Hip Replacement Surgery

Types

Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeons perform approximately 1,500 hip replacement surgeries annually. Typically, your treatment team will exhaust all nonsurgical treatment alternatives before recommending hip replacement surgery.

They work with you to select the appropriate hip replacement surgery option depending on your needs and medical history. Options include:

Standard total hip replacement surgery

Some of the muscles around the hip are detached to expose the joint. Then, the damaged bone and cartilage are removed and the artificial joint (prosthesis) is inserted. The new socket attaches to your pelvic bone and the ball to the top of the thighbone (femur).

• Cemented replacement. Prostheses are held in place on the hip with bone cement.
• Uncemented replacement. Uncemented prostheses have textured surfaces that allow new bone to grow into the implant.

Minimally invasive surgery

Hip replacement surgery is now usually performed using minimally invasive techniques with smaller incisions, made in between muscles rather than by splitting or detaching them.

These techniques are typically used with regional anesthesia and pain management strategies, developed by Mayo Clinic anesthesiologists, that can eliminate the need for large doses of intravenous narcotic medications, while reducing unnecessary side effects and speeding up your recovery.

Minimally invasive techniques comprise:

• Posterior approach — through a small incision in the back of the hip
• Anterolateral approach — through an incision on the side of the hip
• Direct anterior approach — through an incision in the front of the hip

Other surgeries

Two other options are used selectively at Mayo Clinic for appropriate candidates:

• Mayo conservative hip. Developed by a Mayo Clinic surgeon, the conservative hip is a short stem prosthesis that is 4 inches long. The procedure is called conservative because it conserves more of your thighbone (femur).
• Hip resurfacing. A replacement technique in which only the worn surface of the hip ball joint is reshaped and capped with a metal prosthesis.

Recovery after hip replacement

Following surgery, you'll have access to all of the rehabilitation services you'll need to strengthen your hip muscles and increase your mobility, including physical therapy, extensive patient education from nursing staff and advanced, targeted pain management approaches developed by Mayo Clinic specialists. Patients generally stay in the hospital for a few days.

Read more about hip resurfacing at MayoClinic.com.