What is Hip Replacement? A Review of Total Hip Arthroplasty, Hip Resurfacing, and Minimally-Invasive Hip Surgery.
Edited By: Seth S. Leopold, M.D.
Last updated Friday, January 12, 2007
Figure 1 - Typical hip replacement components. Figure 2 - Typical hip replacement components in their position relative to the hip and pelvis. Summary
Did you know...?
- That modern total hip replacement was first performed in the early
1960s, and the surgeon who pioneered the procedure was honored with
knighthood by the Queen of England?
- That traditional total hip replacement--similar in many ways to the
procedure performed over 40 years ago--is considered by many to be the
most important operation developed in the 20th century, in terms of the
amount of human suffering it has relieved?
- That a wide variety of materials have been used in the manufacture
and insertion of hip replacements--including Teflon (tm)--but that only
a few seem to work very well?
- That in hip replacement, as in so many other areas of life, newer is not always better...
Overview Total hip replacement (THR) is a surgical procedure that relieves
pain from most kinds of hip arthritis, improving the quality of life
for the large majority of patients who undergo the operation.
Patients commonly undergo THR after non-operative treatments (such
as activity modifications, medications for pain or inflammation, or use
of a cane) have failed to provide relief from arthritis symptoms. Most
scientific studies that have followed patients for more than 10 years
have found “success rates” of 90 percent or more following traditional
THR.
Distilled to its essentials, THR involves surgically removing the
arthritic parts of the joint (cartilage and bone), replacing the “ball
and socket” part of the joint with artificial components made from
metal alloys, and placing high-performance bearing surface between the
metal parts (see figures 1 and 2). Most commonly, the bearing surface
is made from a very durable polyethylene plastic, but other materials
(including ceramics, newer plastics, or metals) have been used.
Patients typically spend a few days in the hospital after the procedure
(3 to 5 days is most typical), and some patients benefit from a short
inpatient stay in a rehabilitation facility after that to help
transition back to living independently at home. Most patients will walk with a walker or crutches for 3 weeks and then use a cane for another 4 weeks; after that, the large majority of patients are able to walk freely.
A bewildering number of different implant designs, bearing surface
materials, and surgical approaches have been tried to achieve one
seemingly straightforward goal: improving the quality of life for
patients who have hip arthritis. As with any important life decision,
it makes good sense to get educated on those issues as they pertain to
your hip.
The purpose of this article is to outline the essentials from a
patient’s perspective: who should think about having THR done, what
questions should a prospective patient ask the doctor, and why one
surgical approach or type of THR implant might be good for one patient
but not for another. Surgery for hip arthritis at the University of Washington If you are interested in making an appointment to discuss this procedure, you can request an appointment using our online referrals website. To request a referral online, please click here. You can also call the Bone & Joint Surgery Center at 206-598-BONE (2663) or Eastside Specialty Clinic at 425-646-7777 to make an appointment.
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