Hip replacement surgery is one of the treatment options available for arthritis patients. This procedure will require the doctor to remove the painful hip joint through surgery and replace it with artificial joint. This is usually a last resort when everything else doesn’t seem to help the patient to get the relief from their hip joint problem.
What To Expect During Hip Replacement Surgery
There are two methods available for hip replacement surgery to take place. It can be done either traditionally or a slightly modern method considered being slightly invasive. The main difference for these 2 procedures will be the size of incision.
Patient will be given general anesthesia as a way to relax their muscle and put them into a deep sleep temporarily during the hip replacement surgery process. This can help them go through the surgery painlessly. There are also cases where the doctor chooses to use spinal anesthetic during surgery.
The hip joint will be exposed after the doctor move the muscle connecting thighbone through a cut along the side of hip. The ball portion for hip joint will be cut from thighbone using a saw. It will be replaced by an artificial joint by using cement so that everything will stay attached with the new joint.
Next, the doctor will prepare the hipbone surface by getting rid of any damaged cartilage and attaching the replacement socket part to hipbone. After that, the new ball part of thighbone will be inserted into the part where the hip has a socket. The will be closed after the muscles are reattached after any fluid caused by this surgery process is drained.
Most surgeries that are performed nowadays are done through standard technique where there will be 8 to 10 inch cut done to the hip area. Years ago, doctors will have to perform minimally invasive technique and made one or two cuts about 2 to 5 inches. The exact procedure will be carried out through these small cuts.
There are opinions saying these small cuts will lessen blood loss and cause lesser pain during surgery procedure. This in effect will allow the patient to go home earlier and suffer lesser scar appearance on their hip area.
There are risks associated with hip replacement surgery though as it need to be done only by doctors who is highly skilled using the technique. You also should consider donating blood before the surgery as there will be blood loss and there’s a high chance that you’ll need blood transfusion during your surgery.
What To Expect After Hip Replacement Surgery
Most patient will have to stay at least 4 days in the hospital before they can move around. They’ll have to put wedged shaped cushion between legs to ensure the new hip joint will stay on its location.