Healthwatch: Making hip replacement surgery easier
Read more: Local, Health
New technologies like specialized surgical tables enable surgeons to minimally invasive hip surgeries.
BACKGROUND: The human hip is vulnerable to damage by arthritis and fractures, especially in the elderly. This damage can cause pain that limits everyday activities like getting in and out of a chair, walking, and even putting socks and shoes on. The first course of action recommended by doctors against hip pain includes medication, changes in daily activities and the use of walking aids. When these interventions aren't enough, total hip replacement is the next option. First performed in 1960, the procedure usually results in a dramatic reduction of pain and increased mobility for patients. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 193,000 hip replacement surgeries are performed every year in the United States.
Traditional hip replacement surgery is performed through a 10 to 12 inch incision in the side of the hip. The surgeon removes damaged cartilage and bone from the hip joint and replaces the tissue and bone with new, man-made parts. A common problem after this type of surgery is hip dislocation. Patients must take special care to avoid movements that can pull the ball out of its socket. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Muscoskeletal and Skin Diseases, patients usually spend three to five days in the hospital following surgery and about three to six months recovering.
New developments in technology and techniques have given rise to minimally invasive hip replacement surgery. This type of procedure requires smaller incisions, and recovery time is shorter than with traditional hip replacement. Candidates for this surgery are usually 50 years or younger, of normal body weight based on body mass index and healthier than candidates for traditional surgery.
RELIEF FROM …A TABLE: New technologies like specialized surgical tables enable surgeons to do anterior, minimally invasive hip replacements. This means the surgery is performed through a three to four inch incision in the front of the hip. These tables also enable surgeons to operate without detaching muscle from the pelvis or femur, which minimizes pain felt by the patient. The table assists surgeons by allowing them to position a patient's hip and leg in traction for easier access. This approach to the procedure helps prevent hip dislocation; the plague of hip replacement patients. The table-assisted procedure also shortens recovery time. "We are finding our patients are going home in one to two days, and then up and walking and back to work within one to two weeks," according to David Ott, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix. "The older technique is probably more like three days in the hospital, walking with a walker for another week or two, and then a cane for another two to four weeks after that."
