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Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Background

Patients suffering from hip pain due to osteoarthritis, hip dysplasia or avascular necrosis now have access to the tough, low-friction Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) implant, which preserves more of the body?s natural bone structures and stability than traditional total hip replacements while potentially returning them to a more physically active lifestyle.

Hip resurfacing preserves more of the body?s natural bone structures and stability. While the implant closely matches the size of your natural femoral head, it is larger than the femoral head of a traditional total hip replacement implant. This increased size translates to greater stability in the new joint, and it decreases the chance of dislocation of the implant after surgery.

Fact: Dislocation is a leading cause of implant failure after total hip replacement surgery. While total hip implants dislocate at a rate of one to three-percent over the lifetime of the implant, a study of 2,385 BHR patients found that dislocation occurred in only 0.3-percent of cases five years after surgery.

Natural Leg-length - While total hip replacement involves the removal of the entire femoral head and neck, the Birmingham Hip resurfacing technique simply resurfaces a few millimeters of bone from the head, and leaves the femoral neck untouched. It is this femoral neck length and angle that determines the natural length of your leg and since it is not removed and replaced with an artificial device during the resurfacing procedure, there is a greater likelihood of maintaining your accurate leg length.

Fact: Leg-length discrepancies are the leading cause of malpractice suits after total hip replacement surgery.

Simpler Follow-up Procedure - If a surgeon determines a patient needs to have the resurfacing implant replaced at some point in the future, the procedure and implant used can be a standard total hip replacement. Of course, total hip replacement is the current gold standard for patients and is the procedure hip resurfacing recipients would have received anyway, prior to the availability BHR. However, if they had started with total hip replacement, this follow-up procedure (referred to as hip revision surgery) might be more traumatic and complex and might use a more invasive implant.

Fact: Hip revision surgery carries with it an increased complication rate, including higher rates of infection and post-operative joint dislocation.

Fact: All-metal total hip replacements reduce wear by 97-percent compared to total hip implants containing plastic sockets. This worn out plastic socket is a leading cause of hip revision surgery. This is especially important considering the hip joint surfaces move against each other at a rate of 2 million footsteps per year in physically active adults.