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
Preparing for surgeryPreparation Patients undergoing a total hip replacement performed at the
University of Washington Medical Center usually will undergo a
pre-operative surgical risk assessment. When necessary, further
evaluation will be performed by an internal medicine physician who
specializes in pre-operative evaluation and risk-factor modification.
Some patients will also be evaluated by an anesthesiologist in advance
of the surgery.
Routine blood tests are performed on all pre-operative patients;
chest X-rays and electrocardiograms are obtained in patients who meet
certain age and health criteria, as well.
At the University of Washington, surgeons will spend time with the
patient in advance of the surgery, making certain that all the
patient's questions and concerns, as well as those of the family, are
answered. Timing Total hip replacement for arthritis is elective surgery. With few
exceptions, it does not need to be done urgently, and can be scheduled
around your other important life events.Costs The surgeon's office should provide a reasonable estimate of:
- the surgeon's fee,
- the hospital fee, and
- the degree to which these should be covered by the patient's insurance.
Surgical team Total hip replacement requires an experienced orthopaedic surgeon and
the resources of a large medical center. Patients have complex medical
needs and around surgery often require immediate access to a multiple
medical and surgical specialties and in-house medical, physical
therapy, and social support services.Finding an experienced surgeon There is good evidence that the experience of the surgeon performing
total hip replacement affects the outcome. It is important that your
surgeon not only be an experienced orthopaedic surgeon; (s)he also
should have a high level of skill and experience with total hip
replacements.
Some questions to consider asking your knee surgeon:
- Are you board-certified in orthopaedic surgery?
- Have you done a fellowship (a year of additional training, beyond
the five years required to become an orthopaedic surgeon) in joint
replacement surgery?
- Does your practice focus on joint replacement surgery, and the problems of joint replacement patients?
Facilities A large hospital, usually with academic affiliation and equipped with
state of the art radiologic imaging equipment and intensive medicine
care unit is clearly preferable in the care of patients with hip
arthritis.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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