Finding A Hip Surgeon

Hip replacement surgery should be done by a fellowship trained orthopedic surgeon who has extensive experience (at least 200 cases per year) doing the direct superior, superPATH, or anterior approach.

How To Find The Right Hip Surgeon For Your Hip Replacement Surgery:

The best way to find your Prince is to interview them. Here are nine questions you need to have answered before trusting anyone with this crucial job.
Question
Which approach do you use for hip replacement surgery? I perform a minimally invasive approach (either Anterior or Direct Superior, bonus points for superpath) The traditional posterior approach I learned in training works for my patients.
Did you complete a fellowship or have extensive clinical experience in minimally invasive hip replacement surgery? Yes. I have done one or more thousand of minimally invasive hip replacement surgeries, and currently do more than 120 per year. No. I perform the approach I learned in training. It works for my patients.
When can I walk after hip replacement surgery? Drive? Go back to work? You will be up and walking within an hour or two. Most patients use a walker for up to a week. You can drive and go back to light work anytime after that. Recovery from surgery takes months; full recovery is up to a year.
Which hip implant do you use for replacements? What are they made of… metal, polyethylene, or ceramic? The construct I use is a Ceramic head with polyethylene -lined titanium socket liner. Registry data form Australia and England shows that is the best combination to last long as possible without having to be replaced. The construct I use is a stainless steel head on stainless steel socket, because nothing is stronger than steel, and the company representative is really pretty… or I use what I was taught in training, it seems to work well for my patients.
Have you ever had a dislocation following hip replacement surgery? Infection? Death? Femur fracture? Nerve damage? All surgeons have complications. I study my rate. For the complications you listed, the combined rate is < 1% There are always risks to surgery. I don’t know the exact number in my hands, but its not more than are expected.
Can I have my hip replacement surgery as an outpatient? I want to avoid the hospital. Yes. Hospital errors and the risk of infection are concerning. We can minimize these risks by having outpatient hip replacement surgery. I do my hip replacement surgeries in outpatient centers whenever the patient is healthy enough for outpatient surgery. No. I want you to go to the hospital where they are ready if something goes wrong (because it usually does)
What are the permanent restrictions following hip replacement surgery? None There are many. No crossing your legs, running, horseback riding, bending forward more than 90 degrees, yoga, or trampoline.
Have you ever had a patient who had persistent pain after hip replacement surgery? What went wrong? Yes. Its very rare, but it happens. I studied the case and I think I know what went wrong. . . . My patients do really well. Some people just don’t do well with surgery.
Do you consider anyone too young or too heavy for hip replacement surgery? No one is too young or too heavy for hip replacement surgery. Yes. People with BMI above (made up number) need to loose weight, and anyone younger than (made up number) should suffer and wait.
Hip Replacement Q&A with Matt Siedel, Orthopedic Surgeon
Sample interview: Dr. Brandon Gough
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