Skip to content

Hip Pain

Increase font size  Decrease font size  Default font size 
You are here:    Home arrow Hip Surgery arrow What Should You Expect If You Have Hip Resurfacing?
What Should You Expect If You Have Hip Resurfacing?
Written by Steve Robinson   
resurfacing surgery When you have hip problems you will have all kinds of pain and your movements will be limited. You will more than likely have to have some kind of pain medication to help with the pain. You will need to see a doctor about the pain in your hip so they can decide the best way to get rid of it. You may need to have a hip replacement or hip resurfacing. The doctor will be able to tell you the best course to take after they have done some tests to figure out where the pain is located exactly.

With hip pain you will have problems walking, standing, sitting and even when you sleep. There used to be only way to get rid of the pain in hips. This was done by a total hip replacement or THR. What this meant was that a part of your femur bone would be taken off and drilled so that a long stem ball replacement device could be pounded into what is left of the femur bone.

Now there is another way to help get rid of any pain in your hips. It is called hip resurfacing. The best thing about having hip resurfacing instead of the THR is that you will have no restrictions on your activities. There is a very good chance that there will be no dislocation.

When you are young and active but you have pain in your hips then you will need to talk to your doctor to see if you can have hip resurfacing instead of THR. You want to ask your doctor questions and do some research about hip resurfacing and hip replacement surgery. This way you will know which option will work for you and you and your doctor can decide the best course to take.

When you need to have hip resurfacing done you will want to know what you should expect. In other words, how is it done?


Hip resurfacing doesn’t require removing the ball of the hip or also known as the femoral head and replacing it with a metal ball. In resurfacing the damaged hip ball will be reshaped and capped with a metal prosthesis. The use of a bigger ball will help to reduce the risk of dislocation. Also the damaged hip socket will have a metal prosthesis fitted to it which is similar in what they do in hip replacement.

Who is hip resurfacing for?

It is not recommended for anyone that has osteoporosis because of an increased risk of fracture to your femur bone. There is some concern about the metal parts that are used in the resurfacing of the hip rubbing together and producing very small metal particles that will get into your blood stream. It is unknown if there is any effect because of the metal particles. Also the metal particles will be removed from your body through your kidneys. So it is not recommended that anyone with impaired kidney function or diabetes have the resurfacing done.

Before the potential risks and benefits of hip resurfacing can be evaluated it will take long term research to figure this out. There have been some studies that have raised concerns about there being a higher failure rate with hip resurfacing which could require more surgery. You need to make sure that you check out everything you can about this surgery before you decide to have it done and talk to your doctor. You need to bring up any concerns to your doctor. They can help you decide what to do. The more information you have the easier your decision will be to make.
 
Next >
[ Back ]