Suggest Treatment For Loosening Of Prosthesis In A Replaced Hip

Posted on Tue, 25 Mar 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 25 Mar 2014 Answered on

Sat, 19 Apr 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I have a question about my wife's hip. She has had several hip replacement surgeries; and is now facing the possibility of another one. The diagnosis, based on an x ray and a bone scan, was that "something was loosening" in her left hip replacement. Based on this information, is there any possible non-invasive treatment to correct this loosening, short of surgery?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: Surgery is necessary. Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for posting your query. The loosening of prosthesis in a replaced hip causes an instability of the joint leading to a chronic pain and disturbance in gait. It happens due to resorption of bone around the implant. The loosened prosthesis can only be surgically corrected. Any external manipulation cannot correct the alignment. Your orthopedician has advised you correctly for a surgical correction. I hope this answers your query. In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out. Wishing you good health. Regards. Dr. Praveen Tayal. For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar