hip replacement surgery

Hip replacement surgery is a procedure in which a doctor surgically removes a painful hip joint with arthritis and replaces it with an artificial joint. It usually is done when all other treatment options have failed to provide adequate pain relief. The procedure should relieve a painful hip joint, making walking easier.

What Happens During Hip Replacement Surgery?

Hip replacement surgery can be performed traditionally or by using what is considered a minimally invasive technique. The main difference between the two procedures is the size of the incision.

During standard hip replacement surgery, you are given general anesthesia to relax your muscles and put you into a temporary deep sleep. This will prevent you from feeling any pain during the surgery. A spinal anesthetic also may be given to help prevent pain.

The doctor will then make a cut along the side of the hip and move the muscles connected to the top of the thighbone to expose the hip joint. Next, the ball portion of the joint is removed by cutting the thighbone with a saw. Then an artificial joint is attached to the thighbone using either cement or a special material that allows the remaining bone to attach to the new joint.

The doctor then prepares the surface of the hipbone -- removing any damaged cartilage -- and attaches the replacement socket part to the hipbone. The new ball part of the thighbone is then inserted into the socket part of the hip. A drain may be put in to help drain any fluid. The doctor then reattaches the muscles and closes the incision.

While most hip replacement surgeries today are performed using the standard technique (one 8 to 10 inch cut along the side of the hip), in recent years, some doctors have been using a minimally invasive technique. In the minimally invasive approach, doctors make one to two cuts from 2 to 5 inches long. The same procedure is performed through these small cuts as with standard hip replacement surgery.

The small cuts are thought to lessen blood loss, ease pain following surgery, shorten hospital stays, reduce scar appearance, and speed healing.

However, it's important that the surgeon be highly skilled in this technique. Research has shown the outcomes with minimally invasive approach may be worse than with standard hip replacement surgery if done by a doctor that is not very experienced with this technique.

Since there can be some blood loss during hip replacement surgery, you may need a blood transfusion, so you may want to consider donating your own blood before the procedure.

Hip Replacement Cost

The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons says complete hip fracture care is approximately $35,000. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina says the median cost of hip replacement surgery is about $39,000. A cheaper alternative for the uninsured would be to have the surgery done in Spain through SimpleCare World Health.

Additional costs:

It is usually recommended to outfit the living quarters with items to ease recovery, such as shower or bath handrails, secure handrails on stairs, a reacher to assist in grabbing items and cushions that allow for sitting with knees lower than hips.

For American patients without health insurance and Canadians unwilling to wait, it is worth considering medical tourism, - leaving the country for knee replacement surgery. SimpleCare World Health offers knee replacement procedures for costs dramatically lower than those in the United States. The cost of total knee replacement surgery will also vary from patient to patient, depending on factors such as age and medical history.

Learn more

If you're ready to get started, please contact us at info@simplecarehealthplan.com. If you would like to learn more on how it works, continue on to http://www.simplecareworldhealth.com.