Cost-effectiveness and Safety of Bearing Surfaces for Resurfacing and Conventional Total Hip Replacement
Principal Investigator: Dr. Jason Werle
Funding: Alberta Arthroplasty Research Group
The bearing surfaces study examines the long-term safety and compares the cost-effectiveness of metal-on-metal hip resurfacing and conventional hip bearing surfaces.
Resurfacing involves reshaping the head of the femur, or thighbone, and capping it with metal, and inserting a metal cup into the socket creating metal-on-metal contact. Conventional hip replacement devices require removal of the femur head and use surfaces such as metal-on-polyethylene, ceramic-on-ceramic and ceramic-on-polyethylene.
As part of the study, researchers are developing a decision analytic model that synthesizes information and compares the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the different devices evaluated.