Hip pain and stiffness limits mobility and diminishes your quality of life.  No matter the cause – arthritis, injury, lifestyle-related trauma – if non-surgical approaches like physical therapy or anti-inflammatory medications do not effectively resolve your pain, hip replacement at an outpatient hip center may be your best option to help you feel new again.

When considering any surgery it’s wise to educate yourself on the various approaches and possible outcomes.  Details about the procedure, pain levels and medications, recovery timeline and precautions, risks and aesthetics are likely to be factors in your decision making process.  Early on in your discovery process it may be beneficial to determine whether or not you are a candidate for an anterior approach hip replacement.

Anterior Hip Replacement Surgery has changed the way
orthopedic surgeons operate.

This minimally invasive technique is performed daily by Dr. Shawn W. Palmer and enables patients to recover faster and with less pain.  Most patients go home the same day surgery is performed and are walking unassisted a few days later.

Also known as total hip arthroplasty, it’s a joint replacement procedure where an orthopedic surgeon removes damaged bone and cartilage from the hip joint and replaces it with an artificial joint, typically made of ceramic, metal and plastic.

Generally speaking a surgeon will access your hip in one of two ways during surgery: using the posterior approach (from the rear) or using the anterior approach (from the front).  Both are common procedures with positive benefits long term. However, the trauma endured by the body varies greatly between the posterior and anterior approaches, impacting nearly every element of your post-operative recovery as a result.

During posterior hip replacement surgery a curved incision is made on the side of the hip, then muscles and other soft tissue (found at the back of the hip) are cut in order for the surgeon to access the affected hip joint.  The muscles cut during the procedure provide hip stability, and under normal circumstances they prevent your thigh bone (femur) and hip joint (femoral head) from dislocating out of the back of your hip socket (acetabulum).  While these muscles are repaired at the end of surgery, the trauma endured by the body during a posterior approach hip replacement creates significant downsides:

• Longer post-operative recovery, lengthier hospital stay, longer overall recovery time
• Increased pain levels that may require stronger medication for remediation
• Increased risk of hip dislocation and complications
• Very specific precautions that must be followed
• A more noticeable incision

Conversely, during anterior hip replacement surgery an incision is made at the front of the hip, starting near the top of the pelvic bone, extending down toward the top of the thigh.  By approaching the hip from the front, and utilizing specialized instrumentation, Dr. Palmer is able to work between the muscles, instead of cutting them, and your body endures significantly less trauma.  The advantages and post-operative benefits of an anterior hip replacement make it the preferred method of total hip replacement.

If you answered YES to any of these questions, then Anterior Approach Hip Replacement Surgery is worth exploring.