Hip expertise and experience
Assoc Professor Rickman has vast experience in many types of hip conditions and procedures and has carried out over 1,200 hip operations. He is able to tailor each operation to the needs of the patient. So whether its an uncemented or cemented hip replacement, an anterior or posterior approach, or an arthroscopy of the hip, Mark is able to use a number of different techniques to tailor the operation for each individual patient.
Mark has a career-long interest in all types of hip surgery which ties in with his interest and expertise in acetabular (hip socket) fractures. He trained as a registrar at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxford, (one of the most famous Orthopaedic hospitals in the world) and spent a year as a Joint Replacement Fellow in Adelaide in 2004. He also spent 5 years working at the London Hip Unit, operating with Sarah Muirhead-Allwood - one of the worlds most renowned hip surgeons. He now has 10 years of experience with hip arthroscopy.
For many years he performed total hip replacements through a mini posterior approach only. Over the last couple of years Mark has spent a significant amount of time also performing hip replacements through the Direct Anterior Approach, and now this is his preferred option for suitable patients.
As well as standard hip replacements, he is a regular user of mini-hip stems, which offer potential advantages for younger patients who might previously have considered a hip resurfacing procedure. At the other end of the age spectrum, Mark pioneered the concept of acute total hip replacement at the same time as fracture fixation for acetabular fractures in the elderly – this allows immediate mobility and full weight bearing after this significant injury. This approach is now being rolled out across the NHS. He has published numerous papers on this topic, and is regularly invited to lecture internationally on his experience.
Knee expertise and experience
Mark has significant experience of elective surgery of the knee, having carried out over 2,000 knee operations to date. He has a special interest in partial knee replacement surgery including patello-femoral joint replacements. He currently has an elective knee practice at the RAH and The Queen Elizabeth Surgery, as well as at Burnside War Memorial Hospital.
Mark commenced his registrar training at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxford, one of the worlds leading Orthopaedic Hospitals, He spent time being trained by the designers and pioneers of the Oxford Unicompartmental knee replacement. In 2004 he worked in Adelaide for the year as the Joint replacement fellow, undergoing further training specifically in hip and knee joint replacement techniques. He is experienced in all types of knee surgery including arthroscopy for cartilage or ligament damage as well as knee replacement surgery. Mark has a particular interest and experience in partial knee replacement surgery.
All joint replacement operations performed in England have to be entered onto a joint registry, which then publishes outcomes on a surgeon by surgeon basis. This means that the results of individual surgeons are published, and compared with the expected average across the country. The results are also separated out into those cases performed by the surgeon, and those supervised by them - this is important as most surgery in the UK is performed in the public sector, and thus in a training situation. We have included some of the charts published from the joint registry in England from Mark’s 10 years working there as a consultant, showing his excellent outcomes especially for Unicompartmental and Patello-Femoral (knee-cap) joint replacements. Please click on the link below.
NHS England published outcomes for joint replacements by surgeon
For 10 years Mark worked at St George’s Hospital in London - one of the busiest pelvic
trauma centres in Europe where he carried out over 1,000 pelvic operations. He currently teaches on a number of pelvic fracture courses around the world and is dedicated to improving outcomes for patients with these most complex of injuries. He has published many research papers and book chapters on this topic, and continues to oversee research projects both clinical and in the laboratory.
As well as fractures, his knowledge and skill treating injuries in the pelvic region lend themselves to the management of a number of other conditions in the same area, most commonly seen in younger sportsmen or women. Mark regularly treats patients with injuries to the adductor tendons or hamstring tendons, which when severe, can require surgery to re-attach the tendons. Longer term abnormalities or imbalance in this area can lead to dysfunction of the pubic symphysis (the joint at the front of the pelvis), which can also require a number of different interventions. There are also a number of other tendons which can be pulled off the pelvis through forceful injuries. For several years in London Mark worked for 2 Premiership football clubs, seeing and treating patients with these sorts of injuries.
Mark has always had a keen interest in the management of trauma patients, and treats patients with fresh
injuries as well as complications or problems that may arise later. He also provides an on-call service for the Emergency Department at the Calvary Wakefield St Hospital. He currently has 2 clinical trauma fellows under his supervision at the RAH, as well as a PhD student working on hip fracture management. Prior to working in Adelaide he was Head of Department at one of London’s 4 Major Trauma Centres, where he worked for 10 years. In his role at the RAH he manages the majority of patients admitted with pelvic fractures, which form the bulk of patients admitted to the department with multiple injuries; he has a particular interest in their longer term rehabilitation, and works closely with the team at Calvary Rehabilitation Hospital.
One of Mark’s particular interests is when fracture management is not successful. Fractures that don’t heal form what is called a non-union, and those that heal with a deformity are called a mal-union. Infection after fracture management is also unfortunately not rare. The management of all of these conditions is complex, and requires time as well as input from a number of specialities. It can require the use of circular external fixators, which is a particular skill requiring separate experience and training. In his academic role for the University of Adelaide, Mark regularly attends courses around the world dedicated to these situations either to teach or learn, in order to provide the most up to date options for these difficult problems.
Pelvic procedures and expertise
Mark is a world renowned specialist in the management of Pelvic and Acetabular fractures, and has been specialising in this field since 2005. He currently manages approximately 150 cases per year, and has a pelvic trauma fellow under his supervision at the Royal Adelaide Hospital..
Trauma expertise
Mark is the Director of Orthopaedic Trauma at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, a role which involves overseeing the day to day management of all patients admitted with orthopaedic injuries.
NHS England Joint replacement and revision data
NHS England publish data and graphs of every joint replacement carried out in England and lists them by individual surgeons. They are ranked against the average of the whole country. Below are the hip and knee graphs showing how many joint replacements Prof Rickman carried out over the period along with his revision rates. The graphs, which are independently put together by the NHS, show high volumes of surgery with better than expected outcomes, particularly in unicompartmental and patellofemoral knee joint replacements.
Hip replacement - number of procedures and revisions - Mark Rickman
Unicompartmental knee replacement - number of procedures and revisions - Mark Rickman
Patello-femoral knee replacement - number of procedures and revisions - Mark Rickman
