At Englewood Hospital, our orthopedic surgeons provide patients with the best surgical option for severe hip pain.

Traditional Hip Replacement Surgery

Hip replacement surgery is typically performed on any patient whose pain is severe enough or their walking bad enough that they choose to undergo the surgery if non-surgical treatment has failed. This pain is most commonly caused by osteoarthritis, but rheumatoid arthritis and avascular necrosis are also frequent causes of the symptoms.

During the hip replacement procedure, the surgeon makes a four- to five-inch incision on the upper thigh and replaces the femoral head (the “ball” of the upper leg bone) with a metal ball and stem that is placed on the thigh bone. A socket—typically made with metal and plastic—replaces the natural socket in the pelvis. Other materials such as ceramic or only metal are occasionally
used.

Hip Resurfacing Surgery

In the past, patients younger than 60 who needed a hip replacement were not considered for surgery. Doctors feared that they would outlive the 15- to 20-year lifespan of the prosthetic hip they were replacing, and so most patients waited longer to undergo the procedure. Thanks to hip resurfacing surgery at Englewood Hospital, that’s no longer a problem.

During hip resurfacing surgery, surgeons do not remove the head and neck of the femur or core out the thigh bone. Instead, the femoral head is reshaped so we can place a metal cap on it—similar to a dental cap—that will match up with a metal cup that is lining the hip.

Patients who undergo this bone-conserving surgery do not experience the range of motion restrictions that often accompany total hip replacements. This allows them to continue participating in activities that require a broad range of motion.

Because the physician is just “covering” the hip rather than replacing it during the two-hour surgery, the patient is still a candidate for later hip replacement if the prosthetic devices wear out.

Patients having hip replacement surgery at Englewood Hospital
can download our informational workbook:

• For Hip Replacement click here.