What does the hip prosthesis consist of?
The total hip prosthesis consists of the substitution of the hip joint, which is the joint that joins the trunk with the lower limbs. This substitution can be performed for a great number of pathologies. It can occur in young people and in older people, the most common time is approximately from the age of 60 years.
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What is the hip joint?
The hip joint consists of the joint of the pelvis with the femur and has an axis of movement that allows us to sit, stand up or cross our legs. This would be a normal hip, which with the passage of time may suffer wear and tear phenomena, degenerative phenomena and appear what is commonly called or is known by the name of osteoarthritis. An example would be a hip with osteoarthritis in which we see that a series of spikes appear, that the joint is no longer regular and at this moment it begins to produce a symptomatology that is fundamentally of two types: pain and reduced movement. Depending on these two parameters is when we, the professionals, indicate the replacement of this hip.
How is the hip replacement operation performed?
The replacement of a hip is performed by removing that part that is deteriorated and replacing it with a series of pieces that together constitute what we call total hip prosthesis.
- What are its characteristics?
The characteristics of the prosthesis are basically three:- The stem, which is inserted into the femur.
- The piece or cup, which is inserted into the pelvis.
- An intermediate joint, which is the head itself.
There are many types of prostheses, many shapes, many forms and there are many models of prostheses. This does not mean that some are better and others are worse, it simply means that, as in cars, they are all very good but each one of us chooses a model according to its fundamental characteristics.
What treatment must be followed after the intervention of hip prosthesis?
The treatment therefore consists of the substitution of this deteriorated hip that we had seen previously, for this other one, in which these pieces that are assembled already exist. This is done by surgery, open surgery. There are many different approaches, but we are not going to go into that now because we think it is more important to understand what this operation consists of.
It is an operation that lasts approximately one hour, which requires a specialized team, which is used to the use of this type of resources. The patient is usually anesthetized with epidural anesthesia, with intradural anesthesia, and exceptionally with general anesthesia.
How is the postoperative period for hip replacement surgery?
The postoperative period is relatively simple. After a period of hours of bed rest, in which, once this period is over, all those tubes and drains that we put to make easier the evolution of the surgical wound are removed. The patient begins to sit up, that is to say, he starts to sit down. This occurs approximately 24 to 48 hours after surgery. The patient begins to walk immediately once all the drains have been removed, i.e., approximately 24 to 48 hours. The hospital stay is reduced to a maximum of 3, 4 or 5 days, depending on the patient’s age and associated pathology, and is a relatively short period, but can be variable. Once the patient goes home, the stitches are removed after 15 days and an exceptional period of rehabilitation begins, since the need for rehabilitation procedures is not very frequent. The best rehabilitation is walking.