Swamy's Book Reviews

This blog will hold all the book reviews, including those which were earlier posted at www.blether.com That site has been closed and so I am keeping all those reviews here so that a prospective author/publisher and a publicist can decide whether I am a suitable reviewer for the book they are trying to promote. My latest reviews are also being uploaded here.

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Location: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

I am a Physicist, a Metallurgist and a Quality Management Professional, an Author, Editor and Reviewer. I review books mostly on Science Fiction, Management, Spirituality, Children's Fiction, Health etc. My reviews appear at Amazon, Shelfari, Bookpleasures and some Yahoo Groups.

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Getting Hip - Recovery From A Total Hip Replacement

Getting Hip - Recovery From A Total Hip Replacement
by Sigrid Macdonald

Published by AuthorHouse

Category: Non-fiction / Health
160 pages; ISBN: 1-4184-7837-7

Rating: 7/10

Review

"Getting Hip" is the first person account of Sigrid Macdonald, who went through a Total Hip Replacement Surgery and felt the need to share her experiences before, during and after surgery.

At places poignant, at places serious and at some places humorous, the book gives a detailed account of what is involved in a Total Hip Replacement Surgery, including the decision to go in for the surgery, type of implant to be selected (given a choice) and what to expect in terms of pain, restrictions on movement and post-surgery life style etc. The author has referred to several books on the subject and has added her own wisdom to the subject.

One interesting feature of the book is the chapter dealing with the experiences of other people who underwent similar surgery. The widely different experiences of these people confirm the author's own experience that when it comes to a major issue, each individual has a different experience and while other's experience has some educational value, that does not and cannot form a benchmark. That is the message of this good book.

The bibliography and electronic references given at the end of the book add value to the book. The last chapter dealing with the Future of Hip Replacements is a little speculative and should be taken as the author's perception of various bits and pieces collected in the course of her extensive reading and interaction. Brand names of drugs should be acknowledged as such and wherever possible, generic names of the drugs may be preferred.

The book doesn't deal with alternative or complementary aspects of health care in detail since the author is totaly dependent on the Canadian Health care system, which is dependent on the main stream medical knowledge. Several people are however trying out alternative systems like herbal supplements, Homeopathy, Acupuncture etc. because of the adverse side effects of the main stream drugs.

The reviewer found some sentence usage patterns in the book rather odd, but probably these are country specific and in any case there is no difficulty in understanding the text.

If you are considering a hip replacement or if you need to support a friend or relative who is contemplating such a surgery and are looking for a layperson's perspective of what is involved in a major surgical operation like Total Hip Replacement, this book is certainly recommended.

This book is also worth taking a look at if you are in the health care profession, since it gives you the perspective from the customer's point of view.

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