Main focus trauma surgery / orthopaedics - hip joint replacement
Hip joint
The hip is one of the most burdened joints in a human being. Not only does the hip carry the body weight and often much more than that, it also performs an incredible amount of movement cycles. On average, each hip manages to perform about 1.5 million steps a year. The hip enables humans to bend their legs, turn them to the inside and outside and do the splits.
Hips join the upper body with the legs and are made up of the femoral head and the acetabulum located in the pelvis. The ball-shaped acetabulum which is covered with cartilage is at the top end
of the femoral neck bone. It is firmly surrounded by strong muscles, firm hip ligaments and a stable self-contained joint capsule in the acetabulum which is also lined with cartilage. The movements of a healthy hip are exclusively carried out at both cartilage areas around the joint's centre point and thus ensure a pain free function.
The main hip diseases are caused by the deterioration of the cartilage and inflammations of the joint. In many cases, the cartilage undergoes more deterioration and in some places disappears altogether, which has the result that the bones in the join rub directly against each other. The bone itself is then subject to wear and tear and in some cases even becomes deformed. Where bone rubs against bone, this has the effect of sand in an engine and is very painful.
Hip replacement - the whole spectrum of modern hip joint surgery:
Our concept - findings-dependent individual selection of the type of prosthesis and operation procedures
Hip joint replacement
If pain severely restricts the movement possibilities of the hips and daily activities and physiotherapy, medication and physical measures no longer bring relief, the implantation of an artificial joint can be the solution. A hip replacement is necessary for:
- Joint deterioration, also called arthrosis
- accident related consequences such as a severely displaced femoral fracture in older people
- necrosis of the acetabulum, dying off of the acetabulum, for example as a consequence of circulatory problem
- rheumatic diseases
- tumours
Surgical procedures for the implantation of hip joints have continuously improved over the last years and can now be considered standard operations. Here, the damaged parts of the joint are replaced by a prosthesis which is composed of at least two to three separate components: the shaft in which the femur is anchored, a spherical head placed on top and a cup which is firmly implanted into the pelvis. We select the type of prosthesis individually and dependent on the findings.
For both joint deterioration as well as for the fracture of the formal neck, we aim at achieving a treatment which will preserve the joint. However, if the hip joint is completely damaged and all other therapeutic measures no longer promise any success, then a hip replacement is indicated. It is our goal to remove only the pathologically changed tissue and to preserve intact bones, muscles and soft tissue as far as possible. What is important to us is to carry out surgery with small incisions and the least invasive operative procedures.
We offer patients whose hip joint areas are destroyed and have suitable anatomical bone conditions and higher bone density - usually patients up to their 60th year of life - the so-called hip-cap prosthesis. For this type of prosthesis, only the defect joint areas are removed whereby the hip head and the femoral neck are preserved.
Follow-up treatment after joint operations
After any surgery to the joint, an operation-specific early functional physiotherapeutic training programme which is personally adapted to the patient is envisaged. The programme is geared at building up muscles, and training walking and movement processes. Your cooperation in this is extremely important. Our goal is to see that you get well as quickly as possible and regain your usual quality of life.
Surgery consulting hours
Dr..med..Wolfgang Reinpold
Head Physician
Marion Kohnen
Secretary
Tel.: 040 - 75 205 - 225 | Fax: - 357
Wilhelmsburger Krankenhaus Groß-Sand
Groß-Sand 3 | 21107 Hamburg