What is minimally invasive hip replacement?

How do you perform a hip replacement to achieve a faster recovery?

Hugh: The most interesting thing about performing hip replacement surgery is how you can do it allowing patients to recover really quickly, with minimal trauma. And that centres around the surgical approach to the hip. It is so important - whether you can do the surgery without damaging the tissues. And that concept is broadly termed, minimally invasive surgery.

6 months after surgery with Hugh Apthorp, patients report 'Excellent' and 'Very Good' scores of 90%. The average for all other surgeons is 76.8%. Call 020 8064 0875 for more information.

What techniques result in less pain and trauma?

Hugh: So, you'll hear your surgeons talking about minimally invasive surgery - and this is opposed to the normal way hip replacements are done, when muscles are detached from the bone. If you can perform the surgery, without detaching the muscles, then you're going to recover more quickly - usually with less pain and less blood loss. Commonly, that's done through what's called an anterior approach.

What is an anterior approach and how is it performed?

Hugh: An anterior approach seeks to do the operation from the front of the hip. That can be quite difficult depending on the implant and also depending on the size and the shape of the patient - and it is slightly variable in its outcome. It can give very good results.

How have you improved on the anterior approach to hip replacement?

Hugh: I've found that in my hands, it was more consistent to use an approach which I've developed, called the Direct Superior Approach to the hip. This allows me to get down to the hip without damaging the muscles.

Essentially, I move the muscles aside, I detach one small muscle from the hip, which I can reattach later, and I can do the surgery very consistently, without damaging the muscles, allowing a very rapid rehabilitation.

How is the Direct Superior Approach helping you achieve such good results?

Hugh:

I've performed more than two and half thousand cases using that technique, with a very low complication rate. So, I'm very comfortable offering that to my patients, because I know in my hands, that's going to give them the results they want.

Mr Apthorp's revision rate (complications leading to futher surgery), is less than a quarter of the national average.

What the National Joint Registry patient reported outcome data reveals - based on 1732 of Mr Apthorp's patients.

In answer to a 6-months general health question: "Overall, how are your problems now, compared to before your operation?", 95% of Mr Apthorp's patients claim they are "much better", whereas all other total hip replacement surgeons achieve a mean score of 87% for the same measure.