Patient Education: Total Hip Replacement
 
Total hip replacement has become among the most successful orthopaedic procedures. People with hip arthritis often wonder: when the right time is to have replacement surgery, what life will be like after surgery, and what new techniques or technologies may be available.

When to have surgery:
In the past, patients were advised to wait as long as they could, and only have surgery when they could no longer stand the pain. Recent studies have found that this may not be the best advice. The better a person's medical and physical condition, at the time of surgery, the less difficulty they may have in attaining normal gait and function. Surgery may be considered when medications and therapy have failed and pain or stiffness interfere with regular activities of daily living or walking such that patients must compromise their life styles.

What will life be like after surgery:
Total hip replacement can eliminate hip pain. If this is the only problem, after surgery patients can walk, dance, swim, ride a bicycle, ski and pursue a variety of activities. The durability of these replacements has always been difficult to answer. The newer ceramic and metal technologies may offer increased longevity for the replacement. Heavy repetitive stress activities such as jogging and weight lifting are not advised.

What new techniques and technologies may be available:
Medicine and surgery are constantly changing. The news and television regularly report advances and new procedures. For the person considering surgery it can become quite confusing and difficult to appreciate the difference between an experimental, or investigative procedure and something that may be new but not considered to have any additional risks. The best advice may be to choose a surgeon knowledgeable in new techniques and comfortable discussing all aspects of surgery with you. The current state of the art surgical technique is Minimally Invasive Surgery.