HC Chang Orthopaedic Surgery | Singapore

Hip osteoarthritis is not that common in Singapore.  Knee osteoarthritis is much more common.

Hip osteoarthritis can be due to:

1. Primary hip osteoarthritis from wear and tear.
2. From previous hip fracture.
3. Avascular necrosis of the hip i.e. the blood supply to the femoral head is disrupted
4. From hip dysplasia i.e. the socket of the hip joint is not well developed leading to lack of coverage of the femoral head.
5. From hip labral tears.  This is a topic under Femoral Acetabular Impingement.  I will blog about this in the future.
6. After infection involving the hip joint.

The symptoms of hip osteoarthritis include:

1. Pain in the groin, or buttock, or lateral hip area with walking or standing.
2. Stiffness of the hip joint.
3. Unable to squat.
4. Walking with a limp.
5. Shortening of the leg in the involved side.

The main problem is pain with weight bearing activities.

This is a patient who has hip osteoarthritis after a fracture involving the socket many years ago.

Osteoarthritis of the Right Hip | HC Chang Orthopaedic Surgery

Osteoarthritis of the Right Hip Lateral view

Treatment Includes:

1. Oral pain killers.
2. Lose weight.
3. Use a walking stick in the opposite side.
4. Physiotherapy.
5. TCM – acupuncture.
6. Viscosupplementation – inject lubricant into the hip.
7. Total hip replacement.

Hip Replacement Surgery

This surgery removes the arthritic part of the joint and replacing it with metal cup and metal head. A plastic cup is inserted into the metal cup and this allows the metal head to articulate with the plastic within the metal cup.

This is a picture taken during surgery with the arthritic head of the hip joint being delivered.

Osteoarthritic Hip | HC Chang Orthopaedic Surgery

The surgery takes about 2 hours to complete and is done under regional or general anaesthesia.

This is the post-operative x-rays showing the hip implants:

X-rays of Total Hip Replacement

X-rays of Total Hip Replacement

The patient usually will be able to get up to walk with a walking frame either on the 1st or 2nd day after the surgery.

The patient is expected to walk without walking aids at about 1 to 2 weeks after the surgery.

The pain relief from this surgery is excellent.

For more information on hip replacement surgery, please contact us at 683 666 36 or email hcchang@ortho.com.sg

You can also visit us at http://www.ortho.com.sg