Hip Resurfacing
Hip Joint Resurfacing is an attractive concept because it preserves rather than removes the femoral head and neck. With a more natural arthroplasty the hip feels normal and has a greater range of motion. Because the femur is not decapitated, hip resurfacing is less truly less invasive (rather than just small incision) surgery. There is less pain and blood loss from hip resurfacing compared to hip replacement with an earlier return of function. There are fewer complications such as dislocation and if infection occurs it is more easily treated because of the smaller amount of implanted material.
Hip joint resurfacing is not a new concept but the technique has improved. The implant used today is a very durable metal-on-metal rather than a metal-on-plastic (Fig 1). In a series of 133 metal-on-metal resurfacing procedures we performed using a short stem on the femur there was no failures at a minimum of 20 years follow-up.
	Hip resurfacing requires excellent supporting bone and is more useful in young patients (Fig 7). Young patients fearing a possible difficult future revision operation and desiring greater freedom of movement have increasingly requested hip resurfacing. Because of the durability of the prosthesis and security of the joint normal activities including sports are allowed. The patient satisfaction rate has been 96% and 75% of patients described themselves as very active following surgery.
The procedure is technically demanding and should only be carried out in centers such as ours where significant interest and experience exists.
Article written by James W. Pritchett MD for mor info go to hipresurfacing.com