Advice! OPS Hip Replacement Surgery

BlueEyedMumma

Hi everyone,

I am new here! At the young old age of 27 yo I have been told that I need a replacement.

Bit of background as this wasn't entirely unexpected. I was born with something similar to hip dysplasia (but I had no socket for the joint to go in) so I had corrective surgeries at 2 years old, 4 years old and most recently an osteotomy at 14. I guess I am lucky in a sense as I am conditioned to the pain now and manage well enough day to day by taking amitriptyline at night but my recent scans show my ball is really flattened and socket shallow (which explains my limp!). My consultant recommends surgery within 6 months but wants to do an OPS replacement.

I have never heard of this type of replacement and involves 3d printing and movement mapping (which I am especially nervous for as my rotation is poop). Has anyone had this type of replacement and can share the pro/cons? Also what are your experiences with healing afterward? As a mumma I am worried about being in hospital for long periods of time.

Thanks for your time :)

Poppyjane

Hello @BlueEyedMumma , welcome to the online community,

You have a history of hip surgery and have recently been advised to have an OPS replacement. You are hoping that some of our members will be able to share their experiences of this type of operation with you. I have only found information on the more conventional hip replacement treatments on the Versus Arthritis website so have attached the NHS webpage which I hope will give you more detail.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/hipreplacement/whathappens/

I appreciate that your condition is different from Izzie's but as a young person who does not want to be defined as someone with a disease she has taken a positive stance and defined herself by her actions and career. I pick up from your post that you have a similar mindset and want to be defined as a mother so one of your concerns is how long you will be away from home.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2020/may/i-didn-t-want-to-be-seen-as-the-girl-with-a-disease/

We have an active group of young people who live with arthritis and you may want to link up with some of them or with other young mothers via the community.

So I hope that there are other members who either have experience of an OPS hip replacement or who want to share their experience of living with arthritis as a young mum. Do browse round the community there are lots of discussions and activities of interest for you to look at and we hope to hear from you again soon.

Take care

Poppyjane

stickywicket

Hi,

In my many years of arthritis I've never heard of this so I had a good internet search. All I can find is stuff put out by the manufacturers of the device plus invitations to a trial.

That's the bad bit. The good bit is that it seems to be merely an imaging device to enable the replacement to go in the best possible position which, I would imagine, would be a very good thing for you if your rotation is poor.

Hip replacements themselves are usually very successful ops. I've had two . And it sounds as if your past history does indicate a need so why not? All I'd caution is that (1)You're unlikely to be in hospital for 'long periods of time'. It's normally 2-3 days and (2) looking after a small child will be difficult for some time. Depending on the age of your little one(s) picking up and putting down might not be possible as one concern, after a THR, is dislocation until the muscles are all properly strengthened and supporting the new implant. So accept all help on offer.

The link that @Poppyjane has given you re replacement will presumably explain all this. In any case it would be explained before your op. My two were 10 and 7 when I had my first replacements (knees) and we all coped well. Mr SW had a rota of jobs pinned on the kitchen wall when I got home!

I'd check all your questions out with your surgeon who should be pleased to explain his new toy😊

RogerBill

Hi @BlueEyedMumma I've not had an Optimised Positioning System (OPS) hip replacement and nor do I have any medical training. However, last year I had a Mako robot assisted hip replacement and I spent 40+ years designing and developing computer aided design software for industrial applications.

Like OPS, Mako robot assisted hip replacement operations are planned using 3D models which are computer generated using data from a CT scan. The OPS system also uses X rays of the hip in different positions. The Mako system appears a little more limited as the data it uses is of the hip in just one position. The main benefit that seems to be attributed to the Mako system is that it helps the surgeon position the hip replacement more accurately and thus reduce the possibility of uneven leg lengths (the CT scan includes the knees so measurements can be taken from there).

My operation was successful but obviously I've no way of knowing of how it would have been if the Mako robot had not been used. However, providing the surgeon with much more information to enable more careful planning and analysis before the operation must surely be a benefit of systems like the OPS and Mako. I would imagine this would be especially the case with your particular hip whereas mine was a more "normal" case of bone on bone hip osteoarthritis.

Both OPS and Mako systems are simply technologies to ASSIST the surgeon and I expect the skill and experience of the surgeon would still be the most important factor in ensuring a successful outcome.

Just to repeat, please bear in mind that I've not had an OPS hip replacement and I do not have any medical training.