Medical experts are always looking to improve on current treatment techniques, and that’s especially true when it comes to hip replacement surgery. While the procedure has improved significantly over the last few decades, one of the potential complications that still persists is the possibility of a hip dislocation in the months and years that follow the replacement.
According to medical statistics, about 8 percent of patients who have a hip replacement performed will eventually experience a dislocation of their artificial hip. Not only is this dislocation painful, but it can lead to serious injuries if it causes a fall. At a minimum, it’s going to lead to an extended hospital stay and increase medical costs, both of which patients want to avoid. Cutting down on hip dislocations after a replacement procedure is seen as a high priority in the joint replacement community.
Researchers believe that a new type of hip replacement, the dual mobility replacement, could greatly reduce a patient’s likelihood of suffering a dislocation after their replacement procedure. We take a closer look at the dual mobility hip replacement procedure in today’s blog.
Dual Mobility Hip Replacement
With a standard hip replacement procedure, the degenerative hip joint components are removed and replaced with an artificial metal ball and metal socket. With a dual mobility replacement, a large artificial humeral head is secured into a fitted metal hip socket, but a smaller metal or ceramic head is also snap-fit into the larger plastic head. This secondary piece provides an additional load-bearing surface that ensures the whole implant can handle more strain before shifting out of place.
The dual mobility implant “improves the stability of the replacement by increasing the range of movement of the joint before dislocation,” researchers wrote in a study on the technique published in The Lancet.
In that study, researchers examined 1,600 patients over the age of 65 who had suffered a broken hip and needed a hip replacement procedure to address the fracture. Patients were either assigned to the standard hip implant or the dual mobility implant. One year after surgery, 4.2 percent of patients in the standard implant group had suffered a hip dislocation. In the dual mobility group, that number was only 1.3 percent. Moreover, overall risk of surgical complications was lower in the dual mobility group compared to the standard group.
The technology behind the procedure isn’t exactly new, as it was originally developed in France in the 1970s, but it has really only started to grow in popularity here in the states in the last decade. A dual mobility implant requires more surgeon skill to set and is more expensive than a standard hip implant, but given the fact that dislocation risk is decreased, this protection could help offset the higher upfront costs.
If you’re interested in learning more about dual mobility hip implants, or you simply want to talk to a specialist about the discomfort you’re experiencing and the best way to care for it, connect with Dr. Botero and his team. Give our office a call at (865) 450-1218.
