Key Facts Involving Hip Surgery
Key Facts Involving Hip Surgery
Key Facts Involving Hip Surgery
The main cause of hip damage is arthritis. The result is that normal daily activity such as walking or getting into a bath become difficult and painful, even causing discomfort while you're at rest.
For this reason, you and your GP may be considering a hip replacement operation, or perhaps you have already been to see an orthopaedic specialist.
The following guide will give you a better understanding of how a normal hip works, the main causes of hip damage and also the background and procedure of hip surgery.
How the Hip Works
The hip is one of the body's largest weight-carrying joints. It is made up of two main parts - a ball (femoral head) located at the top of your thighbone (femur), which fits into a rounded socket (acetabulum) in your pelvis. Bands of tissue called ligaments then connect the ball to the socket and stabilise the joint.
The bone surfaces of the ball and socket have a smooth yet strong cover of articular cartilage that provides cushioning at the ends of the bones so they can move seamlessly. A thin, smooth tissue (the synovial membrane) then covers the remaining surfaces of the hip joint. In a healthy hip, this membrane creates a small amount of fluid that lubricates to remove friction in your hip joint.
It is a disruption in the harmony of all these parts working together that results in discomfort and pain in the hip.
The Main Causes of Hip Mobility Loss
The three most common forms of the arthritis disease that cause severe hip disability, stiffness and pain are the following:
Osteoarthritis
With this condition, the articular cartilage cushioning the bones of your hip wears away, causing the bones to rub uncomfortably against each other. Osteoarthritis mostly occurs in people who are 50 years of age and older, particularly those with a history of arthritis in their family. It can also be caused or accelerated by irregularities in how your hip originally developed.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
This is an autoimmune disease which causes the synovial membrane to become inflamed, it produces too much synovial fluid and damages the articular cartilage.
Traumatic Arthritis
This form of the disease is usually the result of a serious hip fracture or injury . In the case of a hip fracture, it causes a condition known as Osteonecrosis, where the articular cartilage becomes damaged and causes progressive discomfort.
Introduction to Hip Surgery
Hip replacement surgery was first performed in 1960 - it is one of the most important surgical advances of the last century. Since that time, the procedure has seen great improvements, particularly in joint replacement surgical techniques and technology.
The Hip Replacement Procedure
Prior to being admitted for your operation, a member of the anaesthesia team will give you an evaluation to help you decide which type of anaesthesia is best for you. The most common types of anaesthesia administered for hip replacement surgery are general (this puts you to sleep throughout the entire operation and a machine is used to help you breath) or spinal (this removes sensation in your body from the waist down).
In most cases, you'll be admitted to the hospital on the day of your operation. The hip replacement procedure itself will take a few hours and involves your orthopaedic surgeon removing any damaged cartilage and bone, then replacing it with an artificial joint surface to restore the alignment and function of your hip.
Your orthopaedic surgeon will choose the type of artificial joints that best suit your needs. These range in design and material but all of them consist of the two basic hip components i.e. the ball (made of a highly polished metal or ceramic material) and the socket (a durable cup made of plastic, ceramic or metal, which sometimes also has an outer metal shell). Special surgical cement may be used to secure the prosthesis and fill the gap between it and the remaining natural bone of your hip.
In younger, more active patients with strong bones, a non-cemented prosthesis is often used. It can be coated with textured metal or a special bone-like substance to allow the natural bone to grow into the artificial joint.
After the operation, you will be taken to a recovery room for 1-2 hours while your anaesthesia wears off. Then you will be transferred to a hospital room where your progress can be monitored.
Conclusion
These days, hip surgery is a common and reliable procedure to restore a damaged hip's natural ability to functioning smoothly. Following recovery from the operation, you can expect your quality of life in terms of carrying out daily activities without pain to significantly improve.
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