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I'm thinking about having a hip joint replacement. My sister had one last year and it dislocated in the first two weeks. Will this happen to me, too?

Hip dislocation after joint replacement is a common problem. Unfortunately, doctors can’t predict who will dislocate.

There are some known risk factors for dislocation. These include change in muscle tone (increased or decreased) and absent or extremely weak hip abductor muscles. The hip abductors allow leg motion away from the midline of the body.

Increased muscle tone occurs with neurologic disorders such as cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis. A stroke can cause increased or decreased muscle tone. Most of these patients are not good candidates for a hip joint replacement.

Reference: 

Robert L. Barrack, MD. Dislocation After Total Hip Arthroplasty: Implant Design and Orientation. In Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. March/April 2003. Vol. 11. No. 2. Pp. 89-99.

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