Some patients in need of a hip replacement will ask me if they are candidates for a partial rather than a total hip replacement because it sounds “less invasive.” Unlike the knee (which has three distinct compartments and when one wears out there’s a good chance that only that compartment needs to be replaced), the hip is a single ball (femoral head) and joint socket (acetabulum) and a partial hip replacement often isn’t the optimum choice.

In my last Q&A blog post, I shared some of the most common reader questions about knee replacement surgery. Again, I will use a Q&A format to share some of the most-frequently asked questions and concerns relating to a hip dislocation or hip subluxation, a condition in which the hip joint is partially, but not fully, dislocated.

At The Leone Center for Orthopedic Care at Holy Cross Hospital, we see and treat people who have developed problems associated with their hips or knees.

In this article I will discuss the patient who has significant disability from a hip or knee, but whose workup either is not definitive or doesn’t appear “severe enough” to warrant joint replacement.