During your hip replacement surgery, your surgeon replaces the damaged ends of your hip bones, both in the femur and pelvis, with a ball-and-socket implant. There’s a ball on a stem to replace the ball-shaped top of your femur. The stem fits into the hollow center of your femur and holds the ball in place.
We use bone cement or screws to attach the replacement socket (acetabulum) into your pelvis. Between the ball and the socket, your surgeon inserts a spacer to prevent friction between the new parts. In the traditional approach to hip replacement, your surgeon enters through the side or back of the hip and cuts through the muscles to get to the hip bones. In the anterior approach to hip replacement, your surgeon enters the hip through the front instead of the side or back. This approach causes less pain and a faster recovery because it:
Spares muscles
The anterior approach accesses the hip by passing around or between muscle groups, instead of splitting muscles or releasing muscle attachments.
Lowers dislocation risk
Going through the front instead of the side or back of the hip also decreases dislocation risks compared with other hip replacement approaches.
Allows X-rays during surgery
Because surgeons can use imaging during the procedure, the anterior alternative helps them get a more accurate assessment of matching leg lengths and optimizing implant position. Drs. Lackey, Carter and Penrose perform the anterior approach. With modern techniques and implants, the traditional and anterior approaches can be performed as outpatient procedures.
