How Jonathan Turned a Year-Long Wait into Nine Days on Crutches

The wait that wouldn’t end

Jonathan Nixon Hughes had lived with hip pain for years, but the news still stung: at least twelve months on the NHS list or almost £20,000 for private treatment in London. Every stair became a calculation; even sleep needed planning. One evening, restless on the sofa, Jonathan typed “hip replacement abroad” and started reading.

From enquiry to plan

Three destinations fitted his medical notes and budget: Latvia, Poland and Turkey. Latvia felt right. A short video call with ORTO Clinic’s orthopaedic team followed, and within twenty-four hours Jonathan held a fixed-price package and a surgery date three weeks away. Return flights from Gatwick to Riga were shorter than the drive to his in-laws.

Arrival in Riga

Jonathan landed on a Sunday. That afternoon the clinic completed scans; that evening Dr Vitolds Jurkevičs talked Jonathan through the procedure, implant choice and recovery milestones. Clear, calm, no rush.

Surgery, recovery, surprise

The operation took place on Monday morning. By day three Jonathan was mastering the ward’s coffee machine. On day nine he walked the corridor on two crutches, grinning for a photo. Pain hovered at “annoying” rather than “sharp”, and the bill—covering surgery, five inpatient nights, two hotel nights, transfers and daily physio—came to a little over forty per cent of a UK quote.

Home again

Back in London, follow-up checks happened over secure video.

What worked for Jonathan

• Speed – three weeks from first email to surgery.
• Certainty – a fixed price, agreed before he travelled.
• Continuity – the same surgeon from first consult to final sign-off.

Jonathan's experience was a good one, but it is one patient's story, and every clinic and every patient is different.

What to check before you book

• Find the clinic's entry on its country's official register, under the legal name on the quote.
• Get your surgeon's name in writing and check them on their professional register.
• Read the reviews, including the low-rated ones, and make sure the Google listing is the actual hospital.
• Get the quote itemised in writing: what is included, and what is not.
• Ask what happens if something goes wrong once you are home.

Thera Travel never recommends a clinic. If you are considering a clinic, you can see what the official records say about it, free.

Written by Saher Shodhan

Saher Shodhan is the founder of Thera Travel, which publishes what the official records show about clinics abroad, each fact with the date it was checked, and answers patients' enquiries, free. More about Thera → How we write and check our guides →