Anterior Approach to Hip Replacement Surgery

Are you a candidate for Anterior Approach Hip Replacement? At Redwood Regional Medical Group, both Dr. Briant Smith and Dr. Steven Smith are experts at this minimally invasive approach to hip surgery. When hip replacement is the chosen treatment, it can be effective for most patients suffering with arthritis, hip pain, stiffness and limited hip movement.

So what is it? The anterior approach lets the surgeon reach the hip joint from the front of the hip through the natural interval between the muscles. Traditional hip replacement surgery goes in on the side (lateral) or back (posterior) and needs to detach gluteal muscle from the femur or pelvis, requiring a much more significant healing process. The incision for the direct anterior approach can be less than half that needed for traditional hip replacement surgery.

Not everyone is a candidate for this surgery but the either Dr. Smith can assess your case and your options with you. If this approach is best, you can be confident that your surgeon is experienced in this minimally invasive procedure.

Benefits of the Direct Anterior Appraoch

Besides a quicker recovery, the direct anterior approach could potentially also result in less time in surgery, a shorter hospital stay, less scarring, less blood loss, reduced post-operative pain, fewer movement restrictions and the risk of dislocation may be reduced.

While first performed in Europe in 1947, this approach was only introduced in the United States in 1996 and refined since then with newer protocols and technology. If you are ready for hip replacement surgery, ask Dr. Steven Smith or Dr. Briant Smith if direct anterior approach is for you. While it is important to realize that any joint replacement surgery is major surgery, both physicians offer excellent experience in this technique. Just ask Dr. Steven Smith's patient, Jim Bates.

"I have known and been a patient of Dr. Steve Smith since 1991. He has seen me through several surgeries and the results were and still are excellent. My latest was a right hip replacement. Dr. Smith is a no-nonsense surgeon who has made my life much more livable and most likely longer by far. Kudos to my surgeon and thank you!!!"