Hip Resurfacing is form of arthroplasty which has been developed as a less radical alternative to total hip replacement (THR). In the United States, the FDA approved hip resurfacing using the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) on May 9, 2006.^[1] Derek McMinn designed the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing in Birmingham, England and released it for use in the UK in July 1997.^[2] Both BIRMINGHAM HIP and BHR are registered trade marks of Smith & Nephew, who are now the exclusive manufacturers and distributors of the BIRMINGHAM HIP Resurfacing System. On July 3, 2007, the FDA approved an alternative hip resurfacing system made in the UK by Corin Group and marketed in the US by Stryker. ^[3]

The BHR is a metal on metal ^[4] hip device which differs from a total hip replacement device because it is bone conserving. A THR requires that the upper portion of the femur bone be cut off to accept the stem portion of a THR hip device. The femur cap of the BHR does not require the femur bone be cut off, it is shaped to accept the cap. Both techniques require that a cup is placed in the acetabulum of the hip socket. The main advantage of the bone conserving system of the BHR is that when a revision is required, there is still a complete femur bone left for a THR stem. When a THR requires a revision, what is left of the femur bone must be broken apart to remove the stem and then the bone is wired together again to heal. Having a BHR at a younger age means that a revision is much easier to perform.

Hip resurfacing also allows younger, active people to return to any activities they enjoyed previous to their hip problems. The large size cap and cup of the BHR are the same size as a person's original femur bone and are designed to prevent dislocations. There are many athletes with resurfaced hips that continue to compete at the professional level in a myraid of activities. They include:

• Cory Foulk finished a marathon three months after his surgery, and finished 11th in the Ultraman world championship eleven months later^[5]
• Jim Roxburgh continues to participate in the martial arts after having both hips resurfaced in 2004 ^[6]
• Ian MacLaren of the Torashin Karate Club is believed to be the first 5th dan Karate-ka in the world to have had both hips resurfaced
• Floyd Landis, 2006 Tour de France Winner^[7]

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