Hip replacement is a surgical intervention. The goal of this operation is to replace the damaged or worn hip joint with a new, custom-made endoprosthesis for the patient.
Indications for Surgery
There are a number of diseases that negatively affect the hip joint and destroy it:
- Osteoarthritis of the hip joint – the smooth sliding tissues wear down due to age or other reasons. The patient feels pain and difficulty moving the joint. It is hard for the patient to perform high-amplitude movements with the joint.
- Fracture of the femoral neck (commonly referred to as a femoral neck fracture). This is the most common injury among the elderly. The danger for this category of patients is that such a fracture does not heal.
- Inflammatory processes destroy the joint. The cause is usually rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune diseases.
- Dysplastic coxarthrosis. Patients with a history of congenital hip dislocation or diagnosed hip dysplasia are most susceptible.
- Osteonecrosis – death of a part of the bone, specifically the head of the femur.
Diagnosis
At the leading clinic in Israel, Ichilov, before performing hip replacement surgery, a diagnostic interview (medical history collection) will be conducted with the patient to clarify the indications for surgery.
Such indications may include complaints:
- Pain that is of great intensity and prolonged nature.
- Pain does not subside. Its intensity increases with walking. Pain sensations do not decrease even with the use of a cane or walker.
- The pain is so severe that it interferes with the patient's sleep.
- Minimal patient activity is significantly hindered: it is difficult to move up and down stairs, as well as to rise from a seated position and return to the original position.
In addition to collecting medical history, detailed consultations with leading specialists in orthopedics and anesthesiology are conducted at Ichilov clinic for hip replacement.
Procedure of Hip Replacement Surgery
Hip replacement surgery lasts approximately 4 hours. It is a minimally invasive technique, requiring only 1-2 incisions of just a few millimeters in length. After making these incisions, the orthopedic surgeon removes the tissues affected by the pathological process along with the destroyed and damaged cartilage and bone tissue. Only healthy bone is left untouched. The surgeon does not affect the muscles and tendons. This fact contributes to the rapid rehabilitation of patients of any age after the surgical intervention. The rounded part of the femur is replaced with a part of the endoprosthesis, which has the form of an artificial ball. This ball is attached to the stem of the endoprosthesis, which is fixed to the femur.
Prevention of Complications After Hip Replacement Surgery
The measures include the following recommendations:
- After surgery, the patient should begin active rehabilitation. Thus, the person should start sitting or even walking with a walker or crutches in the early postoperative stages.
- During and after endoprosthesis, the patient wears special elastic stockings. This is a precautionary measure against blood stagnation in the lower extremities, that is, preventive therapy for thrombosis.
- The patient must take special medications to thin the blood as prescribed by the doctor. The duration of taking these medications directly depends on how quickly the patient begins to walk and the extent of their activity.