Home - Patient Education - Learn More - Hip Resurfacing Surgery
A painful hip can severely affect your ability to lead a full, active life. Over the last 25 years, major advancements in hip replacement have greatly improved the outcome of the surgery.
Hip resurfacing surgery is a type of hip replacement that replaces the arthritic surfaces of the joint but removes far less bone than the traditional total hip replacement. Because the hip resurfacing operation removes less bone, it may be preferable for younger patients that are expected to need a second, or revision, hip replacement surgery as they grow older and wear out the original artificial hip replacement.
Hip joint resurfacing has come under great scrutiny by the scientific community in the past year as the large metallic surfaces have been implicated in hypersensitivity problems, primarily among women. This problem has also been found in metal to metal total hip replacements as well and resulted in a dramatic decrease in the number of surgeons using this technique. For the most part, hip joint resurfacing is cautiously advised for males under the age of 50 years old and not at all for women of any age.
In hip joint resurfacing, surgeons may use the anterior approach from the front of the hip or the posterior approach from the back of the hip. The anterior approach requires a higher degree of skill and experience and provides you with the benefit of a faster hip resurfacing recovery. Although Dr. Zehr is one of Southwest Florida’s most experienced surgeons in the anterior approach to the hip joint, also known as the anterior supine intermuscular, or ASI, approach, he does not recommend hip joint resurfacing and prefers total hip replacement even in the younger patient.
