Hip replacement is a very common surgery and Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute, explains how it is performed and how the replacement works.
The doctor asserts this procedure guarantees that the area will not degenerate or hurt anymore.
Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute, explains what the joint replacement surgery is.
The specialist explains knee replacement is done with a metal implant. In hip replacement procedure, the physician uses metal, ceramic and plastic implant.
Arthritis is the main reason why people see the physician, says Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute.
Arthritis causes pain and may occur at different times, even at night.
The specialist considers that when the patient feels that he cannot longer do his daily activities, because of the pain in his joints, it is time to visit the doctor. Osteoarthritis is the most common reason to perform a joint replacement surgery according to Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative process which damages the joint. It can be knee or hip replacement and the doctor affirms it is a procedure fairly routine. Elbow is a complicated joint. Its surgery is less common and reserved for patients with very severe arthritis or bad injuries. The replacement surgery is done with metal implant.
Regarding shoulder surgery, Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute, says there are seven different types of shoulder replacement. Severe pain during activities, pain that prevent activities and pain at night that hinders sleeping are the main causes to see the doctor.
The treatment for hip and knee arthritis is a stepwise management, says Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute.
In order to improve the treatment, the doctor advises weight loss, adding anti-inflammatory medication, injections into the knee or hip and surgery for hip or knee replacement. What is osteoarthritis? Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, explains what this disease is about and shows with a 3D image how it affects the knee joint. Osteorarthritis is a very common disease. Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, talks about what causes it and how it affects the adult population. What are the options to treat health issues in the knee joint? Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, talks about treatment options, such as anti-inflammatories, easy lifestyle changes, and surgery. Minimizing stress on joints and making home modifications are some tips to keep your joints healthy. Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, explains these and other recommendations are important for the cartilage in your joint. When surgery is the treatment option? Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, explains what has to happen to the patient’s lifestyle to consider knee replacement surgery to treat knee arthritis. Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, explains the lifetime of the implants is about 30 years. He says there are hips that can fail and the reason is either the implants have worn out, or they have loosened, or there is some soft tissue inflammation around them.
He points out it takes an X-ray to know if the implant needs to be replaced. He recommends watching it regularly. Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, explains in a hip replacement surgery doctors replace the bearing surface and put in a titanium implant. They also replace the acetabulum with a titanium shell, or a titanium cup, and it gets placed into the natural cup in the hip.
“The beauty of this surgery is that it can be done relatively easy in most patients, you can get up and walk on it the same day, and some patients go home the same day believe it or not.” There are six signs that tell you may need a joint replacement: inability to complete daily tasks without help, pain keeps you up at night, pain is not relieved by non-surgical approaches, pain is affecting physical, emotional and mental health, severe side effects from medications, and tests show significant joint damage.
Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, says it is an elective surgery, nobody needs it to survive. “It’s not your heart, it’s not your lungs, it’s your hip. No one should ever feel pressured to have this surgery but what you should understand is that it’s an option, we can do it with great success.” Pain in joints that doesn’t go away, warmth and redness in joints, swollen joints, stiff joints, trouble moving joints, and grinding feeling of joint are some of the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, explains these symptoms will be present in advanced arthritis. He points out the pain from arthritis in the hip joint is almost always groin pain. Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, explains osteoarthritis is a natural wear and tear of cartilage in the hip or knee, or any joint that is a cartilage containing joint.
He says it is common, because there are many people in the world in their fifties and sixties and the population has gained weight. “Hips and knees are just simple machines. They’re moving parts and when you stress them they can wear out faster. The way we stress a joint is by force and cycles, so if you do a lot of things then there’s a higher risk of wearing out. But the real issue is the stress across that joint and that’s where the weight comes in.” Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, explains with wear and tear people start to get areas of injury in the knee cartilage that turn into areas of erosion where the bone underneath the cartilage is coming through, and the bone is not an ideal surface to walk on.
He also says the bone wears down and over time it fractures; a lot of the pain that is associated with advanced arthritis is due to injury to the subchondral bone and swelling in the joint as a result. Anti-inflammatory medicines, pain medicines, limiting activities that are painful, assistive devices for walking, diet, exercise, and physical therapy are some of treatment options for osteoarthritis besides surgery.
Dr. Carlos Alvarado, Orthopedic Surgeon with Miami Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, says doctors do not have a cure in the form of a pill or injection, but in form of surgery, which is the very last option. He points out that women that lost about 11 pounds had a significant decrease in the need for knee replacement, so weight loss can result in incredible lifestyle changes.
