Hip and Knee Replacement Abroad: Countries, Prices and Rules for UK Patients (2026)

Prices are as published by clinics, hospitals or marketplaces and were seen on 7 October 2026; the Polish figures are the list prices of OrthoVoyage's partner hospital. They are not like-for-like: some include rehabilitation or a hotel, some leave out anaesthesia or hospital nights. Each country page says what its figures cover.

Start with distance, not price. You will fly home soon after an operation on your leg, and GOV.UK warns that air travel after major surgery increases the risk of a blood clot. A two-hour flight and a nine-hour flight are different propositions, and a follow-up visit is far easier when the hospital is close.

Then the rules. Inside the EU — Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain — hospitals work under EU rules on medical devices and patient rights, and your GHIC covers unrelated emergencies in the state system. In Turkey and India neither applies.

Then what the price contains. Ask every hospital for a written total covering the implant, anaesthesia, hospital nights, physiotherapy, transfers and accommodation. A low figure that omits the implant is not a low price.

Then the time you can be away. Stays range from about a week to about three weeks depending on how rehabilitation is organised.

For UK patients paying for a joint replacement themselves, Poland is the destination we recommend, and OrthoVoyage arranges surgery at a private surgical hospital in Jelenia Góra, south-west Poland. The reasons are ones you can check:

• the most visited EU country for medical treatment by residents of Great Britain: 64,000 visits in 2024

• a published price list in euros, with the contents of each price stated

• the implant, anaesthesia, three days in hospital and up to seven outpatient physiotherapy sessions inside the joint replacement price

• about two hours from London by direct flight

• an EU member state

• payment made directly to the hospital, with the hospital, surgeon and implant named in writing before you pay

Lower headline figures elsewhere in the table usually leave something out — rehabilitation, hospital nights, the implant, or a nine-hour flight. Get your Polish quote, then see knee replacement in Poland, hip replacement in Poland and the full price list.

• NHS funding: the S2 route covers public providers only, and the EU Directive route has ended for UK residents. See can the NHS pay for surgery abroad?
• Living in Ireland: the EU Cross-Border Directive still applies, and the HSE repays treatment in another EU country up to the Irish public price. See hip and knee replacement abroad from Ireland.
• Living in Canada: provincial plans pay for planned surgery abroad only with prior approval, and a waiting list alone is not usually grounds for it; what you pay abroad can still count towards the federal medical expense tax credit. See hip and knee replacement abroad from Canada.
• Liability: the NHS is not liable for negligence or failure of treatment abroad.
• Insurance: most travel insurance does not cover planned treatment; you may need specialist cover.
• Your GP: the NHS advises discussing your plans with a GP before you go.
• Aftercare: arrange physiotherapy at home before you travel.

More detail: knee replacement abroad, hip replacement abroad, is surgery abroad safe? and flying after a hip or knee replacement. Side-by-side comparisons: Poland vs Lithuania, Poland vs Turkey, Poland vs UK private.

OrthoVoyage is a medical travel concierge, not a hospital, and does not give medical advice.