• Contact Us
The Leone Center for Orthopedic Care
  • Home
  • About
    • Vision
    • Meet Dr. Leone
    • State-of-the-Art Facility
    • Personalized Care
    • Testimonials
    • In the News
    • Plan Your Visit
  • Hip & Knee Surgery
    • Philosophy
    • Hip Surgery
    • Hip Conditions
    • Knee Surgery
    • Knee Conditions
  • What to Expect
    • Preparing for Surgery
    • Day of Surgery
    • Pain Management
    • Best Practices
    • Physical Activity Timeline
  • Patient Resources
    • Dr. Leone Blogs
      • English Blog
      • Spanish Blog
      • Portuguese Blog
    • Video Library
    • Ask Your Surgeon
    • Medicare & Insurance
    • Downloads
    • Patient Rights
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
You are here: Home1 / Headlines2 / Approaches3 / Anterior Approach for Hip Replacement: Advantages and Disadvantages

Anterior Approach for Hip Replacement: Advantages and Disadvantages

There are many well-established surgical approaches to the hip.  Two surgical approaches for total hip that have gained recent notoriety are the direct anterior approach and the minimally invasive or mini-posterior approach.

The direct anterior approach involves splitting the fibers between the two main muscles located at the front of the hip and working through a natural interval between the muscles.

Advantages of the Anterior Approach

  1. Because the anterior approach exploits a natural interval between muscles, it is hoped it will result in a quicker recovery.  This has not been shown to be true through scientific study.  Some studies have shown a short term benefit which disappears after the initial healing period.
  2. Some tout the Anterior approach is more minimally invasive than other approaches, but honestly, the definition of minimally invasive is not clear or agreed upon.  It is not related to the length of the incision, which is about the same for both approaches.
  3. The hip dislocation rate may be lower than the classic posterior approach due to the preservation of the muscles on the top and outside of the hip.
  4. The hip socket exposure is straight forward.

Disadvantages of the Anterior Approach

  1. The Anterior Approach has the highest incidence of nerve injury, with loss of sensation to the top and outside of the thigh most common.
  2. There is an increased risk of the femur breaking or fracturing due to increased difficulty in exposing and visualizing the femur during reconstruction.
  3. If a fracture does occur, it is more difficult for the surgeon to expose and repair it.  Sometimes it is necessary to add an additional approach requiring an additional incision.
  4. Because femoral exposure is more difficult, frequently the femoral stem is not implanted down the middle of the femoral canal. This can result with the end of the hip stem pushing against the inside of the femoral cortex and cause pain.
  5. A number of articles have reported an increased incidence of infection and wound problems.

Since 2020 I am doing the SPAIRE Technique with a mini posterior approach. I believe this is the best of both worlds. There are no post-operative hip precautions or restrictions and it enjoys the lower complication rate of a classic posterior approach. Click here to read about the SPAIRE Technique – The most muscle-sparing and minimally invasive hip approach with no hip precautions. 

We thank you for your readership. If you would like a personal consultation, please contact our office at 954-489-4575 or by email at LeoneCenter@Holy-cross.com.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
  • Link to Instagram
https://holycrossleonecenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Screen-Shot-2018-12-10-at-4.21.08-PM.png 415 530 Joseph Corsino https://holycrossleonecenter.com///wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Leone-Center-Logo@2x.png Joseph Corsino2010-09-05 19:36:342022-04-21 17:38:53Anterior Approach for Hip Replacement: Advantages and Disadvantages
You might also like
sexual activities After hip or knee replacement when can I shower, drive, return to work, and have sex?
Prime Magazine: In the Moment With Dr. Leone
Choosing Your Hip Surgeon is What Matters Most, Not Anterior vs. Posterior
Pseudotumors in total hip replacement patients due to metal ion levels
Poor Results after Hip Fracture Surgery Could Mean Infection
Thrive Magazine “For Hip & Knee Surgery, Smart Pain Management Can Vastly Improve Results” Fall, 2018
3 replies
  1. marion cerrato
    marion cerrato says:
    October 8, 2014 at 11:48 pm

    Dear Dr. Leone: I am going to have posterior hip replacement surgery in January. I am a belly dancer and also do weightlifting. As a belly dancer I use my hips quite a bit, but the whole body is used. My doctor said I wont be able to squat or deadlift after the surgery. He also told me I had the option of having anterior. So he gave me the names of two other surgeons. I am 77 yrs. old, but if I can ‘t dance, I will be very unhappy. He also said quicker recovery with anterior has not been proven. I am very active and don’t feel my age. I am having a problem making a decision. I really like my doctor who does posterior. Thank you, Marion Cerrato

    • holycrossleonecenter
      holycrossleonecenter says:
      October 17, 2014 at 11:22 am

      Dear Ms. Cerrato,

      Consistently, my best results have been with a mini posterior approach. The anterior approach has the initial advantage of being more stable posteriorly. That said, once the soft tissues around the new prosthetic hip heal, whether the hip was implanted though an anterior or posterior approach, it is stable. Also, with modern prosthetics, an excellent soft tissue closure and optimal component positioning, the risk of dislocation with either approach is very small.

      Although this healing process is progressive, I advise patients to avoid certain positions for the first several months. Most of my patients return to whatever activities that they want to after that period, although I still advise against repetitive running for exercise (some of my patients still do) or extreme limb position like one occasionally sees with yoga (unfortunately some still do this as well). Returning to belly dancing after the recommended healing time sounds fine.

      I wish you the best.

      Dr. William A. Leone

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. Direct Anterior Approach and Minimally Invasive Posterior Approach - Hip Replacement Experience says:
    March 7, 2016 at 9:27 pm

    […] The Leone Center for Orthopedic Care: Anterior Approach for Hip Replacement: Advantages and Disadvantages – […]

Comments are closed.

Make an Appointment

Categories

  • Approaches
  • Awards
  • Best Practices
  • Cadera
  • Complications
  • Concierge
  • Hip Conditions
  • Hip Surgery
  • joelho
  • Knee Conditions
  • Knee Surgery
  • Most Shared
  • News
  • Pain Management
  • Patient Concerns
  • Philosophy
  • Procedures
  • Rodilla
  • Surgical Techniques
  • Technologies
  • Uncategorized

Archives

ABOUT

Hip & Knee Surgery
What to Expect
Patient Resources
Blog
Testimonials
Contact Us

TOPICS

Approaches
Complications
Pain Management
Patient Concerns

Procedures
Surgical Techniques
Technologies

My Certified Orthopedic Surgeon
Leone Center Awards

The Leone Center
for Orthopedic Care

1000 NE 56th Street,
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334
Get Directions

Phone: 954-489-4575
Fax: 954-489-4584
Email us

© Copyright 2018 - 2023 The Leone Center for Orthopedic Care
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
There is a New Solution for Two Common Hip Replacement Surgery Complication...Choosing Your Hip Surgeon is What Matters Most, Not Anterior vs. Posterior
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy Policy
Accept settingsHide notification only