Total Hip Replacement

Overview

This surgery replaces your damaged hip joint with implants that move like the ball and socket of a healthy hip. A total hip replacement can restore your hip function and reduce your pain.

Preparation

To begin, we give you medicine to put you to sleep. We make an incision to reach your hip joint. Then, we remove the damaged head of your femur.

Pelvic Implant

Next, we carefully remove damaged cartilage and bone from your hip socket. We fit a metal socket into this cavity. We also press a liner into the socket. The liner creates a smooth surface that will let the ball glide smoothly within it.

Femur Implant

Now, we focus on the femur implant. We hollow out the end of your femur. Then, we place a long, narrow implant (called a "stem") into this bone. We fit a ball on top of the stem. Finally, we join the ball and the socket and test your joint to make sure it's working the way it should.

Porous coating

Modern implants commonly have a porous coating. This coating will let your bone grow into and bond with the implants as you heal, locking them securely in place. But in some cases, your implants could be held in place with bone cement or screws.