Can Overweight People Have Hip Replacement Surgery?
Obesity is a major health concern among many teenagers, young adults and even senior citizens. The condition of excess fat doesn’t exist in isolation. Instead, being fat or obese is often accompanied by comorbidities.
Many people struggle with excruciating hip pain along with being obese. This makes it hard for them to lead an active lifestyle. Walking becomes challenging to almost difficult. It makes doing regular activities difficult. The overall health also gets impacted negatively.
Such debilitating hip pain requires hip replacement surgery. However, obesity and other accompanying health issues might make the surgery challenging.
Obesity & Its Complications
Being fat or carrying more weight than normal is a major health problem for many. There are BMI cutoffs to classify people and exactly define when a person is labelled as overweight, obese or so. Consider the following BMI classifications used by the World Health Organisation or WHO.
| BMI (Body Mass Index) Ranges | World Health Organisation (WHO) Classification |
| Below 18.5 | Underweight |
| 18.5 to 24.9 | Normal Weight |
| 25 to 29.9 | Overweight |
| 30 to 34.9 | Class 1 Obesity |
| 35 to 39.9 | Class 2 Obesity |
| 40 to above | Class 3 Obesity |
The higher the person carries fat, the more complications there are. In other words, a higher BMI number is associated with the presence of a higher number of complications to handle before, during and after surgeries such as hip replacements, knee replacements, etc.
Also Read: Hip Tuberculosis: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment
Furthermore, often obese patients also suffer from other conditions at the same time such as listed below.
- High Blood Pressure (or Hypertension)
- High Cholesterol
- Stroke
- Kidney Disease
- Nerve Damage
- Heart Disease
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Breathing Problems such as Asthma & Sleep apnea
- Gallstones & Gallbladder Problems
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Fatty Liver Diseases
- Gout
Obesity is a chronic health condition that affects major organ systems adversely over time. As a result, it is one of the major risk factors for a short lifespan.
When Do You Need Hip Replacement Surgery?
Hip replacement surgery is needed when the hip joint has become completely damaged and dysfunctional. As a result, the affected person cannot lead a normal life. Walking becomes difficult or even almost impossible.
Is Hip Replacement Surgery Safe for An Old Person
Life becomes inactive and even managing toilet and washroom needs independently seems impossible due to intense hip pain. Arthritis is majorly responsible for debilitating internal damage to weight-bearing joints though there are other causes as well, as briefly discussed below.
Osteoarthritis: In this condition, articular cartilage is completely degenerated (worn-out) and joint edges have developed tiny growths, called bone spurs. Joint becomes deformed internally, leading to stiffness, pain and inflammation.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: It is an autoimmune condition that can affect the hip joints along with others at the same time. The condition attacks smaller joints first like fingers, but other parts are at risk too during the progression of the disease. It requires timely management of widespread inflammation or the damage is irreversible and permanent.
Also Read: What Is Hip Osteoarthritis and It's Treatment?
Osteonecrosis or AVN: Lack of blood supply to the femoral head causes healthy tissues to die and collapse. This causes pain, structural problems and disability.
Deformities: Some people might have abnormally formed joints either congenitally or during growth years. Thus, the hip joint can also be deformed. Some people might have too big hip balls while others can suffer from too shallow sockets or any other possible ways an abnormality in the hip bones can occur.
Trauma: An intense injury to the hip can cause serious concerns such as dislocations, fractures and severe damage to surrounding soft tissues. This leads to intense hip damage and thus hip replacement surgery might be required to make the joint functional once again.
If you need this surgery, don’t delay. Total hip replacement surgery cost is very affordable and pocket-friendly in India as compared to many foreign countries.
Obesity & Hip Replacement Surgery
Although it varies from patient to patient, obesity might make postoperative rehabilitation complicated after hip replacement surgery due to a higher chance of
- Infections
- Blood clots
- Slow-healing wounds
- Dislocations
Furthermore, if an obese person is also suffering from other health issues at the same time (presence of comorbidity) such as diabetes, heart problems, thyroid disorders, high blood pressure, breathing problems, etc., it makes even approaching/planning the surgery challenging in itself in the first place.
With all these health-related concerns, the risk for heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, blood vessel damage and other such life-threatening events is always very high, which is an important consideration that a surgeon has to pay attention to before, during and after performing a joint (knee/hip) replacement surgery on an obese patient.
Also Read: Total Hip Replacement Surgery Recovery Time
As far as hip replacement surgery is concerned, it is a surgical intervention in which damaged parts of the hip are removed and then resurfaced with prostheses or implants that are typically made up of plastic and metal. Various problems that cause irreversible internal damage in the hip joint are already briefly discussed above.
All these components of the hip implant help regenerate the worn-out or damaged regions of the concerned joint so it can function properly and move in all its normal range painlessly.
If you have been recommended total hip replacement surgery in Delhi or anywhere, ensure you get the treatment on time. Delaying only makes the internal damage worse and consequently treatment expenses increase.