Basics about joint replacement

Basics about joint replacement surgery:

Patient Informatio

You planned with your surgeon a prosthetic surgery to restore the function of your painful joint. This is for you.

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Surgical approach during joint replacement

Implants are customized to your measurements (evaluated before and checked during your surgery)

Each implant move from its sterile protective envelope to its future seat in your body

Your surgeon needs to carry out the passage of the prosthesis

For this, it is necessary to create the surgical approach

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This include:

- skin incision

- division or section of musculo-ligamentous elements

- protecting the vascular-nervous elements

- opening and eventual resection of the articular capsule

The surgical approach will be presented to you by your surgeon during the preoperative consultation

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Risks and complications during joint replacement surgery

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Risk related to anesthesia

Inherent risk of any surgical procedure for an adverse event during anesthesia

Risk of occurrence evaluated before the operation with your specialists and some preoperative examinations

preventive measures may be necessary

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Risk related to any surgery:

Vascular injury: fortunately rare but still possible: it requires vascular surgical treatment

Post-operative infection: it can be observed from the first days after surgery until years later. Infections require different assessments and treatments depending on their stage, but there is often the need for a new surgical procedure.

This risk is evaluated around 1% in elective joint replacement surgery.

Lesion of a sensitive nerve branch, sometimes inherent to the surgery: the surgical approach is designed to minimize this risk.

Risk of motor neurological deficit (inability to perform some limb movements due to a neurological lesion) is rare but it is a troublesome complication whose recovery is slow and sometimes incomplete.

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Risk related to joint replacement surgery:

Bone fracture during the operation: it may require a complementary treatment and may late the return to activities

Wear of prosthetic parts

Loss of contact between them (case of dislocation, which requires urgent reduction by a specialist)

Loosening of the prosthesis from the bone walls

Surgical treatment is sometimes necessary for each of these complications

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Postoperative follow-up and expected results:

Help you get back to your daily activities as quickly as possible

The hospitalization will be as short as necessary to relieve postoperative pain, in accordance with your personal needs

Rehabilitation is considered the day of the intervention when medical conditions allow

The articular function is encouraged: automatic exercises with an arthro-motor, physiotherapy sessions to accompany your return to walking and plan your muscular reinforcement, self-reeducation exercises

The follow-up is closer initially, to ensure the achievement of the preoperative objectives, without complication and your full satisfaction. Then, follow-up is performed every year

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Joint replacement surgery objectives:

- return to painless and full daily activity

- ability to perform some physical and sport activities

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This objective will be discussed during the preoperative consultation, after your preoperative condition being assessed.

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