The issuance of a hip recall for alleged defective hip implants from DePuy Orthopaedic's ASR XL Acetabular Hip System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System led to an estimated 1,000 DePuy hip replacement lawsuits filed by afflicted individuals. But a hip replacement surgery has been found to be quite effective in most patients and they actually reported that they experienced improvement after the surgery.

A hip replacement surgery is an invasive type of major orthopaedic operation implemented by a surgeon who specializes in bone disorders. This can be done as a total replacement or a partial replacement wherein impaired parts of the hip bone or hip joint is replaced by an artificial hip implant. Irreversible damage to the acetabulum and femoral bones seen in osteoarthritis is usually treated with total hip replacement surgery.

On the other hand, a joint replacement orthopaedic surgery which is a type of partial hip replacement surgery is done primarily to treat pain from the inflammatory effects of arthritis and this is also conducted as a supplementary treatment for hip fracture to fix some hip joint injury. There are various techniques used in a hip replacement procedure.

The "techniques" mentioned here involves the different sites of incision made by the surgeon to the gluteus medius (a section of muscle found on our buttocks) upon the time of the operation. The different techniques or approaches in a hip replacement surgery are:

•     Posterior approach: the incision is made at the back part of the buttocks and allows easy access to the acetabulum and femoral bone; this is also known as Moore or Southern approach.
•     Lateral approach: which is also known as Hardinge or Liverpool approach, is the commonly used approach in hip replacement surgery.
•    Antero-lateral approach: known also by the name Watson-Jones approach.
•    Anterior approach: pelvic fracture is indicated for a Smith-Petersen approach, another name of this technique.
•    Minimally-invasive approach: there is minimal damage to the muscles and tissues during surgery since small incision is made at various location. The disadvantage of this approach is there is minimum visualization of the operation area.

The surgeon determine what is the best approach to use in a hip replacement surgery. The doctor also advices what is the best hip implant to use. With the issuance of a DePuy hip recall, patients who are considering this type of surgery can be assured that the defective hip implants from DePuy are not in the market anymore. For more information about the recall and lawsuits, visit related sites available.