- What is a hip replacement?
- How does a total hip replacement eliminate pain?
- What part of the hip is replaced?
- Which to choose? An uncemented or a cemented hip replacement?
Total hip replacement surgery has become a common procedure to alleviate pain and debilitation caused by osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fractures, dislocations, congenital deformities, and other hip related problems.
The immediate benefits of this operation are great. After 4 months, in most uncomplicated cases, a patient is relatively pain-free, has full mobility of the hip, and can walk with a minimal or no limp.
If you are considering a total joint replacement, you can obtain more information from Care Clinic, 2444 5608, and numerous other web resources.
How does a total hip replacement eliminate pain?
The cup and stem in this illustration are covered with a metal porous-coating, resembling sandpaper; this enables bone to grow into the implants, providing stability for the hip replacement.
Basically, a total hip replacement eliminates pain, because the damaged, articulating surfaces on the hip are replaced with smooth, artificial surfaces.
What part of the hip is replaced?
The head (or ball) of the patient’s femur and the neck of the femur (the thigh bone) are removed. An acetabular component is placed into the damaged socket. This component is a metal “cup” lined with a polyethylene shell (a hard plastic-like inner lining). The ball of the femoral implant (or stem) fits into this cup, creating a new, movable joint.
The operation usually takes about 2 hours. The hospitalization time also is relatively short, usually about five or six days. In most cases, full recovery takes about 4 to 6 months.
Prepare yourself with reliable information.
Which to choose? An uncemented or a cemented hip replacement?
This figure shows the type of hip implant generally used at the Anderson Orthopaedic Institute.
Although initially developed for young, active patients, our experience in several thousand cases shows that this porous-coated method works well for patients of all ages and lifestyles.Today, both cementless (also called uncemented and porous-coated) and cemented hipreplacements offer patients effective, long-term relief.
However, this was not always the case. In the the late 70s, cement was used in total hip replacements to attach implants to the femur and acetabulum. At that time, loosening of implants was the greatest shortcoming of hip replacements. When revision operations were done to correct the problem, the success rate was lower than with the initial surgery.
At care clinic I do both cemented and uncemented hip replacements. It is important to know that the price of each implant varies but generally the uncemented hip cost more than the cemented hips.
