Revision Surgery

Revision hip replacement surgery is a procedure to replace a worn out hip implant. Unfortunately, over time hip replacements wear out.  This requires the patient to undergo a revision hip replacement. These can wear out for a variety of reasons, the most common cause is called 'aseptic loosening.' Aseptic loosening occurs when the hip implant becomes loose within the bone and tends to be very painful.

Other causes of a hip replacement wearing out include infection, breaking of the prosthesis, breaking of the bone around the prosthesis, and other complications. Depending on the cause of the implant failure, treatment other than revision hip replacement may be needed. For example, in the case of infection, the hip replacement may need to be removed to treat the infection. In cases like this, sometimes, a temporary implantable device can be inserted to temporarily replace the joint prosthesis. These temporary devices contain antibiotic which is released over time into the surrounding tissues. This will help treat an infected joint replacement, before undergoing a revision hip replacement.