Why Hip Replacement

1. 1. Insufficient relief from medication, physical therapy, and walking aid due to the increasing intensity of hip pain and discomfort
   2. Persisting and recurring pain like aching in the joint, followed by periods of relative relief; pain after extensive use
   3. Loss of mobility like difficulties in walking or climbing stairs
   4. Loss of sleep
   5. Joint stiffness after periods of inactivity or rest like morning stiffness
   6. Pain that seems to intensify in humid weather

If you are experiencing such symptoms, you might require to undergo a hip replacement surgery

What is Hip Replacement

In hip replacement surgery, an artificial prosthesis is surgically implanted to replace the function of the diseased hip joint. Highly effective surgery with a reported 90% satisfaction rate with the durability of about 20 years.

Novel advances:

1. Precision surgery using Computer-Aided Techniques and Robotic surgery
2. Minimally invasive techniques
3. High-grade long-lasting bearing materials

Hip fracture commonly occurs in elderly patients with osteoporotic bones when they suffer a fall or direct impact to the side of the hip. While some elderly people have other possible health issues that make them more likely to trip and fall. It is a serious and possibly life-threatening injury that requires immediate medical attention. As a result, most hip fractures require surgery other than for those who are too ill to undergo any form of anaesthesia or are bedridden. The type of surgery used depends on the location and severity of your hip fracture, as well as your health condition:

• Hip pinning or fixation of the hip bones is used for bones that can be aligned properly.
• Hip replacement surgery is used for bones that cannot be realigned due to severe injury or conditions like arthritis.

And early surgery has been proven to have lower risk of complications. Possible complications arising from hip fracture surgery include bleeding, wound infection, dislocation if a prosthetic joint is required, injury to nerves and blood clots in the deep veins of the legs which can travel to the lungs (pulmonary embolism). If the fracture does not heal, sometimes further surgery may be required. Patients are encouraged to walk soon after surgery, with the assistance of walking aids. Prevention of further fractures is also important, and treatment of underlying osteoporosis is initiated after surgery.

In general, most orthopaedic specialist can handle a straight forward joint replacement surgery. A complex joint replacement include cases where there is severe deformities, very limited motion or the primary surgery has gone wrong (due to aseptic loosening, poor alignmet or infection).

As modern medicine improves the lifespan for males and females, patients with previous surgeries and implants who need a joint replacement surgery become very challenging as conventional techniques cannot be used.

Dr Chin Pak Lin had been the key person in handling complex and revision joint replacement surgeries formerly at SGH.

Hip arthroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure where a camera and working portal is inserted into the hip joint to treat problems like:

1. FAI- Femoral Acetabular Impingement
2. Labral tears
3. Removal of Loose bodies or early cartilage injuries

Injection into the hip joint under x-ray guidance. As the joint is deep seated, patients need to be sedated for the procedure. It serves as as a diagnostic test or therapeutic procedure. In general there are two types of injections:

1. Painkillers with steroids
2. Hyaluronic acid