Hip Replacement Research Paper

Death: a reality that rarely crosses people 's mind, with a major exception being when one crosses the threshold of an operating room. The operating room holds a special terror for both patients and their family members. For the patients, they must face the possibility that they could fall into an eternal slumber, and for the family members, they must recognize the fact that their beloved has a chance of not surviving. It is even more agonizing when a new procedure like the anterior approach hip replacement fails to uphold its reputation: one as a new, innovated technique meant to improve the quality of life, not destroy it. The mortality rate for the anterior approach hip replacement is far too devastating considering the fact that the posterior

Instead, the bone near the joints of the femur are removed. During hip replacement, damaged bone, cartilage, and femoral head are removed then replaced with a prosthesis. There are many reasons why one might need hip replacement because of damage, however they are most commonly caused by age and repeated motion of wear and tear. There are some diseases such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, avascular necrosis, and bone tumors, that a patient would have developed in order to be recommended to receive this treatment. More often than not, hip replacement was the next action to take for relieving pain (Total Hip Replacement). In addition, this procedure can be performed in two ways: posterior and anterior approaches. The posterior hip replacement is the traditional procedure in repairing the hip joint. For this technique, the surgeon would make a curved incision on the side of the hip on the gluteal muscles. For the other procedure, the anterior hip replacement, a surgeon would have to maneuver between the muscle to gain access to the hip joint through the front part of the hip (Kruse). The main difference between the two approaches is how the surgeon opens the body to reach the hip. While this may seem like a small difference in performance, there are still many controversy among the medical professionals about which technique is the best. The risks, complications, and other factors, associated

However, it is as paramount to know if a patient is a candidate for specific procedures. Surgeons must know if the patient’s body is suitable to undergo an extensive surgery. And under the requirements of anterior approach hip replacement, more than half of the patients who needs a hip replacement would not qualify for this procedure. Majority of the patients who undertake the surgery are 45 years or older. The age is now increasing by 10 years with 138,700 people to 310,800 people (Wolford, Palso, Bercovitz). With the increase in age, it is normal to find older people with reduced range in motion of the joints (Kruse). But again, candidates for the anterior approach must have flexible joints. Even if patients were younger, many would still be rejected because of their weight. In the United States, “68.8% of adults are either obese or overweight” (Overweight and Obesity Statistics). The current society demands a procedure to fulfil their needs, and the anterior approach hip replacement is just not the