Recent essential advancements in surgical technology have younger patients undergoing hip replacement surgery.1 These changes have revamped the type of implants used in the last decade. New plastics have almost eliminated the possibility of hip replacements wearing out. 2 The bikini hip replacement is not your grandmother’s hip surgery!
Typically doctors told patients in their 50′s who had chronic hip pain to wait until they were older before having a hip replacement. Now, age is only a consideration. In addition to new materials and implants, we have new hip replacement methods.
The direct anterior approach is a new way of performing hip replacement. With an anterior hip replacement, also referred to as a bikini hip replacement, the replaced hip is stable.
Patients no longer have as many restrictions as with traditional hip replacement surgery.3
Not as many limits is excellent news for active adults who enjoy hiking, biking, running, and sports. In the past, some of these activities were unthinkable after hip replacement.4
The hip surgery is a minimally invasive procedure where the damaged hip joint is replaced with an implant in a slight diagonal incision at the front of the hip. The scar will get hidden in the groin, allowing you to wear a bathing suit confidently.
Another significant difference between bikini hip replacement and traditional surgery is recovery. With the new bikini hip replacement technique, a patient with a hip replacement in the morning will walk, putting their total weight on the new hip, by the afternoon. In most cases, we can send patients home from the hospital the next day, leading to less pain and fewer complications.
With the muscle-sparing bikini hip replacement, the patient recovers quicker than with a traditional hip replacement surgery. Hip replacement surgery doesn’t just provide short-term benefits, it also provides lasting ones, with hip replacements lasting decades.
Times have changed for the better regarding hip surgery. The improved surgical techniques allow for a rapid discharge, a faster return to active lifestyles, and a diminished need for pain management.5 There are no massive scars from the bikini hip replacement surgery, and patients return to active lifestyles quicker. Today’s modern advancements in hip replacement offer better options than your grandmother had.
Author:
Dr. Robert Cagle is a board-certified fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon specializing in minimally invasive robotic joint replacement surgery of the knee and hip serving the Quad Cities in Davenport, Iowa.
