From the Popular Press: What Your Patients are Reading:

Hip resurfacing has become a popular alternative to traditional hip replacement surgery since it became available in the US in 2006 (it had already used overseas for several years). Full hip replacements are generally only expected to last between 15 and 20 years, which for a middle-age patient, is not long enough to get them through the remainder of their life. With hip resurfacing, in which a greater portion of the patient’s thigh bone is preserved, later replacement surgeries are thought to be better tolerated. However, long-term data from countries in which hip resurfacing has been available for many years now is starting to indicate that hip resurfacing may have a significantly higher failure rate in women than in men. Due to the procedure’s reliance on the strength of the patient’s own thigh bone, complications can arise with the onset of bone weakening and osteoporosis, which often accompanies or follows menopause. A British study recently revealed that women are more likely to require a second operation to correct complications from hip resurfacing than if they had a full hip replacement. If the hip resurfacing fails, the patient must get a full hip replacement—the procedure the patient was trying to avoid—to repair the damage. Researchers are questioning the use of hip resurfacing in some patients, particularly those at high risk for osteoporosis. Men under the age of 55 seem to be the best candidates for hip resurfacing, while women and all patients over the age of 55 have a significant risk for complications after the procedure. Even short-term data illustrates the high likeliness of complications for these demographics, and such reports of such complications are expected to increase in number in the future when more long-term data is available.

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