Procedures:

- Total Hip Replacement
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- Mini Incision Total Hip Replacement
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- MIS Mini Two-incision Total Hip Replacement

Total Hip Replacement

The hip point is subject to tremendous forces even with normal walking as we simply walk at a normal pace. The combination of the weight of the body and muscle forces applied to the hip add up to approximately three times the body weight. If the hip joint does not develop properly, if it has been subjected to injury or simply a wearing out process that occurs as we age, the hip may become arthritic and painful.

The arthritic or damaged hip causes pain in the groin with radiation down the side, making it difficult to put on shoes and socks and can cause pain with extended walking and difficulty getting up out of a chair.

The patient can sometimes manage the discomfort with the use of anti-inflammatory medication (ibuprofen), use of a cane in the opposite hand or simply restricting their amount of activity. People give up their routine walk, they restrict their shopping and avoid activities that would other-wise be normal for them.

Total hip replacement surgery is an extremely effective and successful way of relieving the discomfort and allowing people to return to normal activity. It is not uncommon to allow people to return to walking several miles per day. Pain relief can be quite dramatic.

The surgery involves removing the diseased or worn out joint and replacing it with a plastic or metal joint. The traditional surgery involves a nine to twelve inch incision through the skin, muscle and fascia. The discomfort actually comes from the injury to the soft tissue. Once in place, the joint becomes quite comfortable immediately after-surgery.

Mini-incision Total Hip Replacement

The mini-incision hip replacement involves performing the same procedure as the traditional approach, only using a 2 to 3 inch incision-this requires special instruments, an experienced surgeon and special training in the use of the instruments. The first such surgery in the Quad-City area was done in April of 2001.

The 2 ½ inch incision dramatically reduces the amount of injury to the soft tissue. There is much less blood loss and transfusion is required only infrequently. The patient typically stays in the hospital two days post surgery instead of the usual four to five days. The occasional patient may even leave the hospital the day following the surgery. Patients are also pleased with the size and location of the scar.

Surgeons used to believe that the size of the incision made very little difference in the patient's post operative course. We now know that is certainly not the case. Much of the pain from the surgical procedure actually comes from the skin incision and the injury to the underlying muscle and fascia. Knee arthroscopy has been so successful for such a long period, most people don't recall the amount of pain and disability that resulted from the 2 to 3 inch incision necessary to remove the torn cartilage from the knee prior to the development of the knee arthroscopy in the late 1970s.