Hip Surgery is on the increase. Upon first reading or hearing this sentence, many people will automatically think of total hip replacements. In fact Hip Arthroscopy (the second most commonly performed hip procedure) has also had a sharp rise in the number of operations performed.
The number of patients undergoing hip replacement surgery in the UK has roughly doubled over the last 10 years. The likely cause of this is an increased ageing population.
The number of patients undergoing hip arthroscopy as also sharply risen and over the last 10 years the number has risen by 700%. It is expected to rise by 1400%
over the next 7 years. The likely cause of this is an increased awareness of Femoro-Acetabular Impingement (FAI) and more surgeons performing the procedure.
Hip Replacement is a relatively safe procedure. There are of course risks associated with all surgery and with Hip replacements the common risks are;
- Infection (<1% risk)
- Dislocation (<2% risk)
- DVT (<3% risk) – all patients are given anticoagulants for 6 weeks as cover.
- Hip replacements can also loosen over time but figures show that over 95% implants are surviving at 10 years.
Hip Arthroscopy is also a relatively safe procedure with the following major risks
- Numbness in the leg (up to 8% risk)
- Infection and DVT (<1% risk)
- Damage to the nerves (<1% risk)
What are the outcomes?
Hip replacements have excellent outcomes with proven major improvements in pain, function and quality of life. The major long-term implications are survivorship and the
best rated implants have over 95% survival at 10 years.
It is always worth asking your surgeon what implants they use and their performance date.
Hip Arthroscopy has good outcomes in SUITABLE patients. In patients with arthritis, Hip Arthroscopy has a success rate of less than 50%. This increases to over 70% in patients
without arthritis – for example in patients with FAI.
It is therefore important to identify the cause of symptoms prior to surgery.