As you get older, you inevitably start having problems in your body, including your hips. Conditions like osteoarthritis wear down the protective cushioning in your joints, causing pain and sometimes immobility. If you’re dealing with pain in your hip, hope of getting your life back may seem lost. However, you could be a candidate for an anterior hip replacement.
At Orthopedic Associates of Wisconsin, our team helps you come up with a treatment plan for your hip discomfort. Our orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Mitchell Klement, is an expert in treating hip pain. If you’ve tried other conservative treatments without significant relief, he may recommend a hip replacement to stop your pain.
Hip pain is a very common ailment that’s caused by a variety of disorders. Your pain may feel like it’s inside your joint, or could radiate into your groin. Pinpointing the exact area of your pain is key to determining the cause of the problem.
Arthritis is one of the most common conditions that leads to pain and mobility problems in your hip. However, this isn’t always the case, and there are many other causes of hip discomfort, including:
Many of these conditions are able to be treated conservatively; but when your pain starts to affect your mobility and your daily activities, it may be time for more aggressive treatment. This is when Dr. Klement recommends a hip replacement.
A hip replacement is a surgical procedure where Dr. Klement removes the damaged areas of bone in your hip, and replaces them with an artificial joint, called a prosthesis. Most of the time, this procedure is used when arthritis has damaged your joint over time.
Traditionally, hip replacement surgery is performed by making an incision behind or on the side of the problem hip. This required cutting through a lot of your muscle and tendons, which caused longer recovery times.
The anterior hip replacement avoids most of the damage to your muscles and tendons, because the incision is made in the front of your hip. With this approach, Dr. Klement is able to avoid trauma to the tissues around your hip joint. This is why it’s considered a minimally invasive hip surgery.
Another benefit to an anterior hip replacement is that it’s done on an outpatient basis, meaning you’ll be able to go home the same day that your surgery is performed. At your appointment, Dr. Klement discusses if anterior hip replacement surgery can help your condition.
A total hip replacement is an invasive surgical procedure, so it’s usually the last resort treatment for your pain. Initially, Dr. Klement may suggest more conservative treatments, such as physical therapy and medications to control your pain. However, if you’ve tried several less invasive treatments without relief and you’re having trouble getting around, Dr. Klement suggests surgery.
Anterior hip replacement surgery is a great option if arthritis is the reason behind your hip troubles. Because arthritis wears down your joint surface, which leads to damage and inflammation, a hip replacement helps by removing the arthritis damage.
However, if you’ve suffered a broken hip or have other conditions such as a bone tumor, an anterior hip replacement could also be the treatment that you need to get your mobility back and kick your hip pain to the curb.
Ultimately, Dr. Klement examines your hip, along with your imaging studies and determines if a hip replacement would benefit your condition. The goal is to decrease your pain and get you moving again.
When a hip replacement is the only treatment left to help your pain, call our office at 262-223-3040, or you can book an appointment with Dr. Klement online today.
