How Are Hip Arthroscopy and Hip Replacement Different?

If there’s confusion between hip arthroscopy and hip replacement, it likely stems from the similarity of their medical names. The team at 360 Orthopedics in Sarasota, Venice, and Lakewood Ranch, Florida, refers to hip replacement surgery as hip arthroplasty. 

Medical terminology

When it comes to the human body, it’s often helpful to group similar functions and tissues into groups for clear communication. Many of these groups use words derived from the Greek language. 

“Arthro” refers to any condition or illness involving a joint, a literal translation from Greek. Arthritis is an inflammatory disease affecting joints, creating a broad category of over 100 separate conditions. 

Therefore, we know that hip arthroscopy and hip arthroplasty each refer to something about the hip joint. Let’s look at the suffixes. 

The suffix “scopy” comes from the Greek root word “skopein,” which means “to see or examine”. Arthroscopy is a medical technique to look inside joints. 

“Plasty” derives from the Ancient Greek “plastos,” meaning “formed or molded.” We use it now to describe a surgical repair of body tissue. “Plastic” surgery has the same Greek origin. Once we know the meanings of both prefix and suffix, the differences between the two procedures become clearer. 

Arthroscopy

Arthroscopic procedures emerged as a way to visualize joints without the need for open surgery. Diagnosing knee problems before arthroscopy was often devastating due to the damage it caused to healthy tissue to find comparatively small amounts of damaged tissue. 

Hip arthroscopy has grown beyond strictly diagnostic abilities.  The minimally invasive video camera that visualizes the inside of the hip joint itself can now guide specially-designed surgical tools that also use keyhole incisions about one-half inch long. 

These tiny incisions minimize damage to healthy tissue, meaning less pain and faster healing. Common conditions treated with hip arthroscopy include: 

• Dysplasia: a shallow hip socket condition
• Femoroacetabular impingement: bone overgrowth that damages soft tissue
• Hip labrum tearing
• Joint infections
• Loose cartilage
• Snapping hip syndrome
• Synovitis: inflammation of the synovium, surrounding the hip joint
• Tendon ruptures  

Some of these arthroscopic procedures can delay or prevent the need for a hip replacement procedure. 

Arthroplasty

When sufficient damage occurs to the ball and/or socket of the hip, replacing these parts with prosthetic substitutes is often the fastest way back to pain-free mobility. Arthritis is a common cause of hip joint deterioration. 

The precise procedure you need depends on the condition of your hip joint. Typically, damaged bone and soft tissue are removed, and the femur and pelvis are prepared to accept the artificial ball and socket, respectively. 

Hip replacement is usually recommended when hip pain affects your life daily, creating stiffness and mobility restrictions. Pain medications and conservative treatments are no longer enough to control your symptoms. 

The team at 360 Orthopedics specializes in both arthroscopic techniques and hip joint replacements. Contact us at our most convenient office today to book your consultation by phone or online.