What is hip replacement?1
Hip replacement is a type of surgery to replace damaged parts of the hip with man-made parts. The most common reason for a hip replacement is to treat osteoarthritis of the hip.
Hip replacement is usually recommended to treat severe pain or disability and when other treatments have not helped. A hip replacement can reduce pain, improve mobility and improve quality of life.
There are two types of hip replacement – partial and total.
- A partial hip replacement only replaces the ball on the end of the thigh bone.
- A total hip replacement means the ball of the thigh bone and the hip joint socket are both replaced.
The medical term for hip replacement is hip arthroplasty.