The objective of this research was to understand the feelings and changes experienced by patients who underwent primary total hip arthroplasty. It is an exploratory study with a qualitative approach. For the selection of the study population, a preliminary survey was conducted in the technical informatics core of all patients who underwent a primary total hip arthroplasty (PTHA) due to osteoarticular fractures of the hip and femoral neck, from January of 2007 to December of 2008; and who have been and /or were followed up at the ambulatory clinic during the same period, totaling 36 patients. Data collection occurred from January of 2009 to June of 2009. The interviews were audio recorded, using a semi-structured guide, and applying the criteria of intentional sampling for the selection of interviewees, suspending it when no more new information was contributed (saturation technique). Thus, it reached 14 respondents. The data were submitted to a content analysis technique proposed by Bardin, resulting in two categories: "fear of losing the leg after surgery, or of having a prosthesis rejection and subsequent falls" and "dependence for care". Regarding the first category, individuals reported their fear of losing physical mobility, locomotion and experiencing subsequent falls; regarding the second category, the concern of becoming incapable was highlighted. The study results demonstrated that such feelings could be alleviated if these patients were better oriented in the pre- and post-operative periods, and if nursing professionals were attentive to the feelings mentioned.