- FRIDAY, Nov. 14 (HealthDay News) — Age and gender are important
to the success of hip resurfacing, say U.S. researchers who reviewed more
than 500 surgeries and found the majority of serious complications
occurred in women of all ages and men over age 55.

Hip resurfacing offers an alternative to hip replacement, in which the
ball of the hip joint is removed and replaced with a metal stem inserted
into the thigh bone. In hip resurfacing, the ball of the hip joint
remains, but its surface is reshaped to accept a rounded cap with a short
stem that sits in the thigh bone, or femur.

Study lead author Dr. Craig Della Valle, a joint reconstruction
specialist at Rush University Medical Center, and colleagues looked at the
first 537 hip resurfacing surgeries performed in the United States using
the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implant, approved by the Food and Drug
Administration in October 2006.

Serious complications occurred in 32 of the cases, including 10 cases
in which the femoral neck fractured after surgery. These types of
fractures, which don't occur in hip replacements, required additional
surgery.

Nine of the 10 femoral neck fractures occurred in either female
patients or those older than 55. Eight of the fractures occurred in cases
where the surgeon was relatively inexperienced with the procedure (10 or
fewer hip resurfacing surgeries).

“Patients who are older or who are female tend to have softer bone.
Also, men on average have larger bone structures, with a greater surface
area for securing the implant,” Della Valle explained in a Rush University
news release. Males under the age of 55 are the ideal patients for hip
resurfacing, the experts said.

“Patients may be eager to take advantage of technological innovations,
but for older individuals, a conventional hip replacement is generally
more appropriate,” Della Valle advised.

The study was released online and was expected to be published in the
January print issue of the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related
Research.

More information

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has more about hip
implants.