By . Mail On Sunday Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 16:00 EST, 26 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:56 EST, 30 October 2013 . High society hip-ster: Lady Annabel Goldsmith, pictured with her daughter Jemima Khan, has had double hip replacements . It was, as always, the event of ‘the season’ – Lady Annabel Goldsmith’s . summer garden party. Everyone who was anyone in London society was in . attendance, from members of the Royal Family (Prince Michael and . Princess Michael of Kent and their daughter Lady Gabriella Windsor, and . Viscount Linley), to Trudie Styler,  the wife of pop star Sting, Tara . Palmer-Tomkinson, and entrepreneur Ivan Massow. There were some . Rothschilds, a Parker Bowles or two, and designer Nicky Haslam, Lady . Goldsmith’s old drinking partner from her days partying at Annabel’s, . the nightclub named after her by her first husband, Mark Birley. As . always Annabel was flanked  by her glamorous children – Jemima Khan, . currently raising eyebrows by stepping out with controversial comedian . Russell Brand, Tory MP Zac, and financier Ben, who was accompanied by . his model girlfriend Jemima Jones. But, of course, it was the 79-year- old widow of billionaire tycoon  Sir James Goldsmith who was the centre of attention. As . her illustrious guests gathered around, Annabel recalled how she had . recently survived the ‘scrum’ at the funeral of Baroness Thatcher: ‘The . crowds were so vast .  .  . we had to abandon the car quite some way . from St Paul’s and push our way through the throng. At that point I was . grateful for my bionic hips.’ Lady Goldsmith was referring to her hip . replacements. Her right  one was replaced 30 years ago, the legacy of a . road accident when she was just three years old. About 70,000 Britons . undergo such a procedure each year, but the replacement of her left hip . four years ago has put Annabel among a small number of Britons who have . two prosthetic hip joints. Society figure: Lady Annabel with her late husband Sir James Goldsmith and their children Zac, now a Conservative MP,  Ben and Jemima in Spain in 1987 . Typically, one in ten patients will require their replacements to be replaced as they can wear out after 15 years or so, yet Annabel’s first has weathered remarkably well – and she is speaking about her health today to dispel the myths that surround the matter. ‘Yes, it was painful,’ she says. ‘I did have to take a . few painkillers after both operations – and I don’t ride any more. I was . advised against it as it can cause stress to the hips. 'There are scars . too, but in my case they have faded amazingly well, and I can hardly . notice them now. I would definitely recommend it to anyone suffering . from hip pain – if a doctor says it is suitable. My best advice is not . to be put off by fear.’ Bionic life: A hip replacement such as the one Lady Annabel has on her left . Recalling the original accident that triggered her problems, Lady Goldsmith says: ‘My sister Jane  and I had been staying with our grandparents in Northern Ireland, and we were being driven with our nanny to join our parents at our family home, Wynyard Park in  Co Durham. 'I think there was a collision with a hay wagon somewhere in the North of England. ‘Our mother wasn’t with us . because she was pregnant with my younger brother, Alistair. 'The . chauffeur and nanny had cuts and bruises but my sister and I seemed fine . at first. 'However, for the next few days I was in great pain. Nobody . seemed to realise that I had been injured – my hip was literally split . in two. 'When I eventually went to the doctor, he saw that my hip was . fractured. I have pictures of me with my leg in plaster up in the air. 'It was mended but they obviously did not do a good job.’ It was when Annabel’s daughter Jemima was aged ten that this childhood accident came back to haunt her. ‘I . was in my 40s and after having six children, my right hip was starting . to really hurt. I didn’t know why it was so painful. 'I went to have it . X-rayed and discovered that my hip had not been set properly after the . accident and there was a split in it. 'I am sure carrying weight during . pregnancy brought  it on. Reluctantly, I realised I would need a new . hip.’ At the time Annabel was extremely fit: she was a keen . horse-rider, walker and swimmer who was enthusiastically involved in all . her younger children’s games. ‘I was quite young to have the . operation, I suppose. But it was  no secret – everyone came to visit me . during my stay in hospital. I was released with strict instructions to . walk every day, with a stick at first, and to exercise at home. Back in the days: Lady Annabel pictured with Nicky Haslam, around the time of her first hip replacement in 1983 . ‘The . message then was the same as it is now – the secret of success with a . hip replacement is not just the operation or skill of the surgeon but . what you do yourself afterwards. 