Hip replacement expectations met?

The expectations of patients undergoing hip replacement operations is dependent on how impaired they are at the time of surgery, new research has found.

A study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery monitored the fulfilment of patient expectations four years after they underwent hip replacement surgery.

The report's authors claim fulfilment of such expectations is an "important outcome" of joint replacement procedures and measures both physical and psychological prospects.

Some 405 patients were interviewed, with 43 per cent having all their expectations fulfilled.

Those without a post-operative limp as a result of the hip replacement therapy and also "better pre-operative and post-operative Lower Limb Core scores" were found to have had a greater number of expectations satisfied.

"Not having a post-operative limp was independent of the post-operative Lower Limb Core score, indicating that the impact of a limp is greater than its manifestation as a physical disability," wrote the researchers.

"Better pre-operative status also was an independent predictor, indicating that patient expectations are more likely to be fulfilled if the patient is not the most severely impaired at the time of surgery."

Recent research in the British Journal of Sports Medicine claimed that Hip Dysfunction and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores are the best methods to evaluate the need for treatments such as hip replacement surgery in patients with osteoarthritis.

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