What is Hip Replacement Surgery ?

Hip replacement is a surgical procedure in which the hip joint is replaced by a prosthetic implant.

Minimally Invasive Hip Replacement Surgery:

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is a new technique of hip replacement introduced in 2001. Instead of making one long incision, the surgeon uses two 2- inch (5 cm) incisions or one 3.5-1/2-inch (9 cm) incision. Using newly-designed smaller implements; the surgeon removes the damaged bone and inserts the parts of the new prosthesis. MIS hip replacement takes only an hour and a half; causes less bleeding and the patient can leave the hospital the following day.

Hip Replacement Symptoms:-

Orthopedic Surgeon may recommend a hip replacement for these problems:

 You can’t sleep through the night because of hip pain.

 Your hip pain has not gotten better with other treatments.

 Hip pain limits or prevents you from doing your normal activities, such as bathing, preparing meals, doing household chores, and walking.

 You have problems walking that require you to use a cane or walker.

 Fractures in the thigh bone. Older adults often have a hip replacement for this reason.

 Hip joint tumors

Most of the time, hip joint replacement is done in people age 60 and older, but many people who have this surgery are younger. Younger people who have a hip replaced may put extra stress on the artificial hip. That extra stress can cause it to wear out earlier than in older patients. Part or all of the joint may need to be replaced again if that happens.

What are the types of Hip Replacement Surgery?

Following are the various types of Hip Replacement Surgeries:

 Total Hip Replacement

 Partial Hip Replacement

 Hip Resurfacing

 Minimally Invasive Hip Replacement

 Double Hip Replacement

 Revision Hip Replacement

An orthopaedic surgeon (a physician who specializes in joint and bone problems) will advise you about which treatment is right for you based on your specific case history.

Total Hip Replacement Surgery :

Total Hip Replacement surgery has become a common procedure to alleviate pain and debilitation caused by osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fractures, dislocations, congenital deformities, and other hip related problems. The immediate benefits of this operation are great. After 4 months, in most uncomplicated cases, a patient is relatively pain-free, has full mobility of the hip, and can walk with a minimal or no limp.

Anterior Hip Replacement Surgery :

The anterior approach to total hip replacement has emerged recently as a viable alternative to the more popular posterior approach. Although it has been in use to some degree since the 1980s, new instrumentation allowing it to be performed using smaller incisions has made it increasingly sought after.

Due to the different nature of the approach, there are fewer but different precautions to follow to prevent dislocation, which may occur more often with the posterior approach.

The direct anterior approach for total hip arthroplasty is a minimally invasive technique not widely used. For the experienced orthopedic surgeon it may offer advantages over traditional approaches that involve operating from a lateral or posterior hip position resulting in significant joint and connecting tissue disturbance.

The direct anterior approach involves a smaller incision, no detaching of muscles or tendons, improved component positioning, equal leg lengths, decreased dislocation rates and decreased patient hospital stays.

In traditional hip replacement surgery, an incision of 8 to 10 inches is made beside or behind the hip joint. The surgeon must go through muscle and detach the muscles from the “ball and socket” of the hip joint.

With the anterior approach, because the surgeon goes between the muscles, detachment is not required, making anterior hip replacement recovery ideal for some patients.

Partial Hip Replacement Surgery:

In a partial hip replacement surgery, the hip socket is usually left intact. The head of the femur bone is replaced with an artificial component similar to that used in a total hip replacement. Doctors recommend partial replacement in cases where only the femur head is broken or destroyed. Before deciding on partial hip replacement, doctors mау resort to οthеr tactics like pain-alleviating medication, injecting anti- inflammatory agents and steroids, physical therapy and strength training, installing hip braces etc. Bυt іf thеѕе choices fail to give the desired results, then partial replacement mау be the next best remedy left.

Bilateral Hip Replacement Surgery:

Bilateral Hip Replacement is a very successful procedure for the treatment of Hip Arthritis recommended to patients who suffer from the degenerative joint condition, Osteoarthritis. The purpose of the surgery is to remove the two damaged and worn parts of the hip joint -the hip socket and the ball (femoral head) – and replace them with smooth, artificial implants called prostheses, which will help make the hip strong, stable, and flexible again.

Hip Resurfacing Surgery:

Hip Resurfacing Surgery is a surgical procedure (a form of arthroplasty) which has been developed as an intervention alternative to total hip replacement (THR). Hip resurfacing is a technique designed to reline rather than replace the worn hip joint. Hip resurfacing creates a bigger hip ball than is generally used in hip replacement, which may reduce the risk of dislocation. Hip resurfacing is intended for younger patients who are not morbidly obese, are clinically qualified for a hip replacement (determined by the doctor), have been diagnosed with non inflammatory degenerative joint disease, do not have an infection, and are not allergic to the  metals used in the implant.

Latest Developments:-

Ceramic hip replacements have been developed in an effort to decrease the wearing out of hip implants.

Ceramic hip replacement implants are very hard, and very smooth. These characteristics could help to decrease the amount of wear within the implants.

In the traditional metal and plastic hip replacements the plastic wears out slowly over time. As the plastic wears out, small particles of plastic debris are generated. This plastic debris triggers a response by your body which can lead to loosening of the implants over time. Plastic wear is quite slow–an average of 0.1 millimeters each year! However, even this tiny amount of wear generates millions of particles of wear debris. In the ceramic hip replacements, the amount of wear is a small fraction of this amount. By generating less wear debris, the hope is that hip replacements would not loosen as quickly.