Are Boobs more important than Hips?

Around 3 years ago I had a hip operation to resurface an arthritic joint. It was done in an NHS hospital on recommendation of my GP and was required to relieve pain and to stop my back going out of shape as the arthritis got worse.

I went into hospital with severe low back pain and came out with none. Wonderful. Or at least it was until I was informed that the procedure used now has a high incidence of failure (Story here) and the new joint was subject to recall. Sounded a bit like a Friday Ford of the 1970’s. But there is no plan to replace it, only to monitor it for failure. Which translates to: “let it start affecting you before we fix it”.

This week we hear that breast implant cosmetic surgery, undertaken privately, will be repaired at public expense, even though there is only a risk of infection. I’ve heard no explanation of what that infection might be or the likely incidence. So why on earth are we leaping to replace something that had been bought privately and may not even have been required for medical reasons?