Your follow-up visits
A hip replacement is followed up over the short and the long term. Here is what each visit checks, and why the later ones still matter years down the line.
When you will be seen
The exact timing varies, but most follow-up runs along these lines. Your team will give you your own dates.
Wound check
A look at how the wound is healing, and a chance to answer early questions. Stitches or clips, if any, are dealt with here.
Review and X-ray
An X-ray confirms the implants are well seated, and Dr. Khoshbin checks your movement and progress. Many restrictions ease at this visit, and it is a good time to plan your return to more activity.
Progress review
A check on how your strength and activity are coming along as you get back to more of normal life.
If needed
An extra review at this point if there is something to keep an eye on. Not everyone needs it.
Yearly review
A check that the hip is comfortable and working well now that you are fully back to normal life, with an X-ray to compare against later on.
Long-term clinical and radiographic review
Even a hip that feels perfect is worth a periodic check, with an X-ray, every one to two years. Implants can wear slowly over the years, and anything that needs attention is easier to manage when found early, before it causes symptoms.
Who you will see
Some visits are with Dr. Khoshbin and some are with the hip and knee Rapid Access Clinic's advanced practice clinicians, who work with him across triage, consultation, and follow-up. Either way, your progress and X-rays are reviewed with him.
Follow-up does not really end
A hip replacement is built to last many years, and most do. Over that time, the surfaces wear slowly, and occasionally the bone around an implant changes in ways that are silent at first. A periodic X-ray catches these quietly, so anything that needs attention can be planned calmly rather than dealt with as an emergency.
If you move away or change doctors, it is worth keeping a note of your implant details and arranging an occasional hip X-ray through your family doctor. If your hip ever becomes painful, swells, or feels unstable, have it checked sooner.
This page is general information, not personal medical advice. Your own follow-up schedule is set by your surgical team.