Looking at Hip Replacement Doctors in Scottsdale?

CHOOSE GREATER PHOENIX ORTHOPEDICS For Your Hip

If you have ended up on this page, then there’s a good chance that you or someone you care about is experiencing ongoing pain in one or both hips. You may have already tried nonsurgical approaches to make the pain go away. Or, you may just be gathering information about your options, including hip surgery and hip replacement in Scottsdale.

Dr. Shane Martin, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, is a hip specialist and nationally recognized expert in robotic-assisted joint replacement. He has expertise in MAKOplasty robotic-assisted procedures and has trained surgeons nationally and internationally using this advanced method. His practice, Greater Phoenix Orthopedics, also offers rapid recovery programs to help you get back to a more active lifestyle after hip surgery.

Minimally Invasive

Quicker Recovery

Proven Results

Signs That You Might Need Hip Surgery

Naturally, you don’t want to undergo a hip replacement if it isn’t necessary. But if you’ve already tried other options without success, it just might be time to explore the possibility. There are several signs that suggest surgery may be your best solution, especially when more than one is present:

Chronic Pain

Do you have significant pain in your hip that persists even after you’ve rested, taken pain medication and/or tried other conservative methods (e.g., physical therapy or steroid injections) to alleviate it? Does the pain keep you from sleeping or wake you up in the middle of the night? Does it hurt when you walk or bend over? Do you limp or walk with a cane to help ease the pain in your hip? Relentless pain is one of the main reasons people choose to have hip surgery.

Trouble With Daily Tasks

Is it hard to get dressed or get up out of a chair because of your hip? Do you have difficulty taking the stairs? Problems getting in and out of a car? A “bad” hip can interfere with your ability to do all kinds of simple things throughout the day.

Limited Range of Motion

Does your hip feel stiff, particularly when you first get out of bed or after you’ve been sitting awhile? Are you unable to lift your leg as high as you normally would? Occasional stiffness in your hips may not warrant surgery, but if one hip feels stiff on a regular basis and you no longer have your normal range of motion — even after you’ve tried to “loosen up” your hip by walking around — then you may need a hip replacement.

Diagnostic Tests Show Damage

Before making a recommendation for hip surgery, your doctor will most likely order medical imaging, such as X-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or ultrasound. These tests can reveal injuries, disease and other types of abnormalities in your hip joint.

You Have Surgical Options

If you’ve done any research on hip surgery, then you may already know that there are different types of procedures. When possible, a minimally invasive surgical method should be performed instead of a traditional hip replacement because the patient is likely to have:

Sometimes the decision about which type of surgery will be done is based on factors such as the patient’s age, activity level, overall health and the shape and condition of the patient’s hip bone. In some cases, the type or style of implant to be used will be a deciding factor. It can also depend on the surgeon’s familiarity with the various options.

Dr. Martin offers two types of hip surgery in his Scottsdale office:

Total hip revision. This type of surgery is performed to repair or replace an artificial hip joint. Over time, infection or normal wear and tear can damage an implant — particularly older ones that were made entirely of metal. (Newer ones are made of a combination of metal, plastic and ceramic parts and can last 20 to 30 years.) When an artificial joint can no longer function as it should, part or all of it may need to be replaced.

In many cases, Dr. Martin can remove the old prosthesis and insert the new implant during the same operation. If there is infection in the hip, though, the replacement may involve two operations. During the first one, he will remove the old implant and insert an antibiotic spacer. When the infection is gone, he’ll perform a second operation to remove the spacer and insert the new prosthetic.

Anterior total hip replacement. With this type of surgery, Dr. Martin removes damaged bone and soft tissue in the hip joint and replaces each part of the ball-and-socket joint with an implant. The anterior approach simply means that he accesses the hip joint from the front instead of from the side (a lateral approach) or from the back (a posterior approach).

Dr. Martin’s use of MAKO robotic-assisted technology when performing anterior hip replacements makes the procedure less invasive than traditional surgical methods. Typically, the incision for a robotic-assisted total hip replacement is just 4 to 6 inches, whereas the incision for a traditional posterior approach can be 10 to 12 inches long.

MAKO Technology Means a Faster Recovery

As we just mentioned, MAKO robotic-assisted technology allows Dr. Martin to access the hip joint through a much smaller incision. Not only does MAKO technology make the overall procedure much more precise, but using an anterior approach rather than going in through the side of the thigh and buttocks also means fewer muscles must be cut.

The result is a shorter surgery, and a much shorter recovery period — on average, two to three weeks — versus six to eight or more with traditional types of hip replacement techniques.

Recovery times vary from patient to patient, but, generally speaking, MAKO technology cuts the time needed to recover after surgery by 50% or more. It virtually always results in less pain, as well.

What Kind of Recovery Timeline You Should Anticipate

In the days immediately after hip surgery, you can expect to have some pain and swelling. The level and duration will depend on your overall health and how active you are, how much you prepared before surgery, how well you adhere to your personalized recovery plan (including physical therapy) and other factors.

The surgical approach and technology Dr. Martin uses typically result in considerably less pain than patients have after traditional methods of hip surgery. You can also expect to be up walking around sooner (within 3 days) and working sooner (in 10-12 days if your job requires minimal activity). We’ll follow up with in-office assessments one week and two weeks after your surgery.

With medical advances like MAKO technology and minimally invasive anterior approaches, the prospect of having a hip replacement is far less daunting than it used to be.

So, if you’ve been putting up with significant pain in your hip that keeps you from going about your daily routine, schedule a consultation with Dr. Martin, the Scottsdale hip specialist at Greater Phoenix Orthopedics.