Michael Mont

Minimally Invasive Metal-on-Metal Resurfacing Arthroplasty of the Hip

Resurfacing arthroplasty is not a new concept as this type of prosthesis actually predated the use of stemmed femoral components.1 Resurfacing is bone conserving on the proximal femur, which involves preparing the femoral head with special tools that allows for capping the remaining femoral head and neck. There has been a recent resurgence in interest in resurfacing because of the advent of new metallurgical manufacturing techniques, which have produced precise metal-on-metal articulations. Currently, the resurfaced femoral head articulates with a mated acetabular component and forms a metal-on-metal couple. There have been several reports of excellent mid-term results with a number of these particular devices.2, 3, 4 This chapter focuses on our technique for a minimally invasive approach to hip resurfacing with the Conserve Plus (Wright Medical, Arlington, TN) device. However, most resurfacing devices are similar in design, and the techniques that are described in this chapter can be applied to most of the available implants.