Faced with long waits for hip surgery, some people in Saskatchewan are travelling the globe and spending thousands of dollars for a quicker option.

Four months ago, Saskatoon's Fritz Schumann, 49, travelled to India in the spring to have a "hip resurfacing" operation, an alternative to a hip replacement.

Now, the father of young children is back to his active lifestyle and back at work as a veterinarian.

It's a big change from last fall, when he was in constant agony and had to use a cane.

That's when he found out then the Saskatoon Health Region doesn't do hip resurfacings, and getting the operation done in another province might mean a three-year wait.

Instead, Schumann decided to spend $14,000 to go to India and have the procedure done in five weeks. A Vancouver company arranged his travel and accommodation.

Schumann said he's glad he made the decision he did.

"I did not have a bit of pain since I woke up from surgery," he said. "Every day I'm happy and smiling. I can't really believe I can walk this well."

Jeffrey McKerrell, the head of orthopedics for the health region, said the problem with going out of country is that patients may not know what kind of care they'll be getting. There are also questions about follow-up care after returning home to Saskatchewan, the surgeon said.

According to Saskatchewan Health Department data from 2006, 48 per cent of the time, hip replacement patients wait longer than six months for their operation.

However, the province says it's targeting orthopedic wait lists and has allocated extra money this year for knee and hip replacements.