Typically, patients will pay for their surgery through their private health insurance. We would advise that you contact your insurer to find out if you are covered or not. If you do not have private health insurance, you can also look to self-fund your surgery out of your own savings.

Everyone’s health insurance is different based on the insurer and also level of cover. We would suggest contacting your insurer and providing them with the relevant item number found below to find out what you are covered for:

• 49318: Hip replacement
• 49518: Knee replacement

Please note this coverage is just for the joint replacement only.

As a knee or hip replacement patient, the Mater Continuous Care Team will help you choose from a range of rehab options to ensure you select the one that best suits your needs. These options include:

• Rehab in the home: This option includes visits once or twice-weekly for approximately 4-6 weeks following surgery, allowing you to receive care in the comfort, safety and convenience of your own home.
• ‘Day Therapy’ at your local private hospital: Usually involves your attendance twice-weekly at a gym alongside other orthopaedic patients for approximately the first 6 weeks following surgery. A Rehabilitation Physician and Nurse will usually oversee your pain management and wound care.
• Rehab at your local Private Physiotherapy Practice: This will incur an out-of-pocket expense, however will allow you to have one-to-one sessions with a private physio.
• Home exercise program: Some patients choose to return home with no formal Physiotherapy and continue independently with a set exercise program provided during their stay at the Mater.
• Inpatient Rehab: For those who not meet the criteria to discharge directly home, the MCCT will be able to discuss your discharge to an Orthopaedic rehab facility of your choice. This could be either another rehabilitation hospital or here at the Mater Hospital. The clinical treating team assess each patient on a case-by-case basis to determine who is eligible to discharge home or who is required for inpatient rehab.

Please note, we suggest contacting your private health insurance to understand the level of cover you can expect to receive for each option.

As a leader in orthopaedic joint replacement surgery, the Mater hospital strives to provide our patients with excellent care for their entire joint replacement journey. To continue to provide this high standard of care, the Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Services Department has established the Mater Continuous Care Team (MCCT) to improve your patient experience and our service excellence.

The MCCT is made up of both highly experienced orthopaedic nurses and physiotherapists and has been established to educate, prepare and support all hip and knee joint replacement patients. The team will support you during the pre-operative stage through telephone calls to assist you in preparing for your surgery. For those patients who discharge directly home, the MCCT will visit you during your hospital stay. They will then support you for 2 weeks following discharge via telephone calls, with the aim to ensure a smooth transition for you from hospital to home.

The concept is based on evidence that supports pre-operative education, pre-habilitation and post-discharge phone calls in ensuring a positive outcome for patients, and a decrease in adverse events.

For more information and to request MCCT information guides, click here.

Planning for your discharge home starts the moment you decide to have your knee replacement surgery. One of the first things you need to do is discuss with your friends or family members who will be able to pick you up and assist with your care when you are discharged home from hospital.

Other tasks to consider prior to your surgery, are:

• Completing your ‘e-admission’
• Practicing exercises that you will complete regularly post-surgery. These can be found in the joint replacement journey guides. Request a copy here (hyperlink to request form)
• Book and attend your pre-admission consultation, to discuss your current health and prepare you for surgery.
• Complete any required blood tests, scans, ECG’s as per your surgeon or specialist recommendations
• Prepare your home for your return from hospital including;
  • Clearing the area to make it safe for moving around with crutches
  • Considering online shopping delivery or freezing meals for your return home.
• Hire or purchase any necessary equipment you might need such as;
  • Crutches
  • Aids for around the home or your bathroom
  • Suitable shoes and compression socks

Recovery time is gradual and will vary from patient to patient. Generally, patients can expect a full recovery within 6-12 months of having the surgery, with a return to many hobbies and activities from approximately 3 months following surgery and walking independently as early as 6 weeks.

For further information regarding your recovery, request the MCCT information guides here (link to booklet request form).

Yes. The Mater Hospital offers free WiFi for all patients to use.

Yes. We accept patients from across Australia and can suggest some convenient accommodation options for any loved ones who decide to travel with you.

No. While each surgeon has a similar fee structure, the costs do differ based on the surgeon you choose. We suggest chatting to your surgeon at your initial consultation regarding costs involved, as they will ensure you have an informed financial understanding before proceeding with surgery.

No. The Mater Continuous Care Team is a free service provided to all Mater Hospital hip and knee replacement patients.

No. However, if you want a Medicare rebate for your consultation, you will require a GP referral.

Yes. At the Mater our surgeons complete a large number of bilateral joint replacements, meaning for most cases, these patients will only need to come in for surgery once. Speak with your surgeon if you are considering having a double (bilateral) joint replacement.