Anterior vs. Posterior Hip Replacement

[gwendelyn]

I'm in peri-op 101. New OR resident here (4 years of med-surg)...

For my case study I chose a patient I had recently. His diagnosis was Avascular necrosis of the left hip. He received a posterior total hip replacement (uncemented). My research is starting to show that the anterior approach is better.

So, RNs, what do you think?

Gwen

[CheesePotato, BSN, RN]

I'm in peri-op 101. New OR resident here (4 years of med-surg)...

For my case study I chose a patient I had recently. His diagnosis was Avascular necrosis of the left hip. He received a posterior total hip replacement (uncemented). My research is starting to show that the anterior approach is better.

So, RNs, what do you think?

Gwen

Honestly, as with most things in the medicinal world, the jury remains out.

It can be argued that the anterior approach gives less pain, faster recovery etc, however, studies remain inconclusive and highly conflicting. Besides, as with any surgical approach, there are always risks to various other bits of anatomy; as in this case, there are things such as the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve which stands a strong chance of being severed.

Frankly, so long as the patient is infection free and regains mobility, my work is done. An incision is an incision is an incision--no matter how you dice it, I'm tearing open a patient's primary defense against infection, rummaging around, sawing off some bone, reaming, and slamming in something foreign.

::shrugs:: So yeah....I dunno. Perhaps one is "better" than another.....but in the end, is it all that different?