Hip replacement is one of the most successful joint replacement surgeries performed in the US today. At the American Hip Institute, hip replacement is routinely performed as an outpatient procedure with greater than 99% accuracy in implant placement.
However, hip replacement is still a major surgical procedure and there may be questions you’d like answered before deciding to have your hip replaced. Here’s what you need to know about hip replacement surgery:
How do I know when it’s time to have my hip replaced?
Generally, hip replacement is performed only when your hip pain can no longer be controlled with conservative treatments. But, you shouldn’t wait too long as that may lead to severe joint & soft tissue degeneration making your surgery and postsurgical recovery difficult.
How young is too young for hip replacement?
While most hip replacements are performed in patients above the age of 50-60 years, there are no strict age restrictions. Hip replacement may be performed in patients in their early 20s who have debilitating childhood hip conditions such as juvenile arthritis. These patients enjoy significant improvement in quality of life after the procedure, although they may require a second hip replacement 10-20 years after the initial hip replacement.
What are the alternatives to hip replacement?
Hip replacement is mostly performed for patients suffering with end-stage osteoarthritis. Patients only consider it after exhausting all other options which include hip preservation procedures such as minimally invasive hip arthroscopy. In addition, patients at AHI are offered anti-inflammatory medications, physical therapy, recommendations for activity modification, hip injections such as regenerative medicine techniques like PRP & Stem-Cell infusion, as well as hip resurfacing in younger patients.
How long will the hip implant last?
Results of a largescale research study performed on patients having undergone hip replacement 15 years earlier demonstrated that 80% of the younger patients (under the age of 65 years) and 94% of the older patients (above 65 years of age) had well-functioning hip implants. With the significant improvements in implant material and surgical techniques in the last couple of decades, it is safe to expect even better surgical outcomes today.
How long does it take to recover from hip replacement surgery?
Being the foremost pioneers in the field of minimally invasive hip surgery, the AHI surgeons are able to perform total hip replacement through a single 4 to 6-inch incision with minimal damage to healthy tissue and no cutting of muscles. This ensures rapid recovery and return to activities of daily living. You can expect to be on your feet and back home on the same day after outpatient hip replacement surgery. Depending on your activity level, you can return to work within a few weeks or months.
Hip replacement surgery is helping transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans every year. Visit the experts at the American Hip Institute to find out if you might be a candidate for the procedure.
Dr. Benjamin Domb is an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in Sports Medicine and Hip Arthroscopy. He is the Founder and Medical Director at American Hip Institute, is rated amongst the Top Doctors in the USA by the NY Times, US News & World Report, and Castle Connelly. The doctors at the American Hip Institute have been global leaders in Hip Arthroscopy and Robotic Surgery for over a decade. While some would call this excellence, we simply call it the American Hip Institute standard.
