Pregnancy and childbirth can occur successfully in patients who have a total hip replacement, according to two recent studies.
Pregnancy and childbirth not detrimental after total hip replacement, need for future revision not significantly affected
http://www6.aaos.org/pemr/press_release.cfm?PRNumber=100A 2003 AAOS press release reports on a retrospective review of the Rochester, Minn. Mayo Clinic total joint registry conducted to identify all female patients between the ages of 18 and 45 who had undergone a primary total hip arthroplasty between 1975 and 1995. “The qualifying group was comprised of 343 females with the mean age of 35 years. Out of that group, 627 pregnancies occurred in 228 patients. The study found that vaginal delivery is possible in the majority of patients with a total hip arthroplasty. A small number of women experience increased hip pain during pregnancy and an even smaller number of those women's pain continues after delivery. Once patient age at the time of arthroplasty is factored in, association between pregnancy/childbirth and revision rates is not statistically significant.”
Pregnancy after total hip arthroplasty
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11679598&dopt=AbstractIn this study with a very small sample, five women completed a total of six successful pregnancies. “Three children were delivered vaginally and three, by cesarean section. There were no complications related to the total hip arthroplasty after delivery. The overall result, function, and radiographic appearance after the total hip arthroplasty was not adversely affected by pregnancy in this small group of patients. It appears that successful pregnancy and normal vaginal delivery can occur safely after total hip arthroplasty.”
Dr. Swanson has an extensive program in place for patients who travel to receive a mini-incision hip replacement. Patients generally stay in Las Vegas for 7-10 days post-op and then return home. Dr. Swanson has a young patient who traveled from Alaska to take advantage of Dr. Swanson's expertise with young patients. After her hip replacement she went on to have two lovely, healthy children without any complications during pregnancy or delivery. You can read her story at
http://www.minitotalhip.com/webpages/Kathy.htm If you would like to speak to Kathy personally about her experience with pregnancy after hip replacement, you can write to her at jkswartz@99737.com .
Best Wishes,
Pauline