Revision Total Hip Surgery Dr. Pujadas

By William Pujadas, MD

Revision Total Hip Surgery

Traditional total hip replacement surgery is a predictable long lasting procedure to relieve the pain of an arthritic hip.  During that procedure, the worn out ball and socket of the hip joint is replaced with an artificial hip joint.  As with any mechanical device, a total hip may eventually fail as a result of mechanical or biological reasons.  “Revision hip surgery” is performed to repair the failure in the total hip procedure.

Approximately 15 out of 100 hip replacements will require revision surgery in the lifetime of a patient.

The main reasons for revision surgery are mechanical failure such as:

• Implant wear, loosening, or breakage.
• Recurrent hip dislocations.
• Infection.

Revision surgery of the hip is more complicated than a primary total hip procedure.  This is because of  loss of bone, and muscle mass.  Fortunately, newer technology and advancements in prosthetic designs make revision surgery much less of a problem at this time. The prosthetic designs are lasting much longer and have less mechanical complications associated with them and can provide greater stability.

Total Hip Hospital Stay

Hip revision surgeries usually take approximately 2-3 hours to perform.  The hospital stay for revision surgery is usually 1-3 days depending on the exact nature of the revision surgery.  This is mostly due to the weight bearing status of the patient after their surgery. The patient will have home physical therapy program  for approximately 2-3 weeks. At the end of that period, the patient will schedule for a follow up visit. A formal outpatient physical therapy program will be set up at this time.  The healing process from the revision surgery can take up to 6-12 weeks.

Although the recovery from revision surgery has improved greatly, there still needs to be a significant effort to reduce the incidence of hip revision surgery.  It is important that the patient is aware of the risks of infection and/or implant failure.  Therefore, they need to monitor themselves post surgery with periodic follow up visits with x-rays and examination.

Several Approaches To Treating Hip Pain With JOI Physical Therapy

Despite hip pain being a common complaint among all people, there are a few easy forms of physical therapy which can help. Maintain core strength and stability to treat and prevent pain in the hips. Ergonomic education is instrumental in treating hip pain, as the way in which people sit or stand can be a contributing source of pain. Lastly, perhaps most importantly, you need to maintain good health.  Keep a healthy body weight can really help decrease hip pain.

If you are interested in scheduling an appointment at JOI Rehab for physical therapy, call 904-858-7045.

Related Articles: Home Exercises for the Hip, Sciatic Neve Pain, Direct Access to PT,  and Pinched Nerve of the Back. 

JOI Fracture and Injury Care Services

To schedule with Dr. Pujadas, please call 904-JOI-2000.

Author: William G. Pujadas, MD