Why the Anterior Approach?

Anterior hip replacement is a minimally invasive technique that can be used to achieve the same results as a traditional hip replacement procedure: to replace the worn ends of the bones in the hip joint. The direct anterior approach is not widely used yet, but for an experienced orthopedic surgeon it can offer many advantages over traditional approaches.

The difference is how the surgeon opens the body to reach the hip joint. With the direct anterior approach, your specially trained surgeon is able to replace your painful hip through a natural space between the muscles of the anterior (front) portion of your hip, rather than the traditional approach of making the incision on the posterior (back) side.

The traditional posterior approach has the potential of damaging the muscles that make up the primary support system for the joint. In contrast, the direct anterior approach involves a smaller incision, no detaching of muscles or tendons, improved component positioning, equal leg lengths, decreased dislocation rates, and decreased patient hospital stays.

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