Hip Resurfacing devices use a metal cap implanted over the femoral head and a metal cup is placed in the acetabulum to provide a bearing surface. The use of this type of hip device results in a metal on metal bearing and is an excellent choice for hip replacement. The hip resurfacing procedure is bone sparing since it does not require a portion of the femur to be cut off. In a hip resurfacing operation, the surgeon removes only the diseased surface of the head of the femur. A spherical metal cap is fitted over the femoral head. The cap may be placed with cement or be cementless. Different surgeons use different techniques. The hip socket or acetabulum is lined with a thin spherical metal cup and it is not cemented.
The Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Device (BHR) was the first device to be FDA Approved in 2006. Several other types of devices like the Biomet, Wright Conserve Plus, Synovo Preserve and new ceramics are available, but not all in the US.
Hip Resurfacing offers the younger, active patient an opportunity to return to a full active life without restrictions and without pain. It is bone conserving. Hip Resurfacing has been the choice of many surgeons world wide for younger people in since 1998