The latest minimally invasive surgical techniques to hip replacement are making recovery faster than ever. The anterior hip replacement involves making a small incision at the front of the hip instead of the usual incision in the gluteal area.

Replacing the hip through the front allows your doctor to perform surgery through a space between two of the muscles of your hip without having to detach muscles from your hip area as needed for the other approaches. This is associated with faster early recovery.

Now with an anterior hip replacement, your muscles stay whole, allowing you to get back on your feet more quickly and decreasing the chance of your prosthetic hip dislocating out of place. At University of Miami Health System, our expert orthopaedic surgeons specialize in this advanced procedure and work hard to ensure all patients can get back to their regular activities as quickly as possible.

Who Is a Candidate?

You may be a candidate for hip replacement surgery if conditions like osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis have worn away the cartilage in your hip. If walking has become too painful and is not relieved by physical therapy or medicines, it may be time for hip replacement surgery. While most patients who qualify for hip replacement are between ages 55 and 80, younger patients with rheumatoid arthritis or older patients in very good health may also qualify.

Almost anyone who qualifies for a hip replacement is a candidate for this new, minimally invasive approach. However, if you have previously broken your hip and have screws, plates, or rods in your hip, you may not be able to undergo minimally invasive hip surgery.

What to Expect

A surgeon who specializes only in performing joint replacements will perform your minimally invasive hip surgery. You can rely on their experience to help you have great results.

At the University of Miami Health System, we use fast-track protocols to help you recover quickly and return home after surgery. You’ll begin these protocols before your surgery even starts. First, you’ll take a class to learn what to expect from surgery and how to use walkers, canes, and other assistive equipment.

You’ll also be taught exercises you can do at home to start strengthening your leg. Maintaining good muscle strength is vital for returning to activities after surgery. On the day of your surgery, your nurse will give you medicines that will help fight nausea caused by anesthesia. You’ll also receive IV fluids to keep your blood pressure at a same level and pain medicines to stop pain before it starts.

Your surgery will take about one to two hours. You will receive a spinal anesthesia to prevent pain instead of general anesthesia to help reduce your risk for nausea and dizziness. You will also receive sedation to keep you calm and relaxed throughout surgery. During the surgery, your surgeon will make a small incision in the front of the hip. They will use these incision to guide tools into your hip to perform the replacement. They will also use X-ray guidance to ensure your new hip joint is precisely placed.

The surgeon will remove all areas of hip that are weakened. They will then place a metal rod will a ball at the top of the femur. They will prepare your hip socket to receive a titanium shell in your pelvis, which with a plastic liner for the ball to fit into, will create a ball-in-socket joint just like your natural hip. Once your new joint is in place, your surgeon will close the incision and you will begin to wake up. Once you are in your hospital room after surgery, a physical therapist will come visit you to get you up and walking on the same day of your surgery. Walking helps you heal more quickly and safely. You’ll usually only need to spend one night in the hospital and will be able to return home the next day. We will ensure your pain is under control before you go home so you can continue to participate in your recovery.

You will need to use attend outpatient physical therapy or have a physical therapist visit you in your home after your surgery. While you will be walking the same day as surgery, you will need to use a walker or a cane for a few weeks. By six weeks after surgery, you should be able to return to all your normal activities.

Learn more about how COVID-19 has transformed joint replacement surgery.

Why Choose UHealth?

Highly experienced in treating a full range of orthopaedic conditions. Our team of fellowship-trained orthopaedic specialists works together with a multidisciplinary group of physicians and scientists to provide high-quality care to people with benign (noncancerous) and malignant (cancerous) conditions. These include musculoskeletal diseases such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid and other autoimmune arthritides, posttraumatic arthritis, avascular necrosis, bone and soft tissue sarcomas, metastatic diseases, benign neoplasms of bone and soft tissue, and all types of orthopedic injuries.

Specialized joint replacement care. When you receive a joint replacement at the University of Miami Health System, your surgeon is an expert in the field who only dedicates his time performing joint replacement procedures. Our experienced physicians perform thousands of primary and complex joint replacements each year, using the latest advances in technology like minimally invasive hip replacement techniques and patient specific knee replacements. You can rely on their skills to relieve your joint pain and get you back to activities you love.