One of the most common surgeries in the modern day of medicine tends to be hip replacement surgery. Not only because it is the area that is the one that gets injured the most due to its constant use as we age, but also because the procedure became much easier to perform thanks to advancements in medicine.
Due to its common nature, we are going to discuss everything you should know about the procedure, from the risk factors that lead to hip replacement, to the ways that you can reduce the risk of injury. While sometimes it is inevitable to avoid hip replacement surgery, being informed about it is always helpful since anyone can get to the point of getting one somewhere in their life.
Why is the surgery done, and what are the risks?
There are usually a few reasons why a hip replacement surgery can be necessary, and you can find more about it if you click here or if you consult with a professional. In short, it is either due to some kind of hip pain that is persistent and that makes your everyday activities a nightmare, or because you have one of the three conditions that make this procedure a necessity. Those conditions are:
- Osteoarthritis, also known as wear and tear arthritis, is a condition that damages the slick cartilage which covers the ends of bones and enables the smooth movement that joints have.
- Rheumatoid arthritis is a condition that produces inflammation that erodes the cartilage and sometimes the bone underneath it. This often results in damaged joints, and the main cause of this condition is usually an overactive immune system.
- Osteonecrosis occurs if there is not enough blood supplied to the ball part of the hip joint. The result of that is often a dislocation or a fracture, and sometimes the bone might completely collapse or deform if the conditions are severe enough.
Hip pain may lead to surgery
When it comes to the main risks of hip replacement surgery are blood clots, infection, fracture, dislocation, change in length, loosening, and nerve damage. Each of these factors has its own reason why it is a risk that could lead to hip surgery.
- Blood clots can sometimes form in the leg veins after the surgery. This is dangerous because a piece of the clot can break off and travel to a major organ like the lungs or the heart. Because of this risk, doctors usually prescribe blood-thinning medication.
- Infections are very rare after surgery, but they can happen. They usually occur at the site of the incision and in the deeper tissue of the new hip. Most infections are treated via antibiotics that your doctor can prescribe, but if the infection is more serious, another surgery might be necessary.
- Fracture can sometimes occur during surgery in the healthy portions of the hip joint, and while the small ones can often heal on their own, the bigger fractures might require stabilization from wires, screws, bone grafts, or a metal plate, which will increase recovery time.
- Change in leg length. Something that no surgeon wants to see in their patient is the change in leg length after some time from the surgery passes. While surgeons do everything they can for this to happen, sometimes things can be unpredictable due to muscle contracture around the hip, and it can usually take months of exercising with muscle stretching for this to fix itself.
What to expect during and after the procedure?
Like most surgeries, there are going to be some pre-operative preparations, and these usually depend on your condition, and you will receive the instructions from your surgeon beforehand. Once the day of the surgery comes, you will check-in for surgery, and then be asked to remove your clothes and put on a hospital gown.
After that, the lower half of your body will be numbed by a spinal block, and in some cases, the surgeon might also give you a nerve block with an injection just before the surgery in order to block all possible pain during the procedure.
The procedure takes a few hours, and it starts off with an incision over the front or the side of your hip. After the incision is made, the damaged bone and cartilage are removed, leaving only the healthy ones behind. Then, the prosthetic socket is implanted into the pelvic bone in order to replace the damaged socket before the top of the femur is also replaced with a prosthetic ball.
Once the procedure is over, you will be receiving treatment that reduces the risks which were mentioned earlier, and you will go through the recovery stage which involves physical therapy, where your body is getting used to the new hip joint. It usually takes up to 12 weeks after surgery to return to a somewhat normal situation and about 12 months for a full recovery.
If you would like to discover more about this procedure or ways that you can prevent getting to this procedure at all, you can visit https://midnorthcoasthipandknee.com.au/hip-replacement-surgery/, or you can consult with a surgeon at your local clinic or hospital.
Hip replacement therapy is not easy, so stay strong during your recovery, even if you feel pain!
Final word
Hip replacement surgery has become quite a common surgery nowadays, and that is fantastic considering how common hip pain or hip injuries are. Even if people tend to do everything to keep themselves healthy, once we reach a certain age, getting a hip replacement is inevitable, so get informed about the procedure and knowing what to expect is always a good thing.
