The three best hip replacement surgeons in Scottsdale, Arizona

There are dozens of doctors who perform hip replacement in Scottsdale, Arizona. Which is the best for you?

Finding the right person to perform the procedure is crucial. Fortunately, Scottsdale is home to experienced orthopedic surgeons who meet the Best Practice Health criteria for certification for total hip replacement. In this article we will review the qualities you need to look for in a hip replacement surgeon, as well as the top surgeons specializing in hip replacements in Scottsdale, Arizona. At the end, you will have all the information you need to choose the right one for you.

Top Rated Scottsdale, AZ Hip Replacement Surgeons: Experience is Key

When it comes to selecting the best hip replacement surgeon in Scottsdale, Arizona, there are several important factors to consider. First, experience is key. Total Hip Replacement is major surgery, and practice makes perfect.

Hip replacement surgery has a number of possible complications including infection, instability, loosening, mechanical implant failure, fracture, persistent pain, leg length discrepancy and, in the wrong hands, even death. These risks are why it’s important to find a higher volume surgeon with extensive experience.

Surgeons who do a larger number of hip replacements have half the complications. Most of us feel we can trust our doctors, but amazingly, 93% of hip replacement surgeons do not qualify as high volume.

Training

Experience is crucial to success, but it’s not everything. You also want a hip surgeon who has the right training. As a bare minimum, select an orthopedic surgeon who is board-certified and specializes in hip replacements. Board certification ensures that the surgeon has received the necessary education and training in their field. But not even board certification is enough.

The three Scottsdale surgeons we recommend have all completed a fellowship in joint replacement surgery.

That is an additional year of training after orthopedic residency focused entirely on hip and knee replacement. There isn’t any research definitively proving that fellowship training leads to better outcomes. But when you’re choosing between surgeons, the more specialized training, the better.

Find the Right Scottsdale Facility for You

So far, we have emphasized the surgeons; however, hip joint replacement surgery requires a quality team and facility behind the surgeon.

There are three hospitals in the Scottsdale area for hip replacement surgeries. Honorhealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center and Honorhealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center both report a large number of cases with an average rate of complications, but report only three out of five stars for patient ratings. O.A.S.I.S. Hospital not only reports a lower than average complication rate with a very high volume of surgeries, it got five stars for patient ratings.

Source: Find Healthcare Providers: Compare Care Near You | Medicare.

The best place to have a total hip replacement these days in not in a hospital, anyway, but rather an ambulatory surgery center. There are a number of robotic-equipped outpatient centers in Scottsdale to choose from.

Robotic Assisted Surgery

We talked about the surgeon, the team, and the facility. But you can’t forget about the surgery itself. Modern best practice for a total hip replacement surgery calls for robotic assistance, proven implants, and a minimally invasive approach.

Robotic assisted hip replacement surgery gained popularity in recent years because it is more accurate, reduces the risk of dislocation, and the computer helps your surgeon select the perfect implants to maximize your range of motion. Orthopedic surgeons who perform robotic surgery have access to real-time imaging and precise measurements, allowing for more accurate placement of the implant. Robotic surgery results in reduced complications, quicker recovery time for patients and, it’s too soon to tell, but hopefully better long-term outcomes.

Proven Implants

Can you imagine opening your mailbox one day and receiving a recall letter not for your car, but for your total hip? It happens.

That’s why you want your joint replacement to have an implant that has a proven track record of success and is determined by surgical registry data to have a low rate of complications. After all, the risk of hip your new hip needing to be replaced over 20 years is less than nine percent, and you deserve the best.

The American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) is an annual report released by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons that reviews data for all joint implants, including hip implants.

Minimally Invasive Surgery

The last thing to consider before choosing your orthopedic surgeon is their surgical technique. Legacy orthopedic surgeons operate from the back, called the posterior approach. While that surgery is easier to perform for the surgeon, it sacrifices muscle tissue that leads to a longer recovery, more pain, and permanent weakness of the hip joint.

Today, the best surgeons use a minimally invasive technique. There are three minimally invasive approaches. The anterior approach involves an incision in the front of your thigh. The lateral (side) approaches are the direct superior and superPATH.

The good news is that we have identified 3 orthopedic surgeons here in Scottsdale who meet all of these requirements. Drs. Dan Galat, Vishal Ganesh, and Brandon Gough are all Best Practice Certified to perform total hip replacement in Scottsdale.