Rush University Medical Center study finds more complications in women and in males over the age of 55

Seniors with osteoarthritis who undergo total hip replacement are twice as likely as those who do not to show improvements in physical functioning and increased ability to care for themselves, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

Hip and knee replacement surgery patients – who are often elderly – are at increased risk of developing potentially life-threatening thrombosis, or blood clots.

Along with age and injuries, obesity is a leading risk factor for osteoarthritis (OA), a painful and disabling joint disease. While excessive weight can aggravate the toll on almost any joint, obesity has been associated with a higher prevalence of hip OA and an increase in total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Delegates at the British Society for Computer Aided Orthopaedic Surgery Conference will hear that results from a pilot study saw graduates 95 per cent more confident using this robotic technique than when using conventional surgical methods in training.

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) surgeons have performed the first total hip replacement using a joint socket lined with a novel material invented at the MGH.

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are developing state-of-the-art measuring techniques, similar to those used in making aerospace components fit together precisely, that soon could improve success rates for hip replacement surgery.