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As a major weight-bearing joint of the body, the hip is subjected to considerable stress. If an injury or a disease such as arthritis should damage it, even simple, everyday activities can become very painful. Medication and rehabilitation therapy can often alleviate the problem, but sometimes they're not enough.
Surgical treatments provided by medical staff orthopedists at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth may help to restore strength and mobility for many patients.
Birmingham Hip Resurfacing: A surgical procedure that may be ideal for younger or active patients who do not want to limit their level of activity post surgery, but are considering hip replacement as a treatment for hip pain or hip arthritis; the operation for hip resurfacing is similar to a traditional hip replacement, but not identical; because hip resurfacing surgery conserves, rather than removes, the femoral head (thighbone) many patients are able to return to previous levels of activity with little or no pain; patients with femoral damage or those with diminished bone density are not ideal candidates for this procedure.
Partial Hip Replacement Surgery: A surgical procedure that deals with a hip in which only one part of the joint is damaged or diseased; usually, the socket is left intact and the ball part of the joint (femoral head) is replaced.
Total Hip Replacement Surgery: A surgical procedure that replaces a damaged or diseased hip joint with a prosthetic device; this implant replicates the ball-and-socket design of a natural hip and is designed to allow a normal range of movement; an artificial hip can last for years.
Minimally Invasive Total Hip Replacement: Instead of the 10- to 12-inch incision required by traditional hip replacement surgery, this method uses one or two smaller incisions and specially designed instruments to implant a standard-size prosthesis.
Alternative Bearing Surfaces: New materials to minimize wear in points of contact are now available. Because artificial hips can wear down over time, options such as metal-on-metal, ceramic-on-ceramic, metal-on-cross-linked-polyethylene, and oxidized zirconium may help avoid implant failure; recommended for younger patients, new surfaces like these show promise for minimizing the need for repeat total hip replacment surgeries.
Osteochondral Cartilage Transfer: A procedure that replaces damaged or diseased cartilage in a joint with some of the patient's own healthy cartilage; cartilage is the tissue that cushions joints and keeps bones from rubbing against each other and causing pain; in this surgery, plugs of underlying bone are harvested and transplanted along with the attached cartilage to encourage successful transfer; this operation can usually be done athroscopically. |
