A 'Hip' New Procedure 

Finally, a hip replacement surgery that won’t limit your activities.
Less recovery time, less pain and less scarring!

Sunbury Community Hospital is the first facility in the region now offering anterior approach hip replacements with the recent addition of the hip arthroplasty table – the only surgical table designed exclusively for Hip Arthroplasty.

The Anterior Approach surgery procedure is a technique that minimizes the pain and recovery time associated with this common remedy for people suffering from pain due to osteoarthritis. The Anterior Approach allows the surgeon to reach the hip joint from the front of the hip as opposed to the lateral (side) or the posterior (back) approach.

The merits of this procedure are considerable, offering patients significant benefits over the traditional hip replacement. With the anterior approach, there is less muscle trauma and smaller incisions thus patients spend less time in the hospital following the procedure. Most patients recover faster, anywhere between two to eight weeks as opposed to two to four months. Post-surgical pain is minimized, as is blood loss during the procedure.

What makes this possible is the unique capability of this table to position the leg in such a way that the surgeon can replace the hip through a single incision, without detachment of muscle from the pelvis or femur. The table allows hyperextension, adduction and external rotation of the hip for femoral component placement – a positioning option not possible with conventional tables.

This way, the hip can be replaced without detachment of muscle from the pelvis or femur during surgery. The surgeon can simply work through the natural interval between the muscles. The most important muscles for hip function, the glutei muscles that attach to the pelvis and femur, are left undisturbed and therefore do not require a healing process. The lack of disturbance to the lateral and posterior soft tissues provides immediate stability of the hip after surgery.

The most significant long-term benefit for our patients is the reduced risk of dislocation. Patients undergoing the tradition hip replacement need to be very cautious about dislocating their new joint during the recovery period and beyond. Typically, patients are advised not to bend their hip past a 60 or 90-degree angle, turn their toes inward, cross their legs and limit the amount of weight they bear on their new joint. With the Anterior Approach, patients can immediately bend their hip freely; bear weight when comfortable and avoid the cumbersome restrictions that make the simple activities of daily living difficult.

For more information, contact Bruce Marion at 570-286-3372.