Total hip replacement is a very good operation to relieve pain from arthritis, and most patients get lifelong relief of pain. It is unusual to have pain after a hip replacement, but some causes are:
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Bursitis and scar tissue - pain felt on the outside of the hip rather than deep in the groin may be coming from the muscle tendon or the bursa (lining over the muscle) rather than the hip itself. This can usually be helped with stretching exercises or injection
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Infection - the infection rate is low (1%) but if the hip is infected it usually requires further surgery to clear the infection. There are many reasons for a hip replacement to be red or swollen, and only your surgeon will be able to tell you reliably whether there may be an infection
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Loosening or wear - with time a joint replacement may wear out or come loose. Your surgeon can to assess your hip together with an up-to-date Xray to determine if this has occurred
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Muscle Weakness - if the muscles around the hip are weak they get tired easily and become painful. Physiotherapy or exercises to strengthen them will help
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Problems with the initial operation - occasionally a problem such as fracture or implant malposition will occur in the initial hip operation. This is more likely to happen if the surgeon is inexperienced or does not perform many hip replacements
The Melbourne Hip and Knee surgeons have trained in world-renowned centres for hip replacement, and are experienced in assessing painful hip replacements and advising how to relieve the pain, including re-operating or revising the hip replacement if necessary.
03 9882 7753