'The pain in the actual joint goes . immediately, but you do feel sore and stiff in a different way. With . exercise it gets a little better every day, and then after about a month . you’re back to normal. ‘I know some people’s bionic joints wear out . but mine has never bothered me. Many years later I realised that I was . experiencing pain in my left hip – I think I must have been putting more . weight on it to alleviate any strain on my right side. Hip replacements were  first introduced in the 1960s  for patients with damaged and painful joints. They are now performed on more people than ever. In the past 15 years the number of operations has increased by 50 per cent, and last year 75,000 people in the UK had a hip replacement. The operation works by replacing the damaged ‘ball and socket’ joint at the top of thigh with an artificial replica. Under general anaesthetic, the top of the patient’s thigh bone is removed and the adjoining socket in the pelvis hollowed out. Then a prosthetic socket is placed into the cavity and a shaft with a ball on the end is attached to the thigh bone. The procedure takes about an hour. The procedure’s long-term safety has been called into question recently by  the discovery that all-metal implants can release particles into the blood. Traditionally the prosthetic joint comprised a metal  ball and plastic socket, but  it can also be made from ceramic. In the 1990s ‘metal on metal’ replacements became increasingly popular. Concerns emerged when a number of patients with a particular brand of all-metal joints needed their surgery redone. It is now known that the devices wear down faster. An investigation found that the friction also causes tiny shards of metal to break off, which can leach into surrounding tissue, cause inflammation and entering the bloodstream. Doctors warn  the raised level of metals could prove toxic. Guidelines say patients with the larger metal implants – about 49,000  Britons have them – should have annual check-ups. At the height  of their popularity five years ago, metal joints accounted for about 15 per cent  of replacements but now the number is negligible. Ronan Treacy, orthopaedic surgeon at BMI Priory Hospital in Birmingham, says: ‘The more common joint remains metal on plastic. Ceramic is often used in young people.’ The choice of implant is determined by factors including the patient’s age, activity expectation, joint deterioration and bone quality. The artificial joint should last  at least 15 years . Death rates after this surgery have halved since 2003, according to a study  last month. Mortality within  90 days now stands at just 0.29 per cent. ‘It had . started hurting after long walks and also hurt while riding. Eventually, . I stopped putting it off and went to see my doctor. I didn’t have young . children to chase by that time, but I had grandchildren.’ Annabel was . treated at the private King Edward VII Hospital Sister Agnes in Central . London, where  the Duke of Edinburgh was recently a patient, and where . the Duchess  of Cambridge received treatment for morning sickness. ‘I . had the first operation done there too, actually, but the whole place . has been done up and was much more comfortable than I remember,’ says . Lady Goldsmith of her recent operation. ‘This time, my surgery was . carried out by Roger Vickers, who also operated on the Queen Mother’s . hip. ‘I had a much shorter stay in hospital – just a few days rather . than a week – and the recovery was less painful than I remembered from . the first time. 'Again I was given a programme of physiotherapy, and . exercise in a pool was recommended. I was much better with the exercises . the second time around. I think the first time I was lazier.’ She . adds: ‘The first time they got me up, it was a bit daunting. 'You think, . “Oh God, if I put weight on this it is going to hurt”, but it was . surprisingly easier than I thought, and I continued to walk up and down . the corridors and up and down the stairs as much as I could. 'If you . continue to do this, plus physiotherapy, the whole thing heals much . faster and one will get out of hospital sooner.’ Lady Goldsmith, who . was coy when asked about Jemima’s current romantic attachments (‘I do . not wish to speak about Russell Brand’), is now enjoying ‘running . around’ after her grandchildren, as well as keeping up with a typically . busy social diary and charity work for Battersea Dogs Home. She . says: ‘My message is this: you might not want to have an operation, but . no one does. I asked myself, “Do I want to end up crawling around  in . pain or do I want to just get it sorted out and get on with it?” ‘I’m not a hero or anything – people have this kind of thing all the time – but others are worried and I’d like them not to be.’ Annabel . does, however, concede there is one downside to having  had a double . hip replacement – as the joints are typically made from metal. ‘Whenever . I go through airport security, I cause the scanners to shriek, which is . rather embarrassing. But it’s a small price to pay,’ she laughs.
Lady Goldsmith got her first prosthetic hip 30 years ago .
She recently went through with a second replacement surgery .
Annabel, 79, is the mother of Jemima Khan and Zac and Ben Goldsmith .
