Hip preservation is a relatively new type of surgical treatment designed to delay or prevent the development of arthritis of the hip joint, avoiding or delaying the need for a hip replacement.
Hip preservation procedures are generally performed on young, active individuals that want to avoid a total hip replacement. Most often, hip preservation surgery is performed on people 45 and younger. However, the surgery can be done on older individuals as well.
Degeneration of the hip joint – or hip dysplasia – can be caused by a problem with the development of the hip joint (socket). Early intervention, including hip arthroscopy (placing a camera inside the hip joint) or periacetabular osteotomy (reorientation of the socket), can stabilize the hip joint, improving its function.
Preserving the hip joint’s cartilage also plays an important role in hip preservation surgery. In some cases, the cartilage on the weight-bearing area of the hip (femoral head) can be damaged because of accidents (trauma) or avascular necrosis (AVN), which damages the hip’s blood supply. Through a series of procedures called surgical dislocation of the hip, UofL Health can transplant or replace a damaged part of the cartilage with healthy donor tissue, restoring the congruency of the joint and delaying the occurrence of arthritis.
In addition to hip arthroscopy, periacetabular osteotomy and surgical dislocation of the hip, hip preservation procedures include:
- Labral debridement (removing weak or torn parts of the labrum that could be caught in the hip joint) or repair
- Surgical dislocation of the hip
- Hip osteoarticular transfer (OATS) can treat cartilage defects that are 10 to 20mm
- Hip osteotomy (cutting and realigning part of the pelvis or femur)
For more information or to make an appointment with a hip preservation expert at UofL Health, visit us at UofLHealth.org or contact UofL Health – Orthopedics at 502-588-4521.
