Friday, August 17, 2012

Alternatives to total hip replacement surgery for young people


Hip surgery

Hip joint being one of the most mobile and weight bearing joints of the body, is subjected to many internal disturbances. Hip problems once belonged to only older generations but lately many surgeons are being consulted by younger individuals about general hip problems they encounter in their day to day life.
Hip surgery is a simple solution for relieving the hip joint of pain and aligning it in such a way that the ball and socket part of the joint does not get fractioned and it is aligned in a well manner. Taking up a hip replacement is a challenge for the patient and the doctor due to its after effects. Hence most people these days opt for hip replacement alternatives. 

Common ailments requiring a surgery

  •          Hip injuries
  •          Early osteoarthritis
  •          Avascular necrosis
  •          Rheumatoid arthritis
  •          Osteonecrosis
  •          Hip bursitis
  •          Complicated hip fractures e.g. fracture of neck of femur.
Why an alternative to hip replacement?

An alternative to hip is needed for younger generations for a simple reason that there is just no time to rest.  With such busy and active lifestyles people are more occupied with work and devote lesser time to their health. This provokes need of a treatment which is time saving and does not require long bed rests. Moreover this is the category of moderately active people and they can easily manage to get back to their office routine and other works in just no time.

New alternatives for hip replacement for young people
  
a)      Stem cell treatment
This is a major breakthrough to give long term hip pain relief and is among the latest alternatives to hip replacement surgeries. The stem cells of the patient is concentrated and amplified in the most problem creating area of the hip joint. This enhances the person’s own immunity and ability to heal the hip by itself. 

b)      Hip resurfacing
This procedure involves extraction of only small part of hip bones where the ball and socket are resurfaced and replaced by a metal cap and a metal socket made of cobalt chrome. A large area of hip bones is left intact. 

c)       Resection arthroplasty
This is done when there is an uncontrolled infection of hip. Bone around the hip joint is excised the joint space is filled with scar tissue in some time. 

d)      Osteotomy
Osteotomy is a simple procedure to re align the hip bones to equalize the weight bearing pattern of the body. This is done in developmental disorders like dysplasia. 

e)      Conservative treatment
Opted by many patients to avoid surgery and includes use of steroid injections, anti inflammatory drugs and analgesics. Use of assistive devices is common.

What are the benefits?

  •          The implants used in hip resurfacing last much longer than normal implants used for hip replacement.
  •          The alternative procedures give greater stability.
  •          There is no risk of implant loosening or a revision surgery.
  •          Patient does not need to get hospitalized for long time.
  •          Quick recovery.

No comments:

Post a Comment