Also called: Hip arthroplasty · Hip prosthesis
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Hip Replacement
Hip replacement is surgery for people with severe hip damage. The most common cause of damage is osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis causes pain, swelling, and reduced motion in your joints. It can interfere with your daily activities. If other treatments such as physical therapy, pain medicines, and exercise haven't helped, hip replacement surgery might be an option for you.
During a hip replacement operation, the surgeon removes damaged cartilage and bone from your hip joint and replaces them with new, man-made parts.
A hip replacement can:
- Relieve pain
- Help your hip joint work better
- Improve walking and other movements
The most common problem after surgery is hip dislocation. Because a man-made hip is smaller than the original joint, the ball can come out of its socket. The surgery can also cause blood clots and infections. With a hip replacement, you might need to avoid certain activities, such as jogging and high-impact sports.
It sits within Bones, Joints and Muscles and Surgery and Rehabilitation.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Hip Replacement
837 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Suzetrigine in Total Hip ArthroplastyHospital for Special Surgery, New York
- Using MRI To Detect Soft Tissue Reactions And Implant Integration As Related To Implant ModularityHospital for Special Surgery, New York
- A Randomized Trial to Assess Patient Quality of Life and Function After Alternative Surgeries for Pathologic Fractures of the FemurMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Comparing Dual-mobility Cups Versus Unipolar Cups for Unselected Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty by Direct Anterior ApproachElsan
- Virtual Reality for Intraoperative Anxiolysis and Postoperative Agitation in Elderely Hip Arthroplasty PatientsMenoufia University
- Prospective Catalystem CT-RSACanadian Radiostereometric Analysis Network
Research already completed
- The Fast-track Centre for Hip and Knee Replacement DatabaseRigshospitalet, Denmark
- Effect of Single vs Multiple Prophylactic Antibiotic Doses on PJI Following Primary THA in Patients With OASoren Overgaard
- Mini-dose Dexmedetomidine-Esketamine Infusion and Perioperative Sleep QualityPeking University First Hospital
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Hip Replacement SurgeryNational Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
- Preparing for and Recovering After Hip or Knee Replacement SurgeryAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- Total Hip ReplacementAmerican Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Living With
- Hip Rehabilitation ExercisesAmerican Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Related Issues
- Deep Vein ThrombosisAmerican Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
- Fracture after Total Hip ReplacementAmerican Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: ArthroplastyNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Hip ReplacementNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Hip Replacement, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.