subject: Hip Replacement As Treatment For Oa And Ra [print this page] According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), between 200,000 and 300,000 hip replacement operations are performed in the United States each year. Majority of them are 60 years old and older. Hip replacement involves removal of a damaged hip joint and replacing it with a prosthetic hip. Different device makers have marketed their own design of hip implants. DePuy Orthopedics recently initiated a campaign telling recipients stories to potential recipients, as another means of promoting their hip implants. DePuy is a subsidiary company of the giant Johnson & Johnsons Inc.
The major indicator for hip replacement is pain. According to a study, Indications for Total Hip Replacement dated 2006, surgeons and referring physician both agreed that pain (rest pain) and impairment of daily function like walking, climbing stairs and rising from a sitting position are the main indicative manifestation for them to recommend THR. The most common cause of hip pain and disability is arthritis: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Another condition that needs possible hip replacement is fracture of the hip bone.
Osteoarthritis (OA) or degenerative joint disease is the most common and frequently disabling of the joint disorders. It usually occurs in individuals age 50 and up and often to those with positive family history of arthritis. As the person age, the ability of the articular cartilage to resist repetitive blows diminishes, thus resulting to OA in older patients. With reduced cushion, rubbing of bones against each other may happen resulting to pain, stiffness and impaired function.
Rheumatoid arthritis or RA is an autoimmune disease wherein the synovial membranes is inflamed causing articular cartilage dysfunction, leading to pain and stiffness. The condition is not the same as OA, for it is a disease condition where the tissues the body is supposed to protect are attacked by its own immune system. Women are 2-3 times more affected with the condition than men. Classic symptoms of RA include swelling, erythema, joint pain and decreased function.
A combination of exercise, lifestyle modification, and analgesics are the common treatment methods for both OA and RA. Joint replacement may be recommended for patients whose RA or OA do not respond to any non-surgical management. As prescribed, patients suffering from osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis of the hips may undergo a hip replacement surgery. Whether to have a hip replacement is a collaborative decision of the patient, his family, his primary doctor and his orthopedic surgeon. Discussion should include the suited surgical technique and appropriate hip device to use. A worldwide DePuy hip recall is being done on DePuys ASR hip system after recipients complained of complications shortly after they had the implant.
