Understanding Primary Hip Replacement

Primary hip replacement is a successful orthopaedic procedure in which both the ball and the attachment of the damaged hip joints resulting in pain, inflammation and swelling are replaced with artificial implants. In this procedure, the femoral head and acetabulum joints are removed and replaced with a prosthetic implant.   

Primary hip replacement has a success rate of more than 99% and is recommended when all other treatment options failed to provide enough pain relief. Hip pain is considered to be one of the most common reasons for considering a hip replacement. However, the causes of hip pain include dislocation or fracture of the hip bone, inguinal hernia, tendinitis, bursitis, and hip labral tear.  

Benefits of Primary Hip Replacement

• Reduced hip pain 
• Increased mobility and movement
• Correction of deformity
• The equalisation of leg length 
• Increased leg strength
• Improved quality of life
• Enhanced ability to return to normal activities

Candidates for Primary Hip Replacement

• People with persistent hip pain that disrupts regular activities  
• People with osteoarthritis or hip injuries
• People with rheumatoid arthritis, osteonecrosis or bone tumours
• People who have tried alternative treatments but couldn’t relieve pain

Primary Hip Replacement Procedure  

Firstly, you will be put to a conscious state using anaesthesia. Then Dr Goapl Reddy will make an incision alongside the hip and exposes the hip joint. He will then remove the hip ball and replaces the same with an artificial implant. The artificial hip ball is then attached to the thigh bone in uncemented or cemented fashion. 

Now, all the damaged tissues will be removed, and the artificial socket will be prepared for the hip bone. Lastly, he will connect the artificial ball to the hip socket and closes the incisions using stitches.    

Recovery Period:

You may feel some pain and discomfort after the surgery. However, the pain will fade away immediately and won’t last long. You need to be extra careful and should follow the instructions given to you. Dr Gopal Reddy provides the following guidelines to his patients: 

• Avoid bending or twisting your hip
• Take small steps for turning
• Avoid low chairs and toilet seats, instead use raised toilet seats
• Avoid applying pressure to the wound   
• Don’t make your hip feel uncomfortable
• Don’t cross or force your legs over each other  

Infrastructure Highlights:  

• A 450-bed facility in 130,000 sq ft. built-up area
• Multi-super speciality hospital
• An entire floor dedicated to critical care
• 12 modular operating theatres with laminar airflow
• Exclusive floor for trauma suite – 25 ER beds
• X-ray multislice, CT scan & 1.5 Tesla MRI scan, cath lab, two operative rooms 
• 10-bed trauma ICU emergency with separate entry for ambulance round the clock