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Hip Replacement surgery has become very common these days, about 200,000 are performed in United States every year with a success rate of 90%. All these have been possible due to the development of science and technology. However, as there is always a possibility of complications during and after any kind of surgery, there can be a risk of complications after Hip Replacement surgery as well. The risk of complications increases with the age of the patient. The older the patient the higher is the risk. These are the various complications which may arise during the Hip Replacement surgery: a)Nerve Damage- The sciatic nerve is close to the capsule of hip joint and may get cut during the surgery or it may even get overstretched during hip manipulation when the surgery is going on. The damage can be temporary or permanent depending on the extent of nerve damage.
b) Vascular Damage- The blood vessels may get damaged in the area of the surgery due to direct trauma. If it is diagnosed in time it can be treated by a vascular surgeon.
c)Femur fracture- In a hip replacement surgery it is required to apply force which may result in femur fracture. The possibility of this damage is more in older patients.
d)Anesthetic Problem- This is another complication which may occur and can cause death in rare cases.
The complications after the hip replacement surgery are: a)Clotting of Blood- This is the most common complication that occurs after the hip replacement surgery. The area in which it most commonly occurs is the calf. The symptom of blood clotting is generally increased leg pain.
b)Hip dislocation- After the surgery, few weeks are critical and one must take all the precautions recommended by the doctors but at times hip dislocation may occur. Generally people who are overweight or have weak bones are more prone to hip dislocation.
Other complications like bowel and urinal problems may occur but these will get cured with time.
Arthritis has become a common problem now and it effects bones to such an extent that there is no option other than replacement like hip replacement and knee replacement. In arthritis surgery, now days, doctors prefer Anterior Hip Replacement that is replacement from the front than posterior hip replacement that is replacement from the back. The Anterior Hip Replacement approach is not a new technique; it was first explained by Smith Peterson in 1917. Then surgeries were performed by the surgeons through this approach in 1960s because they found that hip socket was clearly visible through anterior approach. But it was really difficult to insert a long straight metal stem down the femur through the front of the hip. Therefore surgeons performed hip replacement through posterior approach than Anterior Hip Replacement. But now Hip Replacement is very common and the surgeons now perform Anterior Hip Replacement surgeries by using specialized instruments, custom operating table, new generation hip implants and intra-operative x-ray machine. Consult an expert to make certain the surgery goes successful.
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Hip Replacement, Anterior Hip Replacement,
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