Can Hip Artery Embolization (HAE) Help Me Avoid Hip Replacement Surgery?

Are you facing the possibility of hip replacement surgery? There’s no denying that hip replacement can be a good solution for chronic hip pain from arthritis and degenerative conditions. However, if you’re concerned about the idea of major surgery, lengthy recovery, and permanent changes to your hip joint, you’re not alone.

Hip replacement surgery might not be your only option. Hip artery embolization (HAE) is a minimally invasive procedure that could relieve pain and help you avoid or delay the need for joint replacement surgery.

Our team at Centers for Pain Control & Vein Care offers HAE in Hobart, La Porte, Merrillville, Munster, and Valparaiso, Indiana, and here’s why this approach might be worth exploring before committing to joint replacement.

How HAE can preserve your natural hip joint

Hip replacement is a major surgical procedure that removes the damaged parts of your hip joint and replaces them with prosthetics. It can resolve chronic hip pain, but it requires permanent changes to your hip joint and a lengthy recovery period.

Hip artery embolization works on a completely different principle than surgery. Instead of replacing your joint, HAE preserves your natural hip while still addressing the inflammation that’s driving your pain.

HAE treats hip pain by reducing excessive blood flow that feeds inflamed tissues around your hip. These inflamed tissues often become hyperactive when you have chronic inflammation, because your body responds by growing additional blood vessels to supply the inflamed area.

These expanded blood vessels deliver more blood, oxygen, and inflammatory mediators to the tissue, perpetuating inflammation in a vicious cycle. Conservative treatments like medications and injections can address the symptoms, but don't break the cycle.

HAE interrupts the pain cycle at its source. Using imaging guidance, we deliver tiny particles through a catheter directly into the abnormal blood vessels feeding inflammation. The particles block excessive blood flow and reduce the inflammatory stimulus.

As inflammation decreases, your pain diminishes and your hip function improves, all while preserving your natural joint structure.

The advantages of HAE

Unlike hip replacement, HAE is truly minimally invasive. There are no incisions, no bone cutting, no joint resurfacing. You go home the same day. You return to light activities within days. You experience no permanent restrictions on your hip's movement or function.

Most importantly, you preserve your natural hip joint. If HAE doesn't provide adequate relief, you still have the option of hip replacement later. If it does work — and many patients experience significant pain relief — you can enjoy improved hip function for years to come.

Finding out if HAE is right for you

HAE can be a good option for people with moderate arthritis, bursitis, or other inflammatory conditions driving chronic hip pain. The best way to determine if it could help you avoid or delay hip replacement is through comprehensive evaluation.

At Centers for Pain Control & Vein Care, we evaluate your hip function, discuss your symptoms and treatment goals, and review your imaging studies to determine whether HAE could offer meaningful relief in your specific situation.

It’s important to recognize that HAE isn't appropriate for every patient with hip pain. If your hip has severe structural damage with bone-on-bone arthritis, if you have significant hip instability, or if imaging shows extensive joint destruction, hip replacement might ultimately be necessary.

If you’re living with chronic hip pain, hip replacement surgery isn’t necessarily inevitable. Contact us online or by phone today to learn more about HAE and find out if it could help you maintain your natural hip, achieve meaningful pain relief, and avoid major surgery.