What to Know About Total Hip Replacement

Hip replacement is one of the most successful and cost-effective medical interventions that is being performed for the last 50 years. Millions of patients were relieved of their chronic hip pain and drastic improvements were made for people suffering from Osteoarthritis and other hip problems.

What is the Hip?

The human body contains several joints which help us perform various tasks in our day to day life. Of all the joints in the human body, the hip joint has to be the most important as it is one of the largest weight-bearing joint in the human body. It is extremely flexible and allows for a versatile range of motion facilitating all our daily activities. Being the largest joint in the body and also the most important one, a problem with your hip joint will cause plenty of problems in our daily lives.

The Hip Joint:

The hip joint is the ball socket joint that is formed between the pelvic bone and the femur. The round cup-shaped structure of the hip bone, called acetabulum forms the socket to the head of the femur, forming a ball-and-socket synovial joint.

The stability and versatility of the hip joint are because of the way it is built. As the primary function of the Hip Joint is to provide stability and bear our weight, the hip joint is a system of bones, ligaments, cartilage, and muscles which work together to deliver smooth functioning.

The ball-and-socket joint is lined with the cartilage that acts as a cushion and the joint is sealed with a synovial capsule that helps in a smooth motion with the help of a lubricating fluid. The Ligaments helps in firmly anchoring the ball to the socket and the muscles coats these ligaments. These muscles and ligaments hold it altogether preventing the dislocation of the joint.

What could go wrong with hip?

So the problem could occur when there is something wrong with these individual parts that form this hip joint. When they all are healthy, you are all good to go. But wear and tear in the joint due to the aging or injuries causing strain, dislocation or fracture of the hip bones or even diseases like Osteoarthritis and Osteoporosis can cause the hip problems which demand attention as they could worsen given the importance of hip joint for our daily activities.

Each problem demands a different solution ranging from, rest, medication, physiotherapy, or even a Total Hip Replacement depending upon the potential severity of the condition.

Total Hip Replacement:

In cases where the hip joint break or wear-out happens to a point that nonsurgical interventions like physical therapy, medication can no longer help reduce the pain, Hip Replacement is considered. It is a procedure in which the surgeon replaces the ball-and-socket joint with an artificial joint that mimics the motions of a natural human joint. Although this total hip replacement procedure has had a minor hiccup in the start; today it is considered to be one of the most successful procedure that is nothing short of divine grace for patients suffering from severe hip pain.

Signs that you are a candidate for hip replacement:

• Persisting hip pain that recurs over time.
• Constant pain in the hip during and after exercise.
• Hip mobility problems that interfere with your normal social life.
• Stiffening of the hip when you sit for a long time ad difficulty getting up.
• Difficulty while taking the stairs.
• Experiencing morning stiffness.
• Severe that it interferes with your quality of life and sleep.
• Little to no improvement in the condition with medications, physical therapy or walking aids.
• Find it difficult to stand on one leg for longer than a minute even with the support.

Hip surgery is a major one yet is one of the most successful Total Hip Replacement Procedure out there. So we have prepared a list of frequently asked questions that can help you get the right information.

What is the total hip replacement?

The Total Hip Replacement is a surgical operation that removes the damaged parts of the hip joint (ball-and-socket joint) which is replaced with the artificial parts the provides perfect stability and duplicates the versatile motion of the hip joint.

How long does the total hip replacement procedure take?

On an average, most of the Hip Replacement Surgeries take approximately 2 hours. Exact time depend upon the facilities and efficiency of the hospital. Everything is discussed prior to the total hip replacement procedure with the patient.

Who can undergo this total hip replacement procedure?

There are no concrete rules and regulations in terms of weight and age requirements for undergoing this total hip replacement procedure. A patient is recommended this procedure not based on the age but on the severity of his condition. Though most of the patients are in the age group of 50-80, hip replacement procedures have been performed across all ages, successfully.

What is the recovery time for the total hip replacement?

Recovering time for this procedure is subjective, as every patient heals at a different pace. In general, patients are to use support crutches to assimilate their condition. As they slowly improve their confidence, they progress to canes.

How long will the patient have to stay in the hospital?

Patients can move to their home with 5-7 days of the surgery. However, you can opt for the rehabilitation options available at the hospital.

What is the alternative to the hip replacement?

Pain-killers, walking aids, physio-therapy programs and steroid injections may help in relieving the pain, but it is only when they are deemed ineffective, a patient is recommended this total hip replacement procedure.

However, hip resurfacing can be considered as an alternative. It involves replacement of damaged bone surfaces with the metal surface. But it is effective only in the younger adults and there are some concerns about the total success of the procedure as well.

What is the success rate of total hip replacement procedure?

“97% of the patients who underwent this Total Hip Replacement Procedure have been super-happy with the total hip replacement procedure and would definitely recommend it to their friends with the similar condition” an independent medical study has quoted.

For further information regarding the total hip replacement complications, exercises or hip replacement precautions, you can check out our total hip replacement information.

Having said, being a complicated procedure the success rate can only be guaranteed provided the hip replacement surgeon work on the cases. If you are looking for one, check for Dr.Niraj Vora who has successfully performed 3000 plus total hip and knee replacement surgeries and 1000 Plus trauma and general orthopaedic surgeries that have relieved the pain of many patients.