Crushing Hip Replacement Misconceptions With Dr. Harris
Living with hip pain can be extremely debilitating and compromising of daily activities like getting a full night’s rest. When all other treatment options have failed, your orthopaedic specialist may offer hip replacement surgery to relieve your joint pain once and for all. Many table the idea due to the misconceptions of a joint replacement, so Dr. Harris, MD, FAAOS discusses common myths that prevent people with severe hip pain from seeking surgery.
IS THERE A RIGHT TIME TO GET SURGERY?
Patients have been told that they’re too young or too old for replacement surgery creating the idea that there’s a right time for this procedure. Dr Harris confirms that age and timing are not essential factors for this procedure with concerns like how much impairment the joint has and the patient’s overall health being top of the list.
He further discusses that a patient should be in decent health to undergo surgery as someone who is sickly has a higher risk procedure. Not to worry, the specialists at SAOS
are sure to discuss all crucial details before letting a patient commit to surgery.
WHAT ABOUT THE COMPLICATIONS OF REPLACEMENT SURGERY?
News about a bad experience travels quickly and far so a patient may walk through the door having heard about a friend’s medical complications.
“The patient who has a well functioning hip replacement will disappear into the crowd, and you never know that they have a hip replacement. On the other hand, the patient with complications will stand out and will tell people.”
To combat those issues, Dr. Harris urges the importance of choosing the right surgeon. You want someone who is experienced and experienced with modern techniques–then your complication rate is going to be much lower.
Any surgery has potential complications and hip replacement surgery has potential for dislocation, he confesses. However, Dr. Harris has performed more than 2,000 direct anterior approach replacements with a dislocation rate of about .2%.