I have had two hip operations. One was ten years ago. I recovered well from it. I do not know what kind. It looks like a lateral or side one. I had a bad back and a second hip problem. I did the back first since the sciatic nerve was being destroy. They said the operation was risky. It came out ok. However, my hip became so bad, I needed hip replacement.. I had a posterior......my sister had had 2 anterior and swore by them. So I went to a well know doctor. I had horrible bone Spurs, bone on bone and bad arthritis. He only did posterior. He wanted to do a spinal but I refused having had surgery on the spine low. So I was put out. My problem was because I had had bad back surgery while doing the hip, he disturbed my sciatic nerve which was part of the back surgery. I was in terrible pain for weeks and he gave me steroid. Throughout the pain, the hip starting working well. What I found was that the latest incision was almost 50 percent longer and wider than first scar hip. He admitted he had to really move the nerve aside. My question is, if I had had an anterior hip replacement would he have had to bother this nerve?