Specialists In:
Arthritis of the Hip
Arthritis of the hip causes damage to the cartilage covering the joint. This condition is usually known to progress with aging and wear and tear of the hip. It can also be related to functional problems with the joint such as Hip Dysplasia or Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI).
Symptoms include aching in the hip joint during normal daily activity and during the night, difficulty and pain whilst walking. Diagnosis includes medical examination combined with tests e.g. x-ray, MRI or CT.
Treatments
- Conservative management is only helpful at the early stages of the disease. This includes, anti-inflammatory medication, physiotherapy, exercise and weight management. Our consultants also use alternative treatments such as biological treatments and Stem Cell Implantation which has been known to help repair joints in some patients. Please contact our team for more information on alternative treatment therapies.
- Total hip replacement surgery is needed when a patient is significantly affected by the progression of arthritis in the hip. Usually pain is consistent and everyday life is restricted. Our team can replace the hip joint using minimally invasive techniques or using traditional open surgery. The damaged ball and socket of the hip is removed and replaced with a prosthesis. Our surgeons will discuss the procedure at length and depending on your needs and anatomy a choice of ‘off the shelf’ or ‘custom made’ prosthesis will be used to replace the arthritic joint. There are risks to this surgery and our team will discuss these in full to ensure you understand them all. The recovery period can vary for patients. Immobilisation occurs the day following surgery and a rehabilitation/exercise programme is tailored to your needs with a physiotherapist whom we will recommended. Normal light duties will resume between 3-6 weeks and resuming work is usually 4-6 weeks, however manual workers will need longer recovery time. Patients tend to be back on their feet enjoying life between 3 and 6 months. Living a healthy lifestyle with exercise following surgery is possible and enjoyed by our patients.
- It is important to note that a hip prosthesis may need replacing after a 15-20 years and complications may occur later in life whereby revision hip replacement surgery is needed. Our team of surgeons are highly experienced in this procedure and the cause of revision may be due to infection, recurrent hip dislocation with the current artificial joint, mechanical failure of the artificial joint or a fracture. There are various techniques depending on the cause for revision hip replacement surgery and this may include replacing the prosthesis, repairing the prosthesis, bone graft or implanting a device that makes the hip more stable. Our hip team will advise on the best options that will benefit you most.
- Custom Made(bespoke) hip replacement – Our hip surgeons will recommend custom designed hip prosthesis to patients whom require a specific fit to their anatomy. The hip prosthesis is designed according to the patients’ measurements following a 3D CT scan with compute software that maps the accurate measurements for the prosthesis; called HipPlan. Our hip team use a system from Symbios UK.
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