By . Mail On Sunday Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 16:00 EST, 26 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:56 EST, 30 October 2013 . High society hip-ster: Lady Annabel Goldsmith, pictured with her daughter Jemima Khan, has had double hip replacements . It was, as always, the event of ‘the season’ – Lady Annabel Goldsmith’s . summer garden party. Everyone who was anyone in London society was in . attendance, from members of the Royal Family (Prince Michael and . Princess Michael of Kent and their daughter Lady Gabriella Windsor, and . Viscount Linley), to Trudie Styler,  the wife of pop star Sting, Tara . Palmer-Tomkinson, and entrepreneur Ivan Massow. There were some . Rothschilds, a Parker Bowles or two, and designer Nicky Haslam, Lady . Goldsmith’s old drinking partner from her days partying at Annabel’s, . the nightclub named after her by her first husband, Mark Birley. As . always Annabel was flanked  by her glamorous children – Jemima Khan, . currently raising eyebrows by stepping out with controversial comedian . Russell Brand, Tory MP Zac, and financier Ben, who was accompanied by . his model girlfriend Jemima Jones. But, of course, it was the 79-year- old widow of billionaire tycoon  Sir James Goldsmith who was the centre of attention. As . her illustrious guests gathered around, Annabel recalled how she had . recently survived the ‘scrum’ at the funeral of Baroness Thatcher: ‘The . crowds were so vast .  .  . we had to abandon the car quite some way . from St Paul’s and push our way through the throng. At that point I was . grateful for my bionic hips.’ Lady Goldsmith was referring to her hip . replacements. Her right one was replaced 30 years ago, the legacy of a . road accident when she was just three years old. About 70,000 Britons . undergo such a procedure each year, but the replacement of her left hip . four years ago has put Annabel among a small number of Britons who have . two prosthetic hip joints. Society figure: Lady Annabel with her late husband Sir James Goldsmith and their children Zac, now a Conservative MP,  Ben and Jemima in Spain in 1987 . Typically, one in ten patients will require their replacements to be replaced as they can wear out after 15 years or so, yet Annabel’s first has weathered remarkably well – and she is speaking about her health today to dispel the myths that surround the matter. ‘Yes, it was painful,’ she says. ‘I did have to take a . few painkillers after both operations – and I don’t ride any more. I was . advised against it as it can cause stress to the hips. 'There are scars . too, but in my case they have faded amazingly well, and I can hardly . notice them now. I would definitely recommend it to anyone suffering . from hip pain – if a doctor says it is suitable. My best advice is not . to be put off by fear.’ Bionic life: A hip replacement such as the one Lady Annabel has on her left . Recalling the original accident that triggered her problems, Lady Goldsmith says: ‘My sister Jane  and I had been staying with our grandparents in Northern Ireland, and we were being driven with our nanny to join our parents at our family home, Wynyard Park in  Co Durham. 'I think there was a collision with a hay wagon somewhere in the North of England. ‘Our mother wasn’t with us . because she was pregnant with my younger brother, Alistair. 'The . chauffeur and nanny had cuts and bruises but my sister and I seemed fine . at first. 'However, for the next few days I was in great pain. Nobody . seemed to realise that I had been injured – my hip was literally split . in two. 'When I eventually went to the doctor, he saw that my hip was . fractured. I have pictures of me with my leg in plaster up in the air. 'It was mended but they obviously did not do a good job.’ It was when Annabel’s daughter Jemima was aged ten that this childhood accident came back to haunt her. ‘I . was in my 40s and after having six children, my right hip was starting . to really hurt. I didn’t know why it was so painful. 'I went to have it . X-rayed and discovered that my hip had not been set properly after the . accident and there was a split in it. 'I am sure carrying weight during . pregnancy brought  it on. Reluctantly, I realised I would need a new . hip.’ At the time Annabel was extremely fit: she was a keen . horse-rider, walker and swimmer who was enthusiastically involved in all . her younger children’s games. ‘I was quite young to have the . operation, I suppose. But it was  no secret – everyone came to visit me . during my stay in hospital. I was released with strict instructions to . walk every day, with a stick at first, and to exercise at home. Back in the days: Lady Annabel pictured with Nicky Haslam, around the time of her first hip replacement in 1983 . ‘The . message then was the same as it is now – the secret of success with a . hip replacement is not just the operation or skill of the surgeon but . what you do yourself afterwards. 