Women May Face Safety Issues, High Failure Rate with Hip Resurfacing, Study Says
Hip replacements are safer for women than hip resurfacing devices, a new study claimed. Data showed women who had undergone hip resurfacing are up to five times more likely to experience complications than men seven years following hip resurfacing surgery.
In hip resurfacing, the femoral head is not removed, but is instead trimmed and capped with a smooth metal covering. The damaged bone and cartilage within the socket is removed and replaced with a metal shell, just as in traditional hip replacement. However, the study claimed that the size of the patient’s femoral cap is the deal-breaker, and since women have smaller joints than men, the rate of failure is higher. Recently, surgeons do not recommend hip resurfacing to women.
Read more: Traditional Hip Replacement a Better Option for Women Than Resurfacing