Hip resurfacing: The metal-on-metal bearing material is not the problem
Source — Healio
MoM hip resurfacing is not a new technology any more, and the devices that have been approved by the FDA after sufficient clinical trials have been available for more than a decade. It is important to avoid making statements about a procedure based on the poor results of subsequent designs which were still in their experimental (non-FDA approved) phase.
Many have written off MoM HRA, and this is unfortunate because superb results have been achieved with several devices in several centers for the young and active patient. The MoM bearing, unlike polyethylene of first generation devices, is not the problem. It is a treatment option for arthritis that is worth pursuing and improving. It just makes sense to save the head and neck, and adhere to a fundamental tenet of orthopedics espoused by our forebears — save bone.
It is my fervent desire to improve surgeon and patient education and emphasize that there are techniques to solve the problems associated with MoM hip resurfacing. Charles Kettering said, “The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.”