Hip osteoarthritis is uncommon in active military personnel but can be extremely debilitating. Previously in such cases total hip replacement was usually delayed as long as possible. The two main reasons for such reluctance were that these persons would be graded P7 Permanent after total hip replacement and that the amount of physical activity an active military person does would lead to early loosening of implant and revision surgery. Resurfacing Arthroplasty has allowed us to take an earlier and more interventional approach in younger active patients.

We describe our early results of 18 hip resurfacing operations in active serving military personnel. Average age was 48 years. All 18 were done in MDHU Northallerton by one in-service orthopaedic consultant in 2004 and 2005. There were no serious complications; average length of stay was 5.5 days. Specifically there were no fractured necks of femur and there were no early signs of component loosening. Final grading after six months was P3.

Hence we now recommend that in selected active military personnel where anatomy permits early hip resurfacing should be considered rather than a conventional hip replacement.