Have Contemporary Hip Resurfacing Designs Reached Maturity? A Review

Background: The increasing prevalence of hip replacements in young patients is expected to fuel the demand for hip resurfacing arthroplasty. Patient selection, surgical technique, and implant design can influence the clinical outcomes for these patients. In this review, we discuss whether contemporary hip resurfacing designs have reached maturity and suggest design considerations for future-generation implants. These design-related factors include the amount and extent of cement fixation, adoption of cementless femoral fixation, optimization of implant position, minimization of stress-shielding, improvement in modularity or sizing and geometry options, metallurgy, development of alternative bearing options, and examination of in vivo cup deformation. In addition, this review is based on an understanding of the causes of failure of revision hip resurfacing arthroplasty, which is essential to help guide research, implant design, and clinical decision-making.