Total Hip Arthroplasty 
Hip replacement is considered to be one of the most successful surgical procedures. Until recently joint replacements have only been carried out on older, less active patients. In these patient population is not uncommon for a hip replacement to last 15 years or more without the need for revision. The success of these joint replacements encouraged the use of artificial joints also in younger persons with a more active lifestyle.
The most commonly used hip implants are of the metal-on-polyethylene or ceramic-on-polyethylene type. They consist of a metal femoral stem on which a metal or ceramic head is placed. This head articulates within a polyethylene acetabular component with or without a metal outer shell. The acetabular components can be either of a cemented version or has a special surface structure for biological fixation (bone ingrowth) Read More about the options in Total Hip Replacement Total or Resurfacing Hip
In case of Total Hip Arthroplasty the head and neck of the femur are resected. The femoral canal is broached to allow for a long stem to be implanted. This is the standard procedure and the clinical results are excellent. However if the implant fails and has to be revised the revision procedure may require the removal of the femoral stem and it is known that the revision implant will probably not last as long as the primary implantation. When implanting a Resurfacing Hip the neck is not resected and the femoral head is shaped to accomodate the femoral shell ( see surgical techniques). In case of failure, if the acetabular component is still in place, a relatively simple procedure can transfere a Resurfacing Hip into a Total Hip. So: a revision of a resurfacing hip might well be as good as the primary of a Total Hip. This enables the surgeon to start doing hip replacement at an earlier age if the patients condition justifies such an implantation.
Resurfacing Hip 
The major reason for the failures of the early designs of resurfacing implants can be attributed to the use of polyethylene. With the latest techniques of implant manufacturing, The idea of metal on metal articulation re-emerged and Hip Surface Replacement became possible. The idea nót to remove the full head and neck of the femur and nót introducing a large stem into the femoral canal is appealing to many patients, dispite the fact that the total hip replacements show such an excellent. clinical results.
The New Resurfacing Hips .Mr. Derrick McMinn, orthopaedic surgeon from the Birmingham University (UK) reintroduced Hip Resurfacing in the early 90's of last century and since then it has become a popular and promising alternative for a Total Hip Arthroplasty. Hip Resurfacing has the advantage that it does not require the insertion of a large stem inside the femur and this is appealing to many patients. In case a revision is needed there is still sufficient bone stock to perform the standard Total Hip Arthroplasty. Although Hip Resurfacing may not be suited for all patients, (the patient must have sufficient bone to make this type of joint replacement possible) in some countries the percentage of surface replacements is close to 10 % of the total number of hip replacements.
All of the designs that currently used in the world have one thing in common: they are all manufactured from a Chromium-Cobalt alloys and they are of the metal-on-metal articulating type.
Continue to read why the Accis Resurfacing hip is different