Re: Hip replacement or Girdlestone?
I don't have personal experience with this, but my friends grandmother had a girdlestone after getting an infection after a total hip replacement. As I understand it they removed the head of the thigh bone and it was allowed to fuse with the hip socket. She can now walk, but it's with assistance. It was a long recovery. She cannot bend her leg at the hip at all. I have the impression that this procedure is done only when routine total hip replacement isn't considered a viable surgical option. If your mother is fairly active and is willing to walk and follow through with recommended rehab, then , for what it's worth, I'd vote for the THR.