Siegburg: Artificial hip joint - gentle surgery and fast mobilization

When is an artificial hip joint used? How does the operation take place? And how do patients who are operated on at the Helios Hospital Siegburg benefit? We asked Dr. med. Dennis Vogel, head physician for special orthopedic surgery, endoprosthetics and foot surgery.

When is the use of an artificial hip joint necessary at all?

Dr. med. Dennis Vogel: The most common cause is joint wear. A large part of the body's weight rests on our hip joint. As we get older, the function can diminish and the joint wears out. The consequences: We are less mobile and experience pain as a result - especially in the groin and on the front and inside of the thigh. If the pain cannot be alleviated by physiotherapy and medication, we can restore function by inserting an artificial hip joint.

How does the operation proceed?

Dr. med. Dennis Vogel: We remove the damaged cartilage and bone from the hip joint and replace it with a so-called endoprosthesis, an artificial hip joint. The great advantage for the patients who come to us: We work with particularly gentle and minimally invasive surgical methods. In concrete terms, this means that our surgeons make smaller and shorter incisions in the skin, thus reducing damage to the muscles and surrounding tissue. In addition, we access the hip joint from the front - and not from the side, as is usually the case at many clinics. This corresponds to the so-called AMIS method and is particularly gentle, as we do not cut any muscles, tendons or nerves. This results in less blood loss during the operation, no drains or catheters need to be placed, and patients experience less pain.

What does this mean for the further course of treatment?

Dr. med. Dennis Vogel: This minimally invasive surgery allows us to start mobilizing the patient again at an early stage. We call this "rapid recovery". If the patient progresses normally, they leave the hospital bed on the day of the operation. Over the next few days, under physiotherapeutic supervision, they learn to walk with the help of walking aids and to rest and stabilize their joint. As a rule, we then discharge the patients after about four to seven days. The rapid recovery approach also shortens the subsequent rehabilitation period. All in all, our patients return to their normal daily lives much more quickly. The risk of consequential damage is also lower. This applies, for example, to pain caused by chronic inflammation of tendons or a limp due to tendon damage.

Read more:

• More about Helios Hospital Siegburg
  
• More about Dr. med. Dennis Vogel

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