Total Hip Replacement in Chattanooga
Hip pain caused by arthritis, a fracture or other conditions can make routine activities painful and difficult. While conservative treatments, such as movement modification, walking supports or pain medication may offer relief, sometimes a surgical approach is necessary to restore your quality of life.
Parkridge Health System offers the full spectrum of surgical options to relieve your hip pain and help you enjoy the activities you love. From joint-sparing and arthroscopic surgeries to partial or total hip replacement procedures, our specially trained teams will develop a treatment plan specifically to meet your needs.
Your hip is formed by the acetabulum, the cavity in your pelvis, and the femoral head, which is the upper end of your femur. These components form a ball-and-socket joint that is among the largest joints in your body. If one or more of those components deteriorate, you may experience pain and discomfort when you move your hip.
If other treatments do not relieve your pain, surgery to correct the problem may be necessary. Your physician will help you decide whether surgery is right for you, and should this manner of intervention be necessary, the orthopedics team at Parkridge Health will walk with you during the entire process – from our joint education classes that prepare you for your surgery all the way through recovery.
Total Hip Replacement
If total hip replacement is the best option for you, it’s important to know what is involved in the procedure.
- Your orthopedic surgeon will remove the damaged femoral head and replace it with a durable prosthetic component. At the top of the prosthesis, your surgeon will attach a ceramic ball that will form one part of your new hip joint.
- To repair the socket part of your joint, your surgeon will remove damaged cartilage from the acetabulum and replace it with another prosthetic component. To hold the repaired socket in place, surgeons may use screws or cement.
- In order to maintain the hip’s fluid motion, your surgeon will place a spacer between the ball and socket components of your new hip.
Approaches to Total Hip Replacement
Your surgeon will tailor the surgical approach to best fit your condition. There are several approaches your orthopedic surgeon may use to perform a total hip replacement, including:
- Anterior: The anterior approach allows your surgeon to minimize the trauma to the muscles and anatomy surrounding the hip by requiring them to part the muscles instead of surgically separating them. Performed through a smaller incision made in the front of the hip, total hip replacement performed with the anterior approach typically results in less pain, easier recovery, reduced hospital stay and a decreased risk for hip dislocation.
- Lateral: Surgeons using the lateral approach make an incision on the side of the hip, accessing the joint by moving the muscles out of the way.
- Posterior: To access the hip joint using a posterior approach, surgeons make an incision in the rear of your leg, close to the buttocks. Because the incisions is made in such a way that spares muscle involvement, this approach, like the anterior approach, is also considered minimally invasive.