Patients with advanced hip arthritis may be good candidates for either a traditional total hip replacement or a hip resurfacing. Each of these is a type of hip surgery, but they are not the same in important ways.

What is Hip Resurfacing?

In a traditional total hip replacement, the head of the thigh bone, known as the femoral head, and the damaged socket are both taken out and replaced with metal, plastic, or ceramic parts. However, in hip resurfacing, the femoral head is not taken off. Instead, it is cut down and capped with a smooth piece of metal, and just like a traditional total hip replacement, the damaged bone and cartilage in the socket are taken out and replaced with a metal shell.

The Benefits of Hip Resurfacing

There are many advantages to hip resurfacing over a total hip replacement. These include, but are not limited to:

• Easy to replace – Because hip resurfacing takes less bone from the thigh bone than a traditional hip replacement, many surgeons think it is easier to replace failed implants after hip resurfacing
• Decreased risk of dislocation – In hip resurfacing, the size of the ball is bigger than in a traditional hip replacement, and it is closer to the size of the natural ball of your hip. Since this is the case, it is harder to dislocate
• Better walking pattern – Hip resurfacing makes people walk more naturally than traditional hip replacement. But these differences in how people walk are very small, and you need special tools to measure them. However, these differences matter when it comes to recovery and pain levels.