Revision Hip Replacement Surgery

Are you experiencing pain, discomfort, mobility issues, or infection after partial hip replacement surgery? Then it’s time for a follow-up procedure known as revision hip replacement surgery.

The primary reasons for revision hip surgery can be loosening, wearing down, or failure of a prosthetic. But thanks to advances in the materials and engineering used to make them, today’s prosthetics last longer than ever before. In most cases, partial and total hip implants can last more than 20 years. However, nothing lasts forever.

The life expectancy of your artificial hip also depends on the level of activity done by you. The more active you are, the more likely it is that you may eventually need hip revision surgery. If your implant fails, breaks down, loosens, becomes detached from the bone, or infected, your orthopedic surgeon can help determine the cause and whether revision surgery is right for you or not.

Reasons for revision hip surgery

Among the most common reasons for revision hip surgery some are:

• When the component gets loosened in prosthetics that were originally cemented in place
• Wearing down of a prosthetic’s plastic components, causing an adverse reaction to the surrounding tissue
• Constant hip dislocation or instability
• If the improper placement of the prosthetic causes pain and impingement
• Fracture of the bone surrounding the prosthetic.
• Unfavourable local tissue reaction caused by an outdated implant that needs to be removed and replaced with a new prosthesis.
• Infection in the bone or tissue near the prosthetic requires removing the device and curing the infection before implanting a new prosthetic.

Preparing for surgery

Your doctor will determine whether some or all of the components in your prosthesis need to be replaced after doing imaging tests and other examinations fit the cause. Your surgeon may need to use a specialized implant and other components to compensate for the damaged area, in case the bone and tissue supporting the implants are damaged.
Revision hip surgery is more complicated than the initial partial or total hip replacement surgery. The planning, surgery, and recovery processes all require more time and patience.

During surgery

During surgery, your original prosthesis will be removed, preparing the area for the new device, and replacing the worn-out, infected, misaligned, or otherwise failed implant by following these steps:

• The prosthetic components get removed along with any scaring tissue or abnormal bone tissue that may have formed since the original surgery
• In case of any infection, the surgeon will remove the current components and an antibiotic spacer will be replaced — bone cement loaded with antibiotics. This requires an additional procedure after the infection is gone another procedure is needed to remove the spacer and then place the new implants.
• Lastly, the implant components will be fitted securely to restore hip function.

Recovering from revision hip surgery

Revision hip surgery almost always requires larger incisions to remove the original prosthesis and implant a new one. This, including other factors like the removal of scar tissue, to prepare the area for a new prosthetic, and manipulation of the area during surgery all contribute to a prolonged recovery period. Revision hip surgery also tends to be more painful but your doctor will work with you to manage pain and discomfort throughout the surgery and recovery process.