What Might Happen Following a Hip Replacement Surgery

Hip replacement surgery comes second to knee replacement as the most common joint replacement procedure. It is a surgical procedure in which the hip joint is replaced by a prosthetic implant.   Commonly used materials for the implant are metal and plastic, metal and metal, ceramic on ceramic and metal on highly cross-linked polyethylene. Metal-on-metal implants have replaced the metal-on-plastic which was previously used by practitioners. The DePuy Orthopedics has released a metal-on-metal hip implant namely, ASR XL Acetabular System and DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System. Despite the low wear rates, this type of hip implant allegedly cause some complications after the surgery, like metallosis.   The DePuy Orthopedics has issued a voluntary recall on their product after it was found out that it was defective and the number of reported DePuy hip recall symptoms escalated.

Major surgery is always accompanied with certain risks. As with hip replacement, there are a number of listed complications that may happen after the procedure. Hip dislocation or displacement of the affected is one possible complication. The first six weeks post-surgery is the most crucial time for hip dislocation and this may happen if the hip is directly used in major activities putting excessive force on the implant. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or blood clots in the veins of the legs is another possible complication, in fact it is the most common. Increased leg pain and redness are the usual symptoms of DVT.  So long as the clot is not dislodged, this is seen as a minor problem.

The affected area may be infected immediately after the surgery or sometimes after a few years. It is considered as one of the most severe joint replacement risk. If the infection affects the joint and the surrounding tissues, the new joint must be removed and treated until the infection clears with treatment. The bacteria may come from other infections of the body and will travel through the blood stream, thus prevention and control of infection is necessary.

The implanted prosthesis is an artificial device and has the tendency to loosen. The most important long-term problem of hip implant is loosening. This depends on various factors such as the quality of your bones, your activities and exercises, your weight, how well the surgery was done and the design of the implant. This may cause pain after surgery and in some cases warrants another surgery. Patients are advised to refrain from performing activities that put excessive force on the implant.

These are only some of the possible complications after a hip replacement surgery. These complications can be prevented if patients and surgeons alike contribute to a fast and full recovery. It is important that patients talk to their health care provider about the procedure and the accompanied risk before accepting the proposed surgery.