From Hip Arthrosis to Hip Replacement Surgery – Total Hip Endoprosthesis

Abstract

Hip arthrosis is a medical condition that is more commonly present in elderly people that is nowadays also becoming a healthcare burden among the younger, active popu-lation. Arthrosis is a process during which cartilage, normally present as a protective factor of the hip joint, gradually wears away, becoming frayed and rough. This results in limited protective joint space, which leads to increased friction and rubbing between hip joint components; acetabulum and femoral bone. Due to arthrosis, patients experi-ence daily pain, limited movements and decreased quality of life. Primary treatment of osteoarthritis includes informing patients of the importance of a healthy lifestyle, in-cluding physical activity. As non-surgical alternatives to treating osteoarthritis, ortho-paedic surgeons may relieve their patients’ symptoms with pharmacological interven-tions (paracetamol and NSAIDs) and in selected cases intraarticular infiltrations. When all this is no longer effective, surgical relief of pain is recommended, including less invasive procedures, such as hip arthroscopy, hip biopsy, or simple core decom-pression (CD), or the most invasive, but effective hip replacement surgery - total hip arthroplasty (THA). The latter is a procedure during which diseased and necrotic tissue from the hip joint is removed and replaced with artificial materials, the hip endopros-thesis. The aim of this procedure is to reduce pain and improve patient's mobility and quality of life. Keywords: hip osteoarthritis, hip arthrosis, hip endoprosthesis, surgery, quality of life.