Hip Replacement Specialist

Why would I need a hip replacement?

Hip replacement is an option for people who have chronically painful hip problems or dysfunction. At the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Dr. Blackwell might recommend hip replacement surgery when there aren’t any less invasive ways of restoring function and relieving pain.

When the problem first begins, treatments for hip pain tend to be noninvasive, like activity modification, medication, and physical therapy.

These types of interventions can be very successful and long-lasting; however, for some people, they start to lose their effectiveness after a while. Treatments like joint injections can also be helpful for chronic hip pain when the initial therapies aren’t so effective.

In other cases, the damage to your hip might be unsuitable for conservative treatments, perhaps if you have a nasty fracture that shatters the hip socket, for example.

What causes hip pain?

Acute injuries can cause hip pain and conditions like bursitis, but most cases of hip pain are due to arthritis.

There are many different forms of arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis and less common forms of the disease account for some cases, but the vast majority involve osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis develops gradually because of the way your joints wear over the years. The constant wear erodes the protective substance on the ends of your bones, called cartilage. As the cartilage disappears, the bones create friction that leads to inflammation, pain, and stiffness in your joints.

Hips, knees, and hands are particularly vulnerable to osteoarthritis. However, you can rest your knees and hands far more easily than you can your hips. That means arthritis in the hips can be particularly distressing because it’s so hard to get any relief.

How is hip replacement surgery carried out?

Dr. Blackwell uses the cutting edge Mako Robotic-Arm Assisted Technology to carry out hip replacement surgery. The Mako system enables Dr. Blackwell to carry out your operation with far more accuracy, while at the same time reducing the degree of damage to tissues surrounding your hip. 

Dr. Blackwell uses the Mako system to prepare a plan for your surgery that uses a 3D image of your anatomy. He controls the Mako robotic arm from a surgeon console in the operating room, guiding it remotely for precise placement of the new hip joint.

If parts of your hip are in good condition, you might be able to have a partial hip replacement. That means either the ball at the top of your femur (thigh bone) or the socket in your pelvis can remain, and Dr. Blackwell replaces the other part of the joint.

If your chronic hip pain is getting hard to manage, find out more about hip replacement surgery by calling the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, or requesting an appointment online.