Is It Safe to Delay Hip Replacement Surgery?

If you are experiencing hip pain due to osteoarthritis, you may be wondering when it is time to consider surgery and if it is safe for you to delay surgical interventions. As we age, arthritis progresses, and the pain can become severe.

Hip replacement surgery is one of the most successful surgeries done today. Does that mean you should get one as soon as you feel pain in your hip? Not quite, say the experts. In many cases osteoarthritis pain can be managed with physiotherapy, a weight loss regimen, modifying your activities and taking anti-inflammatory over the counter medications. These conservative approaches may work for some time.

However, if your pain is so severe that you are experiencing it while resting, its time to talk to an orthopedic surgeon. Arthritis of the joint can not only cause pain in the hip but also in the knee, groin, lower back and buttocks. If the pain and inflammation begin affecting your ability to do daily activities and you are no longer able to take shorter walks, get dressed or put shoes on without debilitating pain, you may want to seek a hip replacement surgery.

Waiting too long has consequences. The surgery can be less effective because due to all the limited mobility and activity, your overall health can worsen. People that are going into surgery healthier tend to have better outcomes. Badly deteriorated joints can make surgery more difficult to perform, requiring special skill and additional physiotherapy afterwards.

Most hip replacement implants last 10 to 20 years. For many people, that means that if they got their hip replacement in their early 60-ies, it would last them for the rest of their lives. The concerns of having a revision surgery somewhere down the road should be discussed with your orthopedic surgeon. Surgeons and patients should work together to ensure the best outcome.

If you are placed on a long waiting list for surgery and are unable to see an orthopedic specialist in the public system, we can help connect you to a private option for your total hip replacement. We can get your X-ray reviewed by an orthopedic surgeon in a private, no wait manner.  Give us a call toll-free 877 344 3544 and find out your private total hip replacement options in the US and Canada.