Hip Replacement Orthopedic Surgery Overview

Hip Replacement Orthopedic Surgery Overview.

The hip is a simple ball and socket joint where your thighbone joins with your pelvis. Surrounded by cartilage, muscles and ligaments, your hip is the largest weight-bearing joint in your body. Smooth cartilage and bone help you walk easily and without pain.

The hip joint is covered with a rubbery type of tissue that pads the joints and is powered by large muscles. When all of the parts, cartilage, muscles and tendons are healthy, a hip should move easily.

A diseased hip is when one or more parts of the hip are damaged and movement becomes stiff. Over time, cartilage starts to crack or wear away. When this happens, the bones making up the joint rub together. Stiffness and pain occur when the ball starts to grind in the socket. Unfortunately, cartilage does not have the ability to repair or replace itself like other tissues in the body. Once cartilage is damaged or destroyed, it is gone forever.

There are many reasons why your hip may become diseased. Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, is a condition that causes “wear and tear” to your joint cartilage. It typically develops after years of constant motion and pressure in the joints. As the cartilage continues to wear away, the joint becomes increasingly painful and difficult to move.

Inflammatory arthritis is a chronic disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout, which can cause swelling and heat (inflammation) in the joint lining, resulting in stiffness and pain.

Traumatic arthritis is inflammation of a joint resulting from an injury and is characterized by a breakdown of the bone and cartilage, bleeding in the joint space and increased thickness of the bone, a flattening of the joint surface, separation of joint cartilage from the underlying bone and/or erosion of the bone.

Total Hip Replacement

Hip replacement is one of the most important surgical advances of this century. Today, more than 300,000 procedures are being performed every year in the United States alone. Total hip replacement, also called total hip arthroplasty, involves removing the diseased bone and cartilage and replacing it with orthopedic implants. Hip replacement may be recommended only after careful diagnosis of your joint problem. You may benefit from surgery if you have little pain relief from anti-inflammatory drugs, you have harmful or unpleasant side effects from your hip medications or other treatments such as physical therapy do not relieve hip pain.

The first step to returning to an active lifestyle is to make an appointment an orthopedic surgeon, such as Dr. Andre Matthews. After a thorough examination, your surgeon will make a recommendation regarding surgery. Generally speaking, you are a candidate if you experience hip joint pain that is severe enough to prevent you from carrying out normal daily activities and your pain is not responsive to nonsurgical treatments. Chronic hip problems can prevent you from enjoying everyday activities, but thanks to today’s advanced technology, you no longer have to live with pain. Total hip replacement surgery is the second step toward returning to a normally active, pain-free lifestyle.

Complications and Risks

Joint replacement surgery is a major operation. As with any major operation, there are possible complications. Some of these are related to the anesthesia, while others are associated with the joint surgery itself. Every possible effort is made by the medical team to prevent complications, but this cannot be accomplished without your participation. Therefore, it is important that patients know about the following, which include but are not limited to, infection, blood clots, implant breakage, dislocation, malalignment and premature wear. Any of these can require additional surgery. Although implant surgery is extremely successful in most cases, some patients still experience stiffness and pain. No implant will last forever and factors such as a patient’s post-surgery activities and weight can affect longevity. Your surgeon will discuss these and other risks with you.

There are many things that your surgeon will do to minimize the potential for complications. Your surgeon may have you see your family physician before surgery to obtain tests. You also may need to have any upcoming dental work completed or prepare your home to avoid any post-surgery falls.