3 Things to Know About Anterior Hip Replacements

Traditional hip replacement detaches muscle from bone, which is more painful and involves a longer recovery. The anterior approach, however, is a muscle-sparing surgery. This means that we work between the muscle layers without stripping muscle away from the bone, allowing for a quicker recovery without as much pain. Also, the incision is in the front of the hip instead of on the buttock, which makes sitting much more comfortable.

One of the main concerns following a traditional hip replacement is dislocation—when the ball pops out of the socket. Because of this, patients are given a series of restrictions on the position of their hip after surgery. With an anterior approach, this is not necessary as the muscles are able to stay intact during surgery. Because muscles are not detached from bone, the joint is inherently more stable and less prone to dislocation—so much so, that we don’t give patients any positioning restrictions after surgery.

With traditional hip replacement, patients are positioned on their side, so imaging the hip with an x-ray is unreliable in determining the position of the components. With the anterior approach, patients are positioned on their back, which allows us to use live x-ray during the procedure to make sure the components are placed in the optimal position.