BONE-PRESERVING HIP ARTHROPLASTIES AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL HIP REPLACEMENT FOR YOUNG PATIENTS — A REVIEW ARTICLE

Abstract

Hip replacement is one of the most successful orthopedics' procedures in terms of restoring quality of life. In the past, indications for hip replacement were restricted to elderly people, but nowadays advances in bioengineering technology have driven development of hip implants with less wear and loosening and therefore with longer longevity. Early wear and loosening as well as stress shielding and bone preservation are considered as major issues especially when dealing with young patients. The main reason for this is the fact that younger patients might require one or more hip revision procedures during the course of their life due to their age and high activity level. Especially in young patients it could be an advantage to use primary implants that are more bone preserving and allow more physiological load transfer which cause no or minimal stress shielding at the proximal femur. The two options which exist today are hip resurfacing which preserves the femoral head and various short stem prostheses which transfer the forces in the femur more proximally and more physiologically. This review looks at the options which are available today in bone preserving hip arthroplasties.