Hip resurfacing procedures involve removing a small amount bone from the ball and socket portion of the hip and replacing the bearing surface with an artificial cap and cup. 
The advantage of this type of surgery is that it preserves bone stock in the femur for subsequent revision surgeries. Candidates for this type of surgery are young, active patients with degenerative arthritis of the hip or AVN and no dysplasia or anatomic abnormalities. The main disadvantage of this procedure is the magnitude of the surgery which involves a roughly 8-10 inch incision on the outside of the hip. The bearing surface of the joint is metal on metal. Short and mid-term follow-up have demonstrated fairly good clinical results; however, it is still unclear whether this type of surgery offers significant benefit for younger patients over standard metal on metal total hip replacement.
