Hip Replacement

Being a complicated operation, hip replacement is one of the routine procedures in Israel and performed, on average, 2-3 times a day by an experienced orthopedic surgeon. The success rate of hip arthroplasty in Israel 99%.

Hip is one of the largest joints in the body. It is built of a ball-shaped head, which is adjusted into a concave niche in the pelvis. Around the joint there is a capsule, ligaments and muscles that help the activity of the joint and support its stability. The femoral head and the acetabulum are coated with a cartilage, allowing for smooth, painless movement.

Articular cartilage plays an important role as a shock absorber and reduces friction during movement. When you walk, jump or run, the forces of soil damage are absorbed by the cartilage. When there is destruction of the cartilage, friction is created between the bones, leading to the erosion of the joint and severe pain, which restrict movement.

Some orthopedic conditions that Israeli doctors have successfully treated with arthroplasty and other methods

• Coxarthrosis – wear or damage to the articular cartilage.
• Osteoarthritis due to peculiarities of the joint anatomical structure.
• Aseptic necrosis of the femoral head –  death of the femoral head tissue.
• Femur fracture.
• Post-traumatic hip arthrosis.
• Progressive rheumatoid arthritis.

What are the osteoarthritis symptoms and its causes?

Trauma, arthritis, and osteoarthritis, which is the most common. Osteoarthritis, is the main cause of dysfunction in older age. Nearly 80% of the population will suffer from a certain erosion of the articular cartilage above age 65 and about 15% will suffer from pain and functional limitation.

The main symptoms are pain, discomfort and stiffness in the hip that restrict movement and significantly reduce quality of life. Typically, the disease develops gradually, reminding itself from time to time during long walks, habitual motion, tilt, squat, that yesterday seemingly given with greater ease. And here comes a time when a person can no longer cope with the pain overtaking him not only under load but during sleep in a relaxed position.

The cause of osteoarthritis is not known, and the treatments currently known primarily treat symptoms – pain and movement limitation. Modern medicine has not yet been able to develop effective methods for regenerating cartilage.

As a rule, in all these cases our doctors recommend as much as possible not to interfere with the body and not to damage the integrity of the natural tissues. But when pain and stiffness reach such a limit that the person is no longer able to deal with them there is a need for a hip replacement.

Reputable orthopedic doctor

Surgeon who is to perform hip replacement must have an appropriate qualifications and extensive practical experience of operations in prosthetics.

Preparation for the hip replacement surgery 

Upon review of X-ray and MRI images of the hip as well as physical examination, the physician makes a conclusion regarding the treatment, makes a determination regarding the operation and identifies the type of prosthesis taking into account the peculiarities of hip anatomical structure.

Hip replacement is performed after all non-surgical treatments have been exhausted, including anti-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory drugs, physiotherapy, and so on.

The purpose of the hip replacement surgery is to reduce the pain the patient suffers from, improve the range of movements in hip and thus significantly improve the quality of his life.

How is operation performed?

Pre-surgery day

Pre surgery process helps patients and their families prepare for optimal surgery, dispel fears and answer all questions that arise. First of all initial meeting at the private appointment with a physician, where the doctor and the patient discuss the different treatment options and decide on the most appropriate treatment.

Surgeon explains the pre-surgical process, surgery and rehabilitation. Patients are invited to ask the questions about the whole process.

Before the operation patient will be invited to a “day of admission” at the pre-operative clinic of Assuta Hospital. On this day, the patient will be examined by the department’s physician and anesthesiologist, make blood test, ECG, Chest X-ray.

Day of surgery

On this day, the patient is hospitalized in Assuta hospital, examined by physician and the nursing staff, ensuring that there is no change in the his medical condition.

In the operating room the patient will be accepted by surgical team, anesthesiologist and the nurse.

Duration of hip replacement surgery – 1.5 – 2 hours.
At the end of the operation, a surgeon will leave the surgical team and inform the family of the operation and condition of the patient. The patient moves to the awakening unit, where he will be under close observation for about two hours. After his condition stabilizes, the patient will be placed to intensive care unit and one day later to the regular (or private) room at the orthopedics department.

Rehabilitation process

Every day during the hospitalization, the patient will meet with a senior physician who will explain the patient rehabilitation process, what is expected of him, and in which he will answer the patient’s questions.

The day after surgery patient begins rehabilitation process, which includes removal of drains and urinary catheter (if inserted).
Patient will meet physiotherapy team that will treat him during hospitalization. Patient will get out of bed, start walking with a walker, and will receive explanations about what is permitted and what is forbidden after the operation.

On the first day, pain, range of movements and walking are expected to be limited.
It is important that the pace of recovery depends very much on the patient’s personal motivation and cooperation with the physiotherapy team.

On the second day after surgery patient will continue to receive painkillers according to the usual treatment protocol.

The physiotherapy team will continue with the treatment, with an emphasis on walking patterns, increasing walking ranges, and providing functional independence for the patient.

Discharge day

After about 5 days of hospitalization patient can be discharged. If necessary, the patient is rehabilitated at home or in hospitalization.

In preparation for discharge, the patient will receive guidance from the nursing staff and physiotherapists.

Total time spent in Israel for total hip replacement – about 1 month.

Pain relief and significant increase in quality of life from first days

More than 90% of people undergoing hip replacement have reported dramatic pain relief, improved mobility and mobility, and a significant increase in quality of life within 6 weeks of surgery.

The rehabilitation period for each patient is different, but, as a rule, when properly performed operation after 3-4 months patient is completely accustomed to the prosthesis and no longer feels a foreign item in the body.

The success of the operation depends on a number of factors: level of patient’s activity prior to surgery, the range of movement of the hip joint prior to the operation, the success of the surgical procedure itself, but mainly the degree of patient cooperation and compliance with the medical guidelines of the rehabilitative staff.
After a complete recovery from surgery, the patient will be recommended to perform moderate activities such as walking, swimming and cycling in order to strengthen the muscles in the area and support the joint.

It should be noted, that the surgery will not allow the patient to perform intensive physical activity such as jogging or physical or aggressive sports that require contact or jumping.

It should be noted, that naturally, an artificial joint is eroded over time, even by moderate daily activity, and accelerated erosion under intense activity. Approximately 97% of the transplanted joints hold at least 15 years.