Anterior or Posterior Approach to Hip Replacement: What Is Right For You?

We wrote about private hip replacements a few times in our blogs. As new techniques or robotic are introduced, our clients want to know their options. We explained the SuperPATH technique in hip replacement. In another blog, we talked about the use of robotics.

There are a couple of surgical approaches to hip replacement. In this blog, we mention both posterior and anterior approaches. In the past, there were studies claiming that the anterior approach had better outcomes.

A recent study of patients treated at HSS (Hospital for Special Surgery) looked at 138 patients who had total hip replacements and were discharged the same day. Half of the group had an anterior and the other half had a posterior total hip replacement. Age, sex and body mass index of each group were matched. They found that the outcomes did not differ significantly. Time to walking, length of surgery, pain at discharge and rates of complications/readmissions at 90 days post-surgery were similar.

From our conversations with different orthopaedic surgeons, what matters is the surgeon expertise at a certain approach. The number of surgeries that she or he did in the past, years in practice and surgeries per year are usually the stats we look at and provide to our clients to help them make a better decision. We also set up a phone call with doctors so that they can better explain how they do surgeries.

In your initial consultation with an orthopaedic surgeon, it will be determined if you are a good candidate for the same-day discharge and usually that depends on your general health. The doctor will also go over what is suitable for you and what to expect. This is an opportunity to ask questions about different approaches and what is right for you.

If you are interested in setting up a virtual consultation with one of the orthopaedic surgeons we work with, please give us a call toll-free 1 877 344 3544.