Cemented & Uncemented Hip Replacement Surgical Technique

Hip replacement surgery or hip arthroplasty is the most effective surgical treatment for hip pain caused due to severe arthritis. Damaged and worn parts of the hip bone are replaced with an artificial prosthetic implant during this procedure. Although there are number of ways to perform hip replacement procedure, the two most essential ways of performing hip replacement surgery is to fix the artificial hip to existing bone in the following two categories. • Cemented Hip Replacement • Uncemented Hip Replacement Difference between Cemented & Uncemented Hip Prosthesis No matter whether total or partial hip replacement surgery is performed, artificial hip joint will comprise of two basic components - the ball component and the socket component. The ball component is made of highly polished strong ceramic or metal material attached to the upper part of the femur bone and socket is a cup-shaped component made of plastic ceramic or metal attached to the acetabulum. These components can be fixed through cemented or uncemented methods. What is this cemented and uncemented hip prosthesis? The details are as follows. • Cemented Hip Prosthesis: Cement is used as glue between the artificial hip prosthesis and the existing bone so as to fix the prosthesis. This cement is fast drying bone cement. However it may happen that cement may start degrading over the years and the patient with cemented hip replacement may have to undergo surgery once again. • Uncemented Hip Prosthesis: It is also known as the press-fit prosthesis. It works on biological fixation wherein the existing bone is allowed to grow on its own and bridge the gap in between. This process takes a splendid amount of time to fix the natural bone with the artificial implant but is everlasting as the bone fixes on its own. Cemented Vs Uncemented Hip Replacement With every patient, changes the choice of cemented or uncemented hip replacement surgery. This decision may depend on various factors like the age, personal well being, quality and strength of your bone etc. Cemented hip prosthesis offers quicker recovery with significantly reduced post-operative pain. However cemented prosthesis can degrade over time and breakdown of cemented layer may loosen the artificial implant in turn leading to revision of hip joint replacement surgery which would be more difficult and painful for the patient than the initial one. On the contrary, uncemented hip prosthesis is believed to take a long time for recovery as it needs to allow the natural bone to grow on its own and secure the prosthesis. However, once the bone is fixed, there is no need to undergo surgery again. Uncemented hip replacement surgery is better for younger people as their bones are strong enough and may get the required time to heal whereas cemented hip replacement is good for people with weaker bones as their bones do not have the strength to grow on their own. Conclusion With a huge surge in patients aspiring to get hip joint surgery done in India, the experience of joint replacement surgeons in the country is also on the rise. Many surgeons are highly experienced and trained abroad to place them on the world map making them the most outstanding in the world. Hip replacement surgery cost in India is estimated to be around $10,500 which is considerably lower when compared to costs in USA as the same surgery is offered at around $55,000 over there. Apart from affordable costs, India offers the most advanced technological environment which makes it one of the favorite destinations in the world for international patients to undergo hip replacement surgery.