Complete Hip Replacement

Complete Hip Replacement (CHR) is an excellent cure option for people in their advanced stage of the degenerative hip disease. A CHR for these patients can bring a considerable decrease in pain with most of the patients regaining all the normal range of motions and their physical capability after the completion of the recuperative process.

Complete Hip Joint Replacement is only done when patients undergoing non-operative treatments fail to achieve respite from arthritis symptoms. Under a CHR, the procedure actually involves surgically removing the arthritic parts of the joint (cartilage & bone), replacing the "ball & socket" part of the joint with artificial components prepared from metal alloys, and inserting high-performance bearing surface between the metal parts.

After the operative procedure, a patient usually gets to spend some days in the hospital 5 to 10 days at the max in most cases. Post surgery, most of the patients have to use a walker for an initial period of 4-6 weeks, later on, they would resort to walking with the help of a walking stick for another 4-6 weeks before they can start their normal movement without any help or support.

Anatomy of a Hip Joint…

Hip joint is typically a real ball-and-socket joint of the body. The hip socket which is called the acetabulum makes a deep cup like shape to surround the ball of the upper thigh bone, known as femoral head. The thick muscles of buttocks in the back and thick muscles of thighs in the front enclose the hip.

The exterior of the femoral head and the interior of the acetabulum are enclosed with articular cartilage. This material is about a quarter inch deep in nearly all big joints. Articular cartilage is a strong, smooth substance that lets the exteriors to rub alongside one another without inflicting any injury.

What do we need an artificial Joint?

The prime motive behind changing an arthritic joint with an artificial one is to stop the rubbing of bones against one another. Whenever this rubbing happens, it causes a considerable amount of pain to the concerned person. When this faulty and painful arthritic joint is replaced with an artificial joint, it provides the joint with a new surface to move smoothly upon without causing any pain.

What makes an artificial Hip?

Primarily, there are 2 types of artificial hip replacements in practice.

Cemented prosthesis
Uncemented prosthesis

Under a cemented prosthesis procedure, the joint is put in place with the help of epoxy cement that joins the metal to the bone, while an uncemented prosthesis has an excellent net of holes on the exterior that allows bone to grow into the net and join the prosthesis to the bone. The assessment about whether a cemented or an uncemented artificial hip is to be used is normally done by the surgeon depending upon the age factor of the patient, and surgeon’s own past experience in doing such operative procedures.

Operative Procedure In A Hip Replacement…

The surgery gets underway by creating an opening to the side of the thigh to permit access to the hip joint.
Once the hip joint is accessed, the surgeon dislodges the femoral head from the acetabulum, and the femoral head is then detached by cutting through the femoral neck.
The surgeon now concentrates on the socket and uses tools to take out cartilage from inside the acetabulum, and shapes the socket into a half-sphere. He does it to ensure that the metal casing of artificial acetabular component fits perfectly inside the casing. Once the acetabulum is shaped, it is tested to make sure that it fits properly in the socket.
Under uncemented artificial hip replacements, the metal shell is usually enclosed in a place due to the firmness of the fit or with the aid of screws to keep the shell at one place. In cemented artificial hip replacements, epoxy-type cement is utilized to hold the acetabular component to the bone.
Now to replace the femur, special filing tools are used to shape up the bones of empty femur with the precise dimensions of the metal stem of femoral component. Once the dimensions become desirable, the stem is then placed inside the femoral canal.
Once the surgeon gets satisfied with the fittings and their proper placements, he proceeds to close the cut with stitches. Normally, more than one layer of stitches is employed beneath the skin, and metal staples are also put to use to close the cut on the skin. Finally a bandage is put on the stitched cut, and the patient is taken back to the recovery room for rehab.