HIP Replacement
Hip joint is a ball and socket joint where the ball is the femoral head and the socket – the acetabulum is a concave surface of bone and cartilage. Hip joint connects the pelvis with the femur and also connects the axial skeleton with the lower proximity
A person can suffer from hip joint pain due to an injury or arthritis (degenerative changes). Your doctor evaluates the joint clinically, radiologically- X-ray and MRI, blood investigations – Arthritic profile to rule out inflammatory conditions and treated conservatively. If the patient is not relieved of pain in spite of medication, exercises and other alternatives your doctor advises for the hip replacement.
Know about HIP Joint Replacement:
Hip replacement is usually the last alternative advised to a patient after all the other treatments does not provide relief and limits the daily activities. Hip Replacement is a surgical procedure where the hip joint is replaced with a prosthetic implant which imitates the functionality of hip joint. Surgery is advised when either the socket or the thighbone(femur) is degenerated or injured due to which the activities are compromised.
Who require Hip Replacement and how is it beneficial?
People who are suffering with sharp and severe pain in the hip joint due to which the daily activities are constrained need to undergo the surgical procedure.
Most of the patients with an age between 50-80 years and suffering from arthritis can confidently choose to get the procedure done in spite of any other health ailments like diabetes, blood pressure, cardiac problems or any others.
Causes for pain in hip joint:
- Inflammatory Arthritis with secondary osteo arthritic changes
It is a disease causing inflammation of the joint and surrounding soft tissues which includes rheumatoid arthritis , Ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), psoriatic Arthritis and Juvenile idiopathic Arthritis.
All these kind of arthritis are autoimmune diseases causing imflammation due to swelling in the hip joint. It deteriorates the bone and cartilage and also can affect both the hip joints at the same time.
- Post traumatic Arthritis with secondary osteo arthritic changes
It is causes by a previous injury leading to wear and tear of the cartilage.
- Senile Osteoarthritis (age related arthritis)
Senile Osteo Arthritis is a condition which is very common for people between age group of 50-80. It is a degenerative joint disease which breaks down the cartilage tissue causing more friction in the joint thereby causing inflammation and pain.
- Avascular necrosis(Osteo necrosis)
It is caused due to disruption of the blood supply gradually leading to increase in pain and causes limitations of the hip movement due to damage of joint surface.
Know more about Pre-operative, surgery and post operative involved for replacement of hip joint
Unless it is an emergency case, hip replacement surgery is planned well in advance.
Pre–Operative:
Patient needs to get assessed for complete health and consult the anesthetist before the surgery
Your doctor advises for the following tests
- Major Surgical Profile(Includes necessary blood tests, X-Ray, MRI)
- Cardiac screening
- Pre Anesthetic checkup
Along with the test reports, patient needs to give information regarding medication for any kind of health issues patient is experiencing. In case of few medications like blood thinners, patient might have to stop taking them prior to the surgery. Also your doctor might advise to lose weight and prepares the patient to be in best health condition.
Know more about Pre-operative, surgery and post operative involved for knee joint replacement
Surgery:
The patient is advised not to take anything by mouth 6 hours prior to the surgery.The surgical procedure takes around 90 minutes.
Operative part is thoroughly scrubbed and draped in sterile disposable sheets. Incision is made and joint is exposed, femoral head is removed at the desired level and acetabulum is reamed, joint is replaced with either cemented or uncemented components. Here we have an option of using different surfaces like ceramic on ceramic – long-lasting, ceramic on metal, metal on high density poly, metal on metal. Usually ceramic on ceramic is advised for younger patients because of its longevity. Once the replacement is done stability is checked.
Post-operative:
The patient can have normal diet, the pain is managed with the help of anti inflammatory medication. The patient is made to walk the very next day , also physiotherapy is advised on the same day so that it promotes the blood flow to the new tissues and facilitates in faster recovery. The stay at hospital post surgery usually lasts for 2-3 days.
Patient will be prescribed antiinflammatory medication for pain relief for a week and thereafter physiotherapy for couple of months . Patient can walk without support in 2 weeks.