There seems to be a lot of disinformation here about resurfacing. Some facts:
It is not lmited to people in their 20s and 30s. I am 69 and was resurfaced on the right hip in 2004 and the left in 2005. At the time I had Osteopenia!!!.
I commonly walk 5 miles per day; I also run (a little - poor lungs), jump and leap small ditches in a single bound.
At the other end of the scale, there are teenagers who have been resurfaced and mothers in their twenties who have had children AFTER resurfacing.
I have also met a woman who had both hips resurfaced when she was 76 and plays tennis, a pair of ice dancers in their 50s, a 6th Dan black belt, a triathlon competitor, an English Fell runner champion, a number of handball, squash and racquetball players, and a host of "normal" people ranging from 20 to 80.
They all had one thing in common - they did their research and made the decision only after talking with hip surgeons who did both procedures.
It is simply NOT TRUE that resurfacing is in limited use in theUK. It is now recommended ny NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) as the preferred operation for those with sound bone.
For those who want first hand information, you may e-mail me. I would also recommend at least one web site:
www.hip-clinic.com which is the site of the ANCA clinic. The surgeon, Dr.De Smet has perfomed both total hip replacements and hip resurfacing to a total of over 2,000 of each. He now will not give a THR unless the patient is unsuitable for resurfacing.
My first hip was done there when Canadian surgeons would not accept me and when I had been told that BHR was "failed technology" That hip is now 4 years old and has never given trouble, no restrictions on sports, cycling, lifiting or crossing legs. In contrast, the same surgeon who told me that BHR was failed technology gave my wife a THR and restricts her lifting to 10 lbs!
Visit the web site, do your own research, and above all make sure that your surgeon does BOTH operations before you accept his opinion. Also try to ensure that he has performed 100 or so resurfacing operations, since then you may get reliable statistics from him and he has learned his trade.
Chris Saunders
Right BHR De Smet June 23,2004
Left ASR Antoniou May 27,2005