Pros & Cons of Hip Replacement

In some cases, an injured hip can be operated on and replaced with a prosthetic hip. This procedure is known as a hip replacement. This can be done for either people with arthritis or for those who have had their hip fractured. There are many techniques for a hip replacement, sometimes involving operating from the back of the leg and other times working with minimal incisions.

Pain relief

• Hip replacement is usually recommended for people with osteoarthritis or other hip disorders. Surgery is often recommended when no other treatments offer sufficient relief.

Range of movement

• Another advantage of a hip replacement is that it often can restore a certain amount of range of motion and function to the hip joint, compared with what was possible before surgery.

Protection of other joints

• Many people who have hip injuries often winding up injuring other joints and muscles because they change the way they stand and walk. A hip replacement can help prevent this.

Infection

• One strong con of hip replacement surgery is the risk of infection, which can occur in about 1 out of every 100 cases. This infection can be deep and require additional surgeries to fix.

Wear and other long term complications

• Over time, the prosthetic joints can become loose or cause the bone to wear down, requiring additional operations.