What is anterior hip replacement?
Anterior hip replacement is a technique that the Total Joint Specialists team uses when surgically replacing your hip joint. Anterior is another word for "front," so as you'd expect, the anterior approach involves your surgeon making an incision in the front of your leg to access your hip joint. This is often considered a minimally invasive technique.
What advantages does anterior hip replacement offer?
There are some notable advantages to anterior hip replacement, the most significant being the reduction in tissue damage.
Using the standard posterior approach, a surgeon would need to cut through the buttock muscles to reach your hip. In contrast to that, with the anterior approach, they can move between muscles instead. For this reason, anterior hip replacement is also known as muscle-sparing hip replacement or the mini-anterior approach.
Because there's less tissue trauma using an anterior entry point, the surgical site heals faster, patients experience considerably less post-surgical pain, and you recover more quickly.
How long does it take to recover from anterior hip replacement?
Most people who undergo anterior hip replacements at Total Joint Specialists are walking without assistance within 1-3 weeks.
Furthermore, as the muscles that support your hip joint aren't damaged as much using the anterior approach, they provide better, more stable support for your new hip. As a consequence, you're less likely to dislocate your new hip.
To enhance the procedure even further, your surgeon uses radiographic placement of components for better precision and optimal outcomes. The addition of multimodal pain management allows for a safe and speedy recovery. They can also use robot assistance when necessary.
Am I a suitable candidate for anterior hip replacement?
Anterior hip replacement provides an excellent option for many people, but there are some for whom a different approach might be better.
For example, if there's an implant or metalwork in your hip from other surgeries, your surgeon might not be able to use the anterior approach. Anterior hip replacement is also more challenging in patients whose pelvis is particularly wide, people who are obese, and anyone who's highly muscular.
To find out more about anterior hip replacement and see if it's a suitable option for you, call Total Joint Specialists today or request an appointment online.
