BALTIMORE, Md. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — In the U.S., surgeons perform more than 500,000 hip replacements every year. That number is only expected to increase as our population ages. But as beneficial as this procedure can be, it is major surgery that often requires lengthy recovery. That’s prompting more doctors to use an alternative technique in hopes of giving patients better outcomes for a hip replacement.
If you or a loved one needs a hip replacement, expect it to take about four to eight weeks to fully recover.
“Hip surgery is no small deal,” said Mercy Medical Center Orthopedic Surgeon Gregory Mendez, MD.
But there’s a surgical technique gaining popularity that’s helping people walk on their own up to six days faster. It’s called a direct anterior total hip arthroplasty.
“I find my patients really enjoy getting up and doing things they want right after surgery,” Dr. Mendez told Ivanhoe.
Surgeons make a small incision about three to six inches long near the front of the hip. Guided by real-time x-rays, they move muscle tissues aside instead of cutting through them like in traditional procedures.
“So, when we replace the hip, we’re replacing the socket and the ball,” began Dr. Mendez.
Then they implant the artificial hip.
“Theoretically there’s no muscle healing that needs to happen. Patients are usually up and about the day of surgery if not the day after surgery,” Dr. Mendez explained.
Leading to a faster recovery.
Doctors warn that this approach is still surgery, so talk to your provider about your symptoms and request thorough exams before exploring any hip replacement surgery option.
Contributors to this news report include: Shernay Williams, Producer; Stephen Jones, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
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Source:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12768-herniated-disk
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, MD
(410) 539-2227
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com
