Revision Total
Hip Replacement
Total Hip Replacements are extremely successful procedures and in majority of the cases, enable patients to live an active life without debilitating hip pain for many years. However, with time, a hip replacement can fail for a variety of reasons.
What is Revision Total Hip Replacement?
When a hip replacement fails, your doctor may recommend that you have a second operation to remove some or all the parts of the original operation and replace them with new ones. This procedure is called Revision Total Hip replacement.
Even though the goal of Primary and Revision Total Hip Replacement is the same viz. relieve pain and improve function, thus quality of life, revision surgery is different in that it is complex and takes much longer. To achieve a good result, it requires extensive planning and the use of specialised tool and prosthesis.
The decision to undergo a Revision Total Hip Replacement is a joint one between you, your family, and the Orthopaedic Surgeon.
A revision total hip replacement is usually recommended for the following:
- Implant Wear or Loosening: With time, the plastic from the cup wears out and the prosthesis ‘comes off’ the bone.
- Infection: 0.5-2% of the Hip replacements get infected and may need revision either in 1 or 2 stages
- Recurrent Dislocation
- Fracture: Fracture of the bone around the prosthesis (Periprosthetic fracture) or rarely the prosthesis may itself break
- Reaction to metal ions or Metal allergy