Hip Replacement
73 year old man with arthritis left hip
This gentleman presented with left sided hip pain. He had well preserved joint space and first had a diagnostic injection into the left hip to confirm his pain was indeed from that hip. He had 3 months pain relief, and then his symptoms returned. He had a cemented cup and cemented stem with a ‘metal on polyethylene’ bearing surface. He was discharged home the 2 days after his operation.
47 year old man with severe arthritis left hip
This gentleman presented with left hip
arthritis which was “ruining his life”. There was complete loss of joint space and his hip was very stiff. He had lost nearly 1 inch leg length on the affected side. He lost weight on my advice and though his symptoms improved, he still needed surgery. The weight loss made surgery far easier. We had a discussion about different ‘bearing surfaces’ in hip replacements. He was offered a combination of ceramic and polyethylene or ceramic and ceramic. I explained that ceramic on ceramic replacements can sometimes make a noise referred to as ‘squeak’. He decided on the ceramic on polyethylene option. He had an uncemented cup which was fixed with 2 screws. He was discharged home the day after surgery.
Knee Replacement
57 year old man with right knee arthritis
This ex-semi-professional sportsman had moderate-severe arthritis in his right knee. He had a typical ‘varus’ knee deformity which leads to bow leggedness. He was still working and wasn’t planning to retire until aged 62. He felt that his symptoms were bad enough to warrant surgery and his activity levels would not be hampered after knee replacement. He had a standard PFC knee replacement. He was discharged home 2 days after surgery.
67 year old woman with right knee arthritis
This retired lady had severe right knee arthritis with a severe ‘valgus’ or knock knee deformity affecting both sides but the right side was much worse. There was little doubt she needed surgery and following appropriate counselling, she underwent a standard PFC knee replacement. Her surgery was quite extensive to ‘balance’ the knee satisfactorily and make sure it was straight and stable throughout the range of motion.