'The pain in the actual joint goes . immediately, but you do feel sore and stiff in a different way. With . exercise it gets a little better every day, and then after about a month . you’re back to normal. ‘I know some people’s bionic joints wear out . but mine has never bothered me. Many years later I realised that I was . experiencing pain in my left hip – I think I must have been putting more . weight on it to alleviate any strain on my right side. Hip replacements were  first introduced in the 1960s  for patients with damaged and painful joints. They are now performed on more people than ever. In the past 15 years the number of operations has increased by 50 per cent, and last year 75,000 people in the UK had a hip replacement. The operation works by replacing the damaged ‘ball and socket’ joint at the top of thigh with an artificial replica. Under general anaesthetic, the top of the patient’s thigh bone is removed and the adjoining socket in the pelvis hollowed out. Then a prosthetic socket is placed into the cavity and a shaft with a ball on the end is attached to the thigh bone. The procedure takes about an hour. The procedure’s long-term safety has been called into question recently by  the discovery that all-metal implants can release particles into the blood. Traditionally the prosthetic joint comprised a metal  ball and plastic socket, but it can also be made from ceramic. In the 1990s ‘metal on metal’ replacements became increasingly popular. Concerns emerged when a number of patients with a particular brand of all-metal joints needed their surgery redone. It is now known that the devices wear down faster. An investigation found that the friction also causes tiny shards of metal to break off, which can leach into surrounding tissue, cause inflammation and entering the bloodstream. Doctors warn  the raised level of metals could prove toxic. Guidelines say patients with the larger metal implants – about 49,000  Britons have them – should have annual check-ups. At the height  of their popularity five years ago, metal joints accounted for about 15 per cent  of replacements but now the number is negligible. Ronan Treacy, orthopaedic surgeon at BMI Priory Hospital in Birmingham, says: ‘The more common joint remains metal on plastic. Ceramic is often used in young people.’ The choice of implant is determined by factors including the patient’s age, activity expectation, joint deterioration and bone quality. The artificial joint should last  at least 15 years . Death rates after this surgery have halved since 2003, according to a study last month. Mortality within  90 days now stands at just 0.29 per cent. ‘It had . started hurting after long walks and also hurt while riding. Eventually, . I stopped putting it off and went to see my doctor. I didn’t have young . children to chase by that time, but I had grandchildren.’ Annabel was . treated at the private King Edward VII Hospital Sister Agnes in Central . London, where  the Duke of Edinburgh was recently a patient, and where . the Duchess  of Cambridge received treatment for morning sickness. ‘I . had the first operation done there too, actually, but the whole place . has been done up and was much more comfortable than I remember,’ says . Lady Goldsmith of her recent operation. ‘This time, my surgery was . carried out by Roger Vickers, who also operated on the Queen Mother’s . hip. ‘I had a much shorter stay in hospital – just a few days rather . than a week – and the recovery was less painful than I remembered from . the first time. 'Again I was given a programme of physiotherapy, and . exercise in a pool was recommended. I was much better with the exercises . the second time around. I think the first time I was lazier.’ She . adds: ‘The first time they got me up, it was a bit daunting. 'You think, . “Oh God, if I put weight on this it is going to hurt”, but it was . surprisingly easier than I thought, and I continued to walk up and down . the corridors and up and down the stairs as much as I could. 'If you . continue to do this, plus physiotherapy, the whole thing heals much . faster and one will get out of hospital sooner.’ Lady Goldsmith, who . was coy when asked about Jemima’s current romantic attachments (‘I do . not wish to speak about Russell Brand’), is now enjoying ‘running . around’ after her grandchildren, as well as keeping up with a typically . busy social diary and charity work for Battersea Dogs Home. She . says: ‘My message is this: you might not want to have an operation, but . no one does. I asked myself, “Do I want to end up crawling around  in . pain or do I want to just get it sorted out and get on with it?” ‘I’m not a hero or anything – people have this kind of thing all the time – but others are worried and I’d like them not to be.’ Annabel . does, however, concede there is one downside to having  had a double . hip replacement – as the joints are typically made from metal. ‘Whenever . I go through airport security, I cause the scanners to shriek, which is . rather embarrassing. But it’s a small price to pay,’ she laughs.
the nightclub named after her by her first flanked  by her glamorous children – Jemima Khan, Zac, and financier Ben, who was accompanied by . one was replaced 30 years ago, the legacy of a . triggered her problems, Lady Goldsmith says: ‘My with a . hip replacement is not just the