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…Broome, who’s done the anterior procedure nearly 1,500 times, says it allows for a smaller incision, about 4 inches long. “Traditionally, there’s a big incision, maybe 6 inches to a foot long, on the side of the hip with the posterior method,” Broome adds. “And when you open the skin, the glutes are in the way, and we need to split them apart to reach the socket.”

While healing, some posterior-method patients can’t cross their legs or bend them past 90 degrees for a few months. He notes that the posterior method has been popular since the 1960s and is quite effective.

The anterior approach appeared in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Broome says, and lets a surgeon go through two smaller, V-shaped muscles, which are easier to spread to expose the hip joint. The anterior method also lets patients lie flat on their backs for the whole procedure – a strong selling point to Lambeth. Posterior work requires that patients lie on their side…

…“The big difference with the anterior method,” Broome says, “is that patients can get up and walk quicker and can leave the hospital quicker. There’s much quicker recovery.”

Broome’s hip-replacement patients have ranged in age from an 18-year-old with a congenital hip condition to a 101-year-old. “These new parts we put in the hip socket can last 30-plus years,” Broome adds. “Hip replacement is constantly getting better.”