Hip Replacement Surgery

The hip is one of the largest articulations in the human body. The joint is basically a ball inside a socket each covered with cartilage. When the cartilage wears out, the person has arthritis, which can lead to disabling pain. The hip was one of the first joints to be studied for replacement.

Normal Hip, Arthritis Hip and Hip Arthroplasty

Total hip replacements, sometimes called hip arthroplasty, have been done since 1960 and today nearly 200,000 are done each year. The implants have significantly improved over the years. With most hip arthroplasties, the bone actually grows into the implant and cement is no longer needed to stabilize the components.

State of the art bearing surfaces, such as ceramic, have such low wear rates that the replacement could a last lifetime. Minimally invasive surgical techniques permit less tissue dissection and faster patient recovery. Computer navigation helps the surgeon to optimize the implant's position. Dr. John Tenny utilizes state of the art implant designs and techniques to provide his patients with rapid recovery and a hip replacement that could last the rest of their lives.

Modern Hip Replacements Demonstrate Less Wear Components of a Hip replacement

Hospital Stay

Patient undergoing hip replacement are typically in the hospital for three or four days. Dr. Tenny frequently uses an anterior approach to the hip joint resulting in less muscle detachment and quicker recovery. The procedure is performed the day of admission and therapy is started the first or second day. Some people go to a rehabilitation center after discharge from the hospital while others go directly home.

 

Caring for Your Hip Replacement

Hip replacements are mechanical devices that can wear out with time. Our goal is to have the hip replacement last the rest of the patient's life. Avoiding high impact activities such as running and jumping as well as carrying excess body weight can help prolong the life of the implant.

Another cause of implant failure is infection. Our bodies are constantly bombarded with bacteria that our kidneys filter out or our immune system eliminate. If these bacteria settle on a foreign material in our body, such as a hip replacement, they can form a biofilm which is an extracellular matrix that antibiotics cannot penetrate. When this happens, the joint replacement usually needs to be removed to treat the infection.

In some cases our bodies can be exposed to high levels of bacteria, such as when we have an active infection, a surgical procedure, or work done on our teeth. Under these conditions, we need to take an antibiotic that will cover the bacteria we might be exposed to.