What if the hip resurfacing wears out?
The hip resurfacing wears out usually because the femoral cap becomes loose from underlying bone. If this happens and the person is symptomatic then the metal socket is left alone because this is usually well fixed. The loose cap is revised to a traditional hip replacement with a metal pin into the thighbone and a large metal ball to match the socket and the patient ends up having a traditional hip replacement with metal-on-metal bearing.
