A posterior retractor is provided, including a handle section and, a retraction section having an anchoring element. The handle section has a proximal region, a mid-region, and a distal region. And, the length of the handle section can be sufficient to position a hand-held portion of the proximal region of the handle section outside of a surgical site during use of the posterior retractor in a hip arthroplasty procedure. A use of the posterior retractor in a hip arthroplasty procedure is described.
