Hip

At first glance, the hip joint might look like a relatively simple ball and socket joint made up of the ball of the thigh bone (femoral head), which fits into a socket (acetabulum) covered with articular cartilage, an articular lip of cartilage (labrum), and a central ligament. Both the head of the femur and the acetabulum are covered by cartilage, which cushions the hip joint. This ensures that cartilage glides against cartilage when a person is walking or running.

Considering the tremendous work load and range of motion of the hip joint, which must bear loads of up to 5 times the body weight, it is obvious that the hip joint must be quite complex.

When treating hip diseases or injuries, we focus on preservation of the natural joint. Once the problem has been identified, we try to treat it in a conservative fashion, including exercises to stabilize the joint, enhance the cartilage, and slow down joint and cartilage degeneration for as long as possible.

If an injury is present which will not heal itself, often resulting from mechanical damage to the hip, the condition should be treated before it reaches a stage where hip joint replacement is the only option left.

Should hip replacement surgery be required, we plan the least invasive, most effective surgical intervention to fit your case. Our experts regularly perform arthroscopic surgery of the hip, a minimally invasive procedure described in a separate chapter (Hip Arthroscopy). Minimal invasive surgery has many benefits. Among these are: shorter surgery time, less pain, less time in the hospital, and a faster recovery. Conventional open hip surgery is avoidable in most cases.

When extensive cartilage damage occurs, the bony structures of the joint constantly rub against each other, causing severe pain and stiffness. In advanced cases, we attempt to replace the joint sparing as much tissue as possible in order to restore the patient's ability to function as fully as possible. MicroHip is the minimally invasive technique of hip replacement used at OZM. Information on MicroHip can be found in a separate chapter.

Revision hip replacement surgery in patients whose total hip replacements have become loose and worn out naturally is also performed at OZM. In certain cases, it may be possible to perform the revision hip replacement surgery using our MicroHip technique — which has tremendous advantages. Even in patients with a history of multiple hip replacement surgeries, we can almost always find a way to implant a new and stable hip replacement that provides effective pain relief.

As a referral center for hip surgery, we see a number of special cases, including hip fusion (arthrodesis), congenital hip dysplasia and congenital hip dislocation, and are able to provide optimal solutions tailored to each individual patient.

Since we treat a large number of hip diseases and injuries each year, we also see, and have gained special expertise in a number of rare cases. For example, we have made several fused hips mobile again through a procedure called de-arthrodesis. Additionally, we also gladly facilitate contact with previous patients who had a similar condition and intervention for exchange of knowledge and experiences.

: Crossing the finishing line at the Jungfrau Marathon.