Tailor Made Hip Replacement

Total hip replacement

A total hip replacement is an operation undertaken to treat painful hip conditions that can no longer be controlled by simple measures. The most common cause of this is osteoarthritis. 

Hip replacement is a very well established treatment with a good track record of successfully alleviating pain in such conditions. Historically it was only undertaken in elderly patients and so in the majority of patients the new hip replacement did not wear out.

As the technique has become more and more successful younger and younger patients are demanding the surgery not only for pain relief but also to restore active lifestyles. As this has happened the numbers of hip replacements failing as they wear out has significantly increased.

Changes to the materials hip replacements are made from and how they are fixed into the bone have been made in the hope that this will improve the time hip replacements will last.

It is also now understood that using prostheses that more accurately reproduce an individual patient’s anatomy are more likely to give improved function and longevity of the prosthesis.

'Tailor Made' Total Hip Replacement

It is now possible to use 3D pre-operative planning software coupled to CT diagnostic imaging to create individual patient pre-operative plans. This assists the surgeon in optimising the position and orientation of the implant.

Since 2008 I have been able to create such individual pre-operative plans for patients using CT scans. I have used these plans to assist in the implantation of modular Total Hip Replacement s using modern cementless fixation techniques and ceramic bearing surfaces. I believe this combination of individually tailored surgery and modern hip replacement technology assists in restoring optimum patient function after surgery and maximises the lifespan of the hip replacement.

Acknowledgement: Mr Nick de Roeck - Orthopaedic Consultant Surgeon