All About Hip Resurfacing b...

Hip resurfacing is not a new concept. Older, less successful versions of hip resurfacing came and went between the 1930s and 1980s, which included materials such as glass, plastic and stainless steel. These implants eventually failed under normal activity requirements. Advances in metallurgy and refinements in surgical technique have brought resurfacing back to the foreground of hip surgery.

Today, total hip replacement remains the gold standard, especially for patients over the age of 60 or 65 with severe, debilitating arthritis of the hip. However, for the younger and more active hip arthritis patient, the long-term success of THR remains a concern. Scandinavian hip registries (the U.S. does not yet have one) have shown that active total hip replacement patients under the age of 55 have a 15% to 20% chance of requiring a re-operation within 10 years.

As a 40 or 50 year old with severe hip pain, arriving at surgical intervention as your last resort, which option do you choose? As with most things, there are pros and cons to each.

The benefit of hip resurfacing is suggested by its name. The top of the thigh bone is preserved by reshaping and capping with metal (Figure 1) instead of replaced, as is the case with traditional hip replacements with a metal spike driven down the inside of the thigh bone ...

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