How Does Hip Replacement Surgery Work?
What is a Hip Replacement?
A hip replacement is necessary in most instances when arthritis has made it unbearable for a person to do such routine things as ascend stairs or walk a short distance. It is also an option when hip joints become diseased or have been injured during an accident. The basic concept behind a hip replacement is to remove the damaged bone and tissue that is causing the pain and substitute it with an artificial prosthesis that serves the function of acting like the joint that has been taken out. A hip replacement prosthesis is constructed out of materials such as titanium and stainless steel, with the piece that fits into the hip joint resembling a ball and socket. The other end of a hip prosthesis is long and tapered--designed to go into the femur bone. When a successful hip replacement has been completed, the patient will no longer have the pain he had before the surgery, as those tissues and bones will be gone. The new device allows the person to move the hip with no problems.
Before Surgery
Orthopedic surgeons normally take between 2 and 4 hours to complete a hip replacement surgery that has no complications. After the patient has been given anesthesia, doctors will insert a urinary catheter into the bladder that will remain for a couple of days, to allow the patient to urinate easily. Compression sleeves attached to a pump will be placed on both legs to lessen the possibility of dangerous blood clots. Days prior to the surgery, the patient will have a special X-rays taken of the legs to allow calculations to be made so that both legs will be the same length after the procedure is done. In many cases, the patient would also have had their own blood drawn weeks beforehand in case they needed a transfusion during the course of the hip replacement surgery.
Hip Replacement Surgery
An incision is made over the side of the hip, cutting through skin, muscle and flesh until the surgeon exposes the thighbone, also called the femur. The actual hip joint, found at the top end of the femur, runs into the pelvis. The femur has a ball-like ending that goes into a socket in the pelvis, known as the acetabulum. The surgeon will evaluate the state of the hip and remove all the damaged tissue, cartilage and bone. Artificial components will be used to replace the femur head. These are the "ball-and-socket" parts that will let the hip prosthesis function smoothly. The acetabulum is smoothed over and the socket attached. Surgeons will either use a type of cement to keep the socket in place or use pieces with a porous surface area that will actually let the bone grow into them over time and hold them tight. The top part of the femur that remains will have the tapered end of the prosthesis carefully put into it and again will either be bonded with special cement or be of the type that the bone can grow into. The ball will be connected into the socket, forming a new hip joint and the incision will be closed up with a drain in it to let fluids flow out. The patient will awake in the recovery room with the compression sleeves on his legs, a pump next to them that delivers dosages of pain-killers and a wedge-shaped pillow between his legs so that he cannot turn and dislocate the prosthesis.
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