What is hip resurfacing arthroplasty?
With a traditional total hip replacement, the surgeon removes the entire ball and the top 3- to 4-inches of the thigh bone. The surgeon will also remove the bone inside the canal of an additional 6- to 8-inches of upper thigh bone. This is to make room for the artificial stem. With a hip resurfacing replacement, only the cartilage surface is removed, sparing much more of the bone. Surgeons remove the least possible amount of bone, then reshape the ball and socket. Resurfacing is analogous to re-treading a car tire instead of replacing the entire wheel and tire. The new ball is larger than that used in a traditional total hip replacement and more closely matches the natural joint. This results in a greater range of movement. There are two kinds of hip resurfacing: partial or total. Partial resurfacing replaces part of the ball only. Total resurfacing replaces parts of both the ball and the socket. Preserving bone is most attractive to young, active patients who are likely to outlive the
