Hip Replacement

Most total hip replacement patients get out of bed on the day of surgery or the first day after. It is felt that faster mobilization speeds rehabilitation and prevents medical...

Pain medication after hip replacement surgery can be given through an epidural catheter, through an intra-venous line (IV), or by mouth. Postoperative pain is greatest in the first 2 or...

Most patients who undergo total hip arthroplasty will need to be in the hospital for 3 to 4 days following surgery. After their hospital stay, many patients choose to go...

Ceramics are hard materials that are inorganic and nonmetallic. They are materials which are formed by the action of heat. The word ceramic comes from the Greek keramikos. Examples of...

Metal on metal total hip replacements have been in use for approximately 50 years. Because the combination of metal on polyethylene has been so effective and so popular, far fewer...

Modular parts are interchangeable pieces that go together to make up one structure. Both the femoral and the acetabular components of a total hip arthroplasty may be modular. The original...

Bone cement is an acrylic cement used to hold implants in bone in joint replacement. Bone cement is not really a glue. It is a filler, or grout used to...

The components of a total hip replacement may be either press fit or cemented into bone. Press fit means that the specific component is impacted tightly into a space of...

Most hip replacements are made up of a combination of metal and plastic. The femoral head and femoral stem are metal. The acetabular component is a durable plastic. Together, these...

It takes most surgeons between 1 and 2 hours to per-form a routine total hip replacement. Not all of the time spent in the operating room, however, is taken up...

Surgery is done with the patient either lying down (supine) or on his or her side (lateral decubitus). Several surgical approaches can be made—anterior (from the front), posterior (from the...

In the operating room, an orthopaedic surgeon doing hip replacement will have one or two assistants at the operating table. The assistant may be another orthopaedic surgeon, a physician’s assistant...

Hip replacement surgery is done by an orthopaedic surgeon. An orthopaedic surgeon is a physician trained in the care of problems and diseases of the muscu-loskeletal system. The term orthopaedic...

If you are having surgery you will need to have anesthesia. Anesthesia means without feeling. For hip replacement surgery, anesthesia can be either general or regional. With general anesthesia, you...

Can my friends and family donate blood? Many patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty will require transfusion either during surgery or in the postoperative period. For this reason, you may choose...

Your orthopaedic surgeon may ask that you have a general medical checkup before you come in to the hospital. The place to start is with your regular physician. Usually, this...

Once you have decided to have total hip surgery it is important to plan for your procedure and your care after surgery. It is helpful to involve your family or...

Arthroscopy is being used more and more for treatment of a painful hip. While arthroscopic procedures are most commonly done in the knee, shoulder and elbow, more surgeons are gaining...

Core decompression is a surgical procedure used to treat hip pain in the early stages of avascular necrosis. One of the causes of pain in AVN is increased pressure in...

Osteotomy literally means cutting of the bone. In orthopaedic surgery, an osteotomy is an operation where a section of the bone is cut so that the bone may be realigned...

A hip fusion is a procedure where the ball of the femur and socket are brought together to form a single bone. The purpose of the fusion is to relieve...

Resurfacing is a type of hip replacement that preserves bone in the proximal femur. In a standard total hip, the entire femoral head and a large part of the femoral...

Bipolar replacement, or arthroplasty, is one type of partial hip replacement that is frequently done for fractures, but can also be done for arthritis, avascular necrosis, and other problems about...

Many patients who are candidates for total hip surgery have had a previous surgical procedure on their hips. Having surgery on your hip in the past does not pre-vent you...

For many years, surgeons felt that hip replacement surgery should be reserved for elderly patients. No one knew how long a hip replacement would last. It made sense to only...