Total Hip Replacement
Anterior Total Hip Replacement
Anterior Total Hip Replacement or a Total hip Replacement through the Anterior Approach is a newer way to perform a total hip replacement.
Anterior means Front. Posterior means Back. So the Anterior Approach to the Hip is from the front of the hip joint.
For many years we have been performing total hip replacements through the posterior approach which involves a cut at the back of the hip joint and cutting the muscles to access the hip and perform the hip replacement. The down side to this approach has always been a risk of dislocation of the newly replaced hip. Thankfully this has become a low risk but is still always present with this approach.
Anterior Total Hip Replacement or a Total hip Replacement through the Anterior Approach performs the same Total Hip Replacement but through a different approach, from the front.
In an Anterior Total Hip Replacement a small, usually 8-12cm incision is performed at the front of the hip just in front of the protruding outer part of the hip (trochanter). A careful dissection to the muscles is performed. In this approach the muscles are not cut but we approach BETWEEN the muscles and come down to the hip from in front rather than behind. The same bone cuts are made and the Arthritic joint is replaced with metal and ceramic components.
The advantages of the Anterior Approach for a Total hip Replacement are that we do not cut muscles but go between them. There also seems to be a lower dislocation rate of Total Hip Replacements performed through the anterior approach.
Whilst this approach is not for everyone it is now rare for Professor Papantoniou to perform a Total Hip Replacement with any other approach than the Anterior Approach to the Hip.
A/Professor Papantoniou treats disorders of the Adult Lumbar Spine.
At different stages in our lives various lumbar spine problems can occur.
In the young adult acute disc prolapses (slipped discs) can occur. These are often found in manual workers.
As we get older other problems can present themselves.
Arthritis can occur in the spine, as well as other parts of the skeleton. Facet joint arthritis or disc problems can lead to lower back pain or eventually spinal canal stenosis.
Instability of the lumbar spine can occur for various reasons from facet joint arthritis to pars interarticularis defects.
A/Professor Papantoniou treats these degenerative disorders of the Adult Lumbar Spine individually as is appropriate for each patient and their condition.
Often time and non-operartive measures such as diet, exercise, physiotherapy and cortisone (steroid) injections will be able to control the pain without requiring surgery.