For those people who are not viable candidates for the newly
approved hip resurfacing procedure, or for those people whose
insurance will not cover hip resurfacing, the traditional hip
replacement is the remedy for many who live day to day with hip
pain. A total hip replacement is a surgical procedure whereby
the diseased cartilage and bone of the hip joint is surgically
replaced with artificial materials. The normal hip joint is a
ball and socket joint, the socket being a “cup-shaped” bone of
the pelvis called the acetabulum and the ball is the head of the
thigh bone (femur). Total hip joint replacement involves
surgical removal of the diseased ball and socket, and replacing
them with a metal ball and stem inserted into the femur bone and
an artificial plastic cup socket. The metallic artificial ball
and stem are referred to as the “prosthesis.” Upon inserting the
prosthesis into the central core of the femur, it is fixed with
bone cement called methylmethacrylate. Alternatively, a
“cementless” prosthesis is