Having to deal with a degenerative hip condition is very painful and can significantly lower your function and quality of life. Playing golf, tennis, or even playing with your grandchildren becomes difficult and simple things just like tying your own shoes may seem like a daily battle. As technology evolves with medicine, new treatments and techniques have been developed to offer more reliable and less painful ways to give a definitive solution to this common health problem.
Hip osteoarthritis causes a loss of the cartilage responsible for “cushioning” the joints, resulting in progressive pain and stiffness. Severe hip osteoarthritis is common joint disorder for middle-aged patients and older, especially those who have previously been very active in high-impact activities or occupations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in the United States, 10% of men past 60 years old and 13% of women past 60 years old live with significant hip discomfort from osteoarthritis.
In the past, a total hip replacement was associated with a prolonged hospital stay and a slow, painful postoperative recovery. Today, thanks to the evolving technology and surgical techniques, total hip replacement has become one of the most successful surgeries in orthopedic surgery in terms of restoration of quality of life and rapid recovery.
Dr. Daniel Chan, an orthopedic trauma and hip / knee replacement specialist from Memorial Healthcare System Hospital in South Florida, specializes in the anterior approach for total hip replacement, which is a muscle-sparing, minimally-invasive method to treat severe hip osteoarthritis and other similar degenerative hip conditions. Coupled with advanced technology including computer navigation used during surgery, patients are able to achieve an accurate reconstruction of their anatomy and leg lengths. In addition, patients are able to recover much more quickly, without the need for any post-surgical restrictions. Many patients are able to be discharged home the same day of surgery after walking within hours of surgery.
“Patients undergoing anterior hip replacement are almost universally extremely satisfied with their clinical results and the speed with which they regained their quality of life”, Dr. Chan stated.
Memorial Healthcare System utilizes the latest technologies to facilitate anterior hip replacement surgery, and the expertise of its specialists was recently recognized by a major Florida insurance carrier with a “Center of Distinction” designation based on superior patient outcomes as well as cost-effectiveness.
About Memorial Global Health:
Memorial Global Health provides personalized coordination of specialized and emergency medical services for adult and pediatric international patients. Memorial Healthcare System offers premier clinical expertise throughout their six hospitals including Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, exclusively dedicated to the care of children. For more than 60 years, the physicians, nurses, specialists and healthcare professionals at Memorial have placed patients and their families at the heart of everything they do. The skilled team at Memorial offers patient-and-family-centered care by partnering with patients and their families.
About Memorial Healthcare System:
Memorial Healthcare System is one of the largest public healthcare systems in the United States and has served South Florida since 1953. Since, the South Florida community has benefited from compassionate healthcare delivered according to the service vision of Deeper Caring, Smarter Healthcare. Memorial has six hospitals and more than 150 employed physicians, who compose the Memorial Physician Group, a nursing home, home health services, research, and primary and urgent care centers and the South Broward Community Health Services. In 2013, Memorial Health Network led the way in putting the clinically integrated healthcare delivery model into action. By expanding on this new framework, Memorial will continue to improve the quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the services they proudly provide.
