Hip replacement

Hip replacement is a surgical procedure where a damaged hip joint is replaced with an artificial implant to relieve pain and improve mobility.

Get a Free Consultation

Overview

A hip replacement surgery can relieve your pain, recover your mobility and provide a better quality of life. The problems in your hip joints can prevent you from walking or functioning properly and cause severe pain. Orthopedic surgeons have been successfully performing hip replacements for years. Also, they stay current while surgical techniques are constantly evolving.

Hip replacement surgery removes damaged areas of your hip joint and replaces them with a prosthesis. These artificial joints are made of metal, ceramic, and rigid plastic. Furthermore, consider this procedure if other treatment options do not relieve your pain. After all, it is major surgery.

Today, prostheses can function for at least 15 years. Most patients experienced a significant reduction in pain and freedom of movement after surgery. Additionally, arthritis is the most common cause of surgery.

At Istanbul Med Assist, we are committed to mediate state-of-the-art methods for hip replacement surgeries.

Why is hip replacement done?

If pain;

Continues despite taking medication
Worsens when walking despite canes and walkers
Interrupts your sleep
Makes it difficult for you to dress
Prevents you from using the stairs
Makes it difficult for you to get up from your seat

hip replacement surgery may be a suitable option for you.

The following conditions can damage your hip joint and cause pain even when resting:

Osteoarthritis

The most common reason for hip replacement surgery. It damages the cartilage that covers the bones' ends, allowing you to walk comfortably.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

It occurs because your immune system is overactive. The inflammation caused by this disease can dissolve your cartilage and even your underlying bone. As a result, your hip joints become deformed and damaged.

Osteonecrosis

If your hip bone is dislocated or fractured, your joint may not get enough blood. Thus, your hip bone can collapse and become deformed.

What are the risks of hip replacement?

Every major surgery carries certain risks. Risks of hip replacement surgery include:

Blood Clots

After hip replacement surgery, a blood clot can form in the veins in your legs. These clots can be dangerous if they travel to other organs in your body. So, your doctor prescribes blood-thinning medications to reduce the risk

Infection

Infections may occur in the area where your surgeon made the incision or in tissues closer to your hip. Doctors can control most infections with antibiotics. However, you may need additional surgery if a major infection occurs in an area close to your prosthesis.

Fracture

During surgery, healthy areas of your hip joint may be fractured. Minor fractures can heal on their own. However, your doctor may stabilize large fractures with wires, screws, a metal plate, or bone grafts.

Dislocation

Some movements may cause your new joint to dislocate in the first months after surgery. If your hip is dislocated, your doctor may apply a brace to keep your hip in the correct position.

Change in Leg Length

Your doctor will try to prevent this problem as much as possible. However, sometimes a hip replacement can make one leg longer than the other. In this case, it helps to strengthen and stretch your muscles regularly. If the change is minor, you will not feel the difference for a few months after the operation.

Loosening

It rarely happens, thanks to new prostheses. Your new joint may not fit appropriately into your bone or may loosen over time. Thus, pain occurs in your hip. Your doctor can correct this condition with additional surgery.

Nerve Damage

Rarely, nerves in the area where the surgeon placed the prosthesis may be damaged. Thus, numbness, weakness, and pain may occur.

A hand holding a hip prosthesis. A hip replacement surgery involves replacing a damaged hip joint with an artificial one.

Need for second hip replacement

If you had a hip replacement when you were young, your prosthesis might wear out over time. Therefore, you may need to have a second surgery. However, new materials have made prostheses a lot more durable.

How do you prepare?

Before surgery, an orthopedic surgeon will examine your medical history and medications. Next, they will examine your hip, measuring the range of motion of your joints and the strength of the surrounding muscles. Additionally, you’ll have a blood test, and an x-ray or an MRI may be required.

Stop smoking one month before the surgery and quit smoking for two months following the surgery.

In the two weeks before surgery, do not have any dental treatment, including teeth cleaning.

What can you expect?

Surgeons may use a spinal block to numb the lower half of the body or administer general anesthesia.

Also, they can anesthetize the nerves around or inside your joints. So you won't have any pain after the operation.

During hip replacement

Firstly, your surgeon makes an incision over the front of your hip and removes damaged bone and cartilage. Then, they place the socket of the prosthesis and finish the surgery by placing the prosthetic ball. They attach this component to a root in your thighbone.

The surgery takes a few hours. Hip replacement surgery techniques continue to evolve. By developing less invasive methods, surgeons continue to shorten recovery time and reduce pain.

Physical therapy

To speed up your recovery, seek help from a physical therapist to assist you with your exercises.

Do your physical activities and exercises without interruption every day to regain the function of your joints and muscles. Your physical therapist will give you mobility and strengthening exercises.

Also, you will learn to use walking aids such as a walker, cane, or crutches. As therapy continues, you will increase the weight on your leg until you can walk unaided.

Home recovery and follow-up care

After hip replacement surgery, you need care at home to heal appropriately. Before you go home, your doctor will advise your caregiver about your new hip joint.

For smooth recovery:

Arrange for a relative or friend to cook for you
Lower the items you use daily to waist level so you don’t have to bend over or lie down
Consider making some changes to your home, like replacing a low toilet with a high one
Keep your essentials close by

Within 6 to 12 weeks after surgery, your surgeon will do an exam to check your recovery. Most patients with proper healing can perform their normal activities at a certain level after this point. It will take 6 to 12 months to recover and strengthen your hip fully.

Results of hip replacement

Your new hip replacement reduces the pain you felt before and increases the range of movement of your joint. However, don’t expect to return to how you were before your hip started to hurt.

Physical sports such as running and basketball can strain your artificial hip joint too much. But you can comfortably swim, walk, and cycle over time.

Most importantly, you will function normally without pain.