Beverley Callard health: ‘It has been absolute hell’ – star on her botched hip operation

Loose Women: Beverley Callard teases a Coronation Street return

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The actress, who played Liz McDonald in long-running ITV soap Coronation Street until 2020 has had her fair share of health problems across the years including battling cervical cancer and a nervous breakdown and depression in 2009. More recently, Callard’s health took another severe turn after she was left using a wheelchair when keyhole surgery went wrong. Talking to the Mirror back in August 2020, Callard revealed that she was fighting hard to learn how to walk again after fearing she would never be able to again.

After initially pulling her hip whilst on stage in 2019, Callard was referred to a surgeon who advised her to have a procedure known as a hip arthroscopy – surgery that allows doctors to view the hip joint without making a large incision through the skin or tissue.

Unfortunately however, the first procedure was not a success and after consulting another doctor, the actress believed the surgery should never have taken place.

“I have been gone because it has been the worst six months of my life,” the actress told the Mirror after she was left so incapacitated she even thought of having a stairlift installed at her home.

“I have been in the most excruciating pain you can imagine – like teeth grinding inside my hip.

“But worse than that was the mental torture of thinking ‘is this the end for me?

“A huge part of me thought I’d never be able to return to Coronation Street – that I wouldn’t even walk again.”

As the star’s Corrie character became notorious for wearing mini skirts, stockings and high heels, Callard knew that she wouldn’t be able to do the job anymore.

“That is how bad it has been. There was definite doubt over whether I would walk again,” she added.

“I was in a state of shock and pain for four months. It has been absolute hell.”

Due to the amount of pain Callard was in and the damage from the first procedure, the star was in need of a full hip replacement, surgery which she had just before taking part in the 2020 series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

In an interview with OK! Magazine in November 2020, Callard revealed her struggle to get her fitness back, so she would still be able to take part in the ITV reality show.

“I had one operation in March, and then I had the great big one on the 20th of July. And I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to do it,” she said.

“My hip surgeon said, he said to me, ‘Beverley, you’ve got no chance.’

“I can stand up – and I stand with most of my weight on my left leg.

“If I stand up and pose for photos, I look normal. I have to do as I’m told, but I’m not very patient.

“The physiotherapist has told me I’m doing remarkably well.”

The NHS explains that hip replacement surgery is a common procedure where a damaged hip joint is replaced with an artificial one.

The surgery is usually necessary when the hip joint is worn or damaged so that mobility is reduced and individuals remain in constant pain, even when resting. The most common reason for a hip replacement is osteoarthritis, but other conditions that can possibly cause hip damage include:

  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Hip fracture
  • Septic arthritis
  • Disorders that cause unusual bone growth (bone dysplasias).

A hip replacement is usually done under general anaesthetic (where you’re asleep during the operation) or under a spinal anaesthetic (where you’re awake but have no feeling from the waist down) and can last around one to two hours.

An alternative to hip replacement surgery is hip resurfacing which involves removing the damaged surfaces of the bones inside the hip joint and replacing them with a metal surface. This type of operation removes less bone. However, it is usually only done on individuals who are very active and have larger hips.

After having hip surgery individuals will usually spend three to five days in hospital and will be given crutches or exercises from a physiotherapist to do at home to help strengthen muscles.

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