Status of MoM Hip Resurfacing and Cancer Risk

[Canadian-Ice]

A recent article with an interview with Derek McMinn and Ronan Tracey indicates that MoM  resurfacing is on the way out in general, for a variety of reasons. I have planned on getting one of these for a long time, but am worried that there could be any increased cancer risk to be concerned about. My understanding was that if placed correctly, cancer risk is no problem. Can anyone enlighten me as to the state of research and concern on this issue the past couple of years?

[jimbone]

Could you provide a link or direction to locate this article?

[Saf57]

It is likely true that MoM resurfacing is being performed by fewer surgeons than a decade ago, for various reasons(which I personally don't find persuasive), but it would shock me if McMinn and Tracey denigrated MoM resurfacing in any way. I too would like a link to the article.

[Joe_CA]

That's strange. Here is a recent link from two months ago from an interview with both surgeons discussing the future of hip resurfacing. They make no dire forecasts, nor discuss cancer risks associated with the surgery. Pat linked this very article on her main webpage. I too would find it odd these experienced surgeons would make such a claim. Perhaps there is a more recent article...

http://www.opnews.com/2019/01/future-of-hip-replacement-and-hip-resurfacing-article/15075?fbclid=IwAR04TuRFIii3ZWiA5XQHywuvuNofvO4xS3WdESiTp_wyXtFJLmgwCHf-76w

[Pat Walter]

I have the excerpts of the interview here    https://surfacehippy.info/derek-mcminn-and-ronan-treacy-give-update-on-hip-resurfacing-to-opn-2019/   along with the original url.


I did not see any indication that hip resurfacing was not still an excellent choice for good candidates.


McMinn said  "Despite the wonderful results of the BHR outlined above, for a variety of reasons MoM resurfacing is on its way out."  But there are other devices with ceramic and polyethylene being designed and tested.  Also the results of MOM resurfacing in the article are still excellent results  So I am not sure why he said that since he is still doing hip resurfacing along with many experienced surgeons.

[John C]

Here is my takeaway from the interviews, which I am sure are colored by my own opinions.
Mr McMinn referred to all the bad publicity regarding MoM joints, valid or not, and believed that even though most of this was related to other failed designs which are no longer on the market, the extent of the effect of this publicity makes it highly unlikely in his view that MoM joints will ever make a comeback in large numbers during his lifetime. He points out that this is despite the great results that he and other resurfacing specialist have achieved. I think that because of this, as well as his continued belief in resurfacing, he was motivated to design a resurfacing prosthesis that would avoid the MoM negative publicity out there, and thereby make it more acceptable to the general public, and once again more available to smaller women who are currently not able to get BHRs in their size.
Because of this, he has chosen to design a metal on poly resurfacing device. He points out that an issue that can occur with all hip replacements, is stress shielding of the acetabulum, due to the rigidity of all current acetabular cups, either metal or ceramic, and either resurfacing or THR. He feels that his new poly cup which does not have the metal backing used in current designs, may address this, but it is obviously far too early to tell how this design will work out long term. We know that the early experiments with poly cups in resurfacing back in the 1970s did not work out well at all, but as he points out, that was before the current era of cross-linking poly. This current experiment is very much an unknown long term.
Regarding the original post; nowhere have I ever heard or read Mr McMinn, or any other reputable source, support or provide evidence of an increased cancer risk associated with MoM resurfacing. In fact I believe that in the past he has quoted studies showing that cancer risks are actually lower with resurfacing than with a THR. I believe that this has been shown in more than one study. I don't have the time to re-research the topic right now, but I believe one large study was out of Norway or Sweden. It should be easy to find.
These are only my opinions based on my personal take from his interviews and presentations, so please take them with a very large grain of salt.

[Pat Walter]

Here are his main videos about hip resurfacing that I know about.  He addresses many aspects of hip resurfacing in the videos including problems and positive information.


https://surfacehippy.info/mr-mcminn-interview/