Dr Fred Nouh, an Australian trained orthopaedic surgeon based in Wollongong, says the surgery is cost effective and patients report high levels of satisfaction.

The common reasons for hip replacement are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and traumatic arthritis. These conditions can cause debilitating hip pain and stiffness that limit mobility and reduce patients’ quality of life.

The procedure replaces an arthritic hip joint with an artificial ball and socket joint.

“The design of the implants (prosthesis) has improved significantly over the last 10 years with the benefits of improving surgical outcomes and reducing complications such as prosthetic dislocation, blood loss as well as extending the life of the implant to 20 years or so,” Dr Nouh said.

“Another major improvement in hip replacement surgery is the surgical technique itself. In the traditional surgical method, the procedure is done through a 15 to 20cm incision on the side of the hip. Known as the posterior approach the surgeon cuts through major muscles and detaches tendons and soft tissues to expose the arthritic hip joint. 

“The diseased bone and cartilage are removed from the hip and a new ball and socket prosthesis is implanted in the thigh bone and the pelvic bone. This allows the ball and socket prosthesis to mimic the function of a natural hip joint. 

“Cutting through muscles with this approach may result in increased postoperative pain and blood loss and failure of these muscles to heal after surgery may increase the risk of hip dislocation which is a leading cause of hip replacement failure.”

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A new approach to hip replacement surgery which has been gaining popularity in recent years is the minimally invasive direct anterior approach.

Dr Nouh offers the minimally invasive direct anterior approach for hip replacement to all his patients. This surgical technique is different because the hip is approached through an incision from the front, and unlike the posterior approach, there is no need to cut through muscles and tendons. 

“The anterior approach is a true minimally invasive approach and the operation can be done through an incision as small as eight to 10cm. More importantly, because it is an intermuscular approach where the hip joint is approached by separating the muscle through their natural anatomical plane instead of cutting through them, patients experience less pain post-operatively and have a faster functional recovery in the first few weeks after surgery,” Dr Nouh said.

“Other benefits of this approach include less blood loss and a reduced risk of prosthetic dislocation which as mentioned earlier is a leading cause of hip replacement failure.”​

Dr Fred Nouh specialises in hip and knee surgery. His main interest is hip and knee replacement surgery as well as sports injuries to the knee.

He completed his orthopaedic training in Sydney in 2009 and has been servicing the Illawarra community for over eight years. 

He has admitting rights at Wollongong Public and Wollongong Private hospitals.

Further information can be found through Dr Nouh’s website at primaryorthopaedics.com.au or to make an appointment please phone 1300 20 80 80.

The office is located at Suite 5b Illawarra Medical Specialists, 341-349 Crown Street, Wollongong.