Looking for an alternative to hip replacement?

Preserve more of your natural bone with hip resurfacing

Want to get back to the gym, dancing, or the sports you love?

• Is arthritis hip pain keeping you on the sidelines?
• Want to get back to the gym, dancing, or the sports you love?
• Need a hip replacement, but don't want to give up
  your active lifestyle?
• Have good bone quality?

If so, bone-saving hip resurfacing surgery could be right for you.

What is hip resurfacing?

Hip resurfacing is a surgical procedure that relieves hip pain by reshaping the head of the thighbone or femur and “resurfacing” it with a metal cap—much like capping a tooth—rather than removing and replacing it as in hip replacement surgery.

“Hip resurfacing is relatively new in the United States,” says William Stanfield, MD. “It's been done in Europe for more than 10 years, and I've been doing it in my practice since 2007. Hip resurfacing allows younger patients to have a much more active lifestyle afterwards than hip replacement surgery.”

In hip resurfacing, a metal cup replaces the damaged surface of the hip socket without the use of bone cement for fixation. The resurfaced thighbone is almost identical to the size of the natural bone, resulting in a better fit inside the hip socket than in total hip replacement. This gives you greater stability and more-natural hip performance.

What are the benefits of hip resurfacing vs. hip replacement?

• Bone conservation. Hip resurfacing preserves more of the natural bone than hip replacement surgery, as the head of the thighbone is reshaped and resurfaced, not removed. Preserving more of your natural bone is also important if you need more hip surgery in the future.
• More freedom of movement. Hip resurfacing helps maintain your natural way of moving, so you can get back to the active lifestyle you enjoyed before you were sidelined by hip pain.
• Less chance of dislocation. The large diameter of the femoral (thighbone) head may reduce the risk of hip dislocation. A resurfaced hip joint performs more like a natural hip than a total hip replacement.

Who is a candidate for hip resurfacing?

Hip resurfacing might be right for you if:

• You are under age 65 and participate in sports and exercise
• You have good bone quality
• You suffer from osteoarthritis

Is hip resurfacing appropriate for both men and women?

Hip resurfacing is performed primarily on younger male arthritis patients. There are some unique problems that can develop after hip resurfacing. One possible complication is a stress fracture of the femoral neck, a flattened, pyramid-shaped bone projection connecting the head of the femur, or thighbone, with the femoral shaft.

Why are women generally not suitable candidates
for hip resurfacing?

Women tend to have a higher rate of osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become more fragile and more likely to break, and thus are at a higher risk for fracturing the femoral neck. Hip resurfacing is generally limited to younger males with strong bones to avoid the risk of hip fractures.

Who is not a candidate for hip resurfacing?

Hip resurfacing is not recommended if you are expected to grow taller after surgery, are a woman in child-bearing years or if you have:

• An active or suspected infection in or around the hip joint
• Poor bone quality that might not support the implant
• Multiple cysts
• Any known allergy to metal
• Extreme overweight
• A weak immune system due to disease or certain medications,
  such as corticosteroids
• Kidney failure

Call 440.329.2800 for an appointment today