Hip Replacement

A hip replacement is a surgical procedure where your surgeon makes an incision on the side of your thigh to remove any diseased parts of your hip joint and replace them with artificial parts. The new synthetic components function just like your typical hip joint. The artificial components may be made of plastic, ceramic, metal, or a combination of materials. A hip replacement in Chevy Chase can help relieve pain coming from diseased or damaged hip joints, enhance the functionality of your hip joint, or improve your range of motion. During the procedure, the Chevy Chase hip replacement surgeon will try to operate using a minor incision to reduce the amount of damage to the underlying bone and soft tissue.

Why Get a Hip Replacement?

Some common conditions that damage the hip joint may prompt the need for hip replacement surgery. They include:

• Osteoarthritis. Also known as wear and tear arthritis, Osteoarthritis damages the cartilage that covers the edges of bones and helps your joints move smoothly.
• Rheumatoid Arthritis. This results from an overactive immune system. It produces a kind of inflammation that erodes cartilage and underlying bone tissue, causing deformed and damaged joints.
• Osteonecrosis. With this condition, you have a limited supply of blood to the ball portion of the hip joint, resulting from a dislocation fracture which may cause the bone to collapse or deform.

You may also consider a hip replacement if you experience hip pain that persists even after medication, gets worse when walking, or makes it hard to sleep, get dressed, go down or up a staircase, or stand from a sitting position.

Risks

Some common risks that come with hip replacement surgery include blood clots forming the veins in your legs after surgery. The clot may pose a considerable risk if it breaks off and travels to your lung, heart, or brain. You may need blood-thinning medication prescribed by your surgeon to minimize the risk. You may also develop infections at the incision site and underlying deeper tissue around the new hip. You can treat most infections with antibiotics, but you may need surgery to replace the prosthesis if you suffer a primary infection near your prosthesis. During the surgery, you may suffer a fracture to some healthy parts of your hip. More minor fractures may heal independently, but more significant fractures may need stabilization with screws, wires, bone fractures, or a metal plate. You may also suffer injury to the nerves at the location of the implant, causing weakness, numbness, and pain. While a surgeon will take the necessary steps to avoid this problem, a hip replacement surgery may make one leg longer than the other. In some cases, this may result from contracture of muscles surrounding the hip. If that is the case, you can restore regular leg length by progressively stretching and strengthening the muscles. The minor differences in leg length may fade away after a few months. In summary, a hip replacement is a surgical procedure that removes any diseased parts of your hip joint and replaces them with artificial components. You may need it due to osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or osteonecrosis. Common risks associated with the surgery include nerve damage, blood clots, infection, and fractures.