On the Go Faster

By Amy Kingery, Public Relations & Communication Coordinator,
Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center

Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center has been touting the “good news about hip pain” for many years through seminars that discuss the causes and treatments of hip pain. In November, the good news got even better.

Andrew J. Petrella, MD performed the first anterior approach to hip replacement surgery at the hospital. An improvement over conventional hip replacement surgery, the anterior approach minimizes pain and reduces the patient's time from surgery to recovery.

According to the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, about 193,000 Americans undergo total hip replacement each year. In 2008, orthopedic surgeons at Seven Rivers Regional performed 119 total hip replacements on your closest neighbors.

Hip replacement is the second most common joint replacement surgery. In most cases, the need for total hip replacement is the result of arthritis and the pain it causes after years of wear and tear. Sometimes, a fracture is the culprit. But for each situation, the anterior approach offers the advantage of less pain and shorter recovery.

Traditionally, incisions are made either in the front or back of the hip, or a single incision in the back. Both of these approaches require major muscles holding the hip in place to be cut. This increases the potential for blood loss, post-surgery hip dislocation and extended recovery time.

The anterior approach, however, uses a specialized surgical table that allows the surgeon to position the body so the hip joint can be accessed through the front of the leg. This allows the surgeon to work between natural intervals in the muscles, leaving them undisturbed and not requiring the healing process experienced via traditional approaches.

Patients who undergo the anterior approach to hip replacement appreciate the reduced pain and recovery time. More often than not, they are up and walking with little assistance much faster than patients recovering from traditional hip replacement. Other benefits include a significantly decreased risk of post-operative hip dislocation, a reduced hospital stay and a smaller incision (which means less scarring).

To learn more about the anterior approach to hip replacement, visit www.srrmc.com. To find an orthopedic surgeon near you, call the hospital's Physician Referral line at 800.522.2377 or visit www.srrmc.com.