A hip usually needs a short course of physiotherapy rather than a six-week programme, so the number of trips after surgery is small and all of them can be in Gympie. The consultation, the operation and the first wound review still need to be in person.
Do I have to drive to the coast for every appointment?
No. Telehealth is available for the first consultation where travel is difficult and for most follow-up reviews. The physical examination before surgery, the operation itself and the first wound review need to be in person. Appointments are grouped where possible so one trip covers more than one thing.
Can my physiotherapy and follow-up be done in Gympie?
Physiotherapy should be done in Gympie. The rooms send the written rehabilitation protocol to whichever practice you choose, and your physiotherapist can request it directly. Later reviews can often be done by telehealth with imaging arranged locally.
Nearby areas.
The same rooms serve Cooroy, Pomona, Tin Can Bay, Rainbow Beach and Kilkivan. See also hip and knee surgeon Gympie and all locations.
Written and reviewed by Professor Daevyd Rodda, MBBS, Dip. Surg Anat, FRACS, FAOrthA. Last reviewed August 2026.
This page provides general information about a medical condition and a surgical procedure. It is not individual medical advice and does not replace consultation with a qualified practitioner. Outcomes vary between individuals and all surgery carries risk. A referral is needed for a consultation with Professor Daevyd Rodda; without one, you can start with the practice nurse practitioner, who can provide it.