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Joint Replacement - Hip Replacement
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A hip pain severely affects one’s ability to lead a life actively. Over the last
few years, there have been major advancements in hip replacement improving the surgery
outcome greatly. Total hip replacement is a treatment to all kinds of hip arthritis,
improving the quality of life of patients who undergo the operation.
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There are two major types of artificial hip replacements - Cemented Prosthesis and
the Uncemented Prosthesis. Both types of prosthesis are widely used.
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Each prosthesis is made up of two parts |
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The acetabular component, or socket portion, which replaces the acetabulum.
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The femoral component or stem portion, which replaces the femoral head.
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The femoral component is made of a metal stem with a metal ball on the end. Some
prosthesis have a metal head on upper end attached to the metal stem. The acetabular
component is a metal shell with a plastic inner liner that acts like a bearing.
The type of plastic used is highly cross linked ultra high molecule weight Polyethylene
which is wear resistant.
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A cemented prosthesis is held in place by Poly Metha Acrylate
(PMMA) cement that attaches the implant to the bone. An uncemented prosthesis has
a fine mesh of holes on the surface area that touches the bone. The bone grows into
the mesh and gives a better fixation. The life of uncemented prosthesis is three
times as that of cemented hip prosthesis. |
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The recent advances in the articulating bearing surfaces have brought metal on metal
articulation, ceramic on ceramic articulation and metal on ceramic articulation.
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