Hip replacement surgery is one of the most popular and most successful operations available in the US, with almost 200,000 being performed in this country each year. As we experience a growing elderly population, experts predict that number will continue to rise each year. Despite the high degree of success in hip replacement surgery, many orthopedic surgeons have spent recent years working on developing less invasive techniques for hip replacement.

The goal of minimally invasive hip replacement operations are shorter hospital stays, smaller surgical incisions, decreased muscle, less pain, less blood loss, lower risk of joint dislocation after surgery, faster healing time, and quicker return to normal daily activities. Minimally invasive procedures do not cut the major muscles in the buttocks and thigh that help stabilize the hop joint, as more invasive versions of the procedure do. Leaving these muscles intact is one of the major advantages for less invasive procedures, in terms of healing time. Anterior hip replacement is a popular minimally invasive procedure, as is the PATH technique, developed by Los Angeles orthopedist Dr. Brad L. Penenberg. Not only do these procedure offer quicker recovery times, they also allow surgeons to go back in and repair any problems that may occur during the hip replacement without more extensive surgery.

Pain management techniques and anasthetic use has also greatly improved in recent years, which, coupled with less invasive techniques, can make the hip replacement procedure dramatically different—and easier—than a decade or so ago.

Although the procedure itself and the ensuing recovery time take longer, some surgeons maintain that traditional hip replacement surgeries are still advantageous over less invasive techniques. Studies comparing the various approaches to hip replacement have had mixed results. No matter which type of operation a patient chooses, it is important to enter the procedure with the muscles that support the hip joint as strong as possible, and to follow up with proper physical therapy afterwards.