Hip resurfacing arthroplasty (HRA) is increasingly carried out as an alternative to total hip arthroplasty (THA) in young patients. During the procedure, a metal stem on the retrosurface of the HRA is inserted into the femoral head to ensure the implant is located centrally with respect to the femoral neck. It has been suggested that the stem may interfere with bone loading. In light of this, the current study employed finite element (FE) models to investigate the change in the HRA-implanted bone mechanics as a result of removing the stem. FE models of a cadaveric femur pre- and post-HRA surgery were analysed to determine changes in bone stress/ strain.

The implanted models simulated geometry for a cemented HRA with and without a non-cemented stem (HRA-Stem and HRA-NoStem, respectively) and included more accurate multiple material parameters to simulate the non-homogeneous material distribution in the femoral bone. The models included loading conditions simulating an instant at 10% of the gait cycle. Bone stresses/strains in the femoral head and neck of the implanted models were compared with the intact condition to assess the change in bone mechanics. Changes in cement mantle stresses between the HRA-Stem and HRA-NoStem models were also compared.

When comparing similar volumes of bone in the femoral neck, both HRA models showed a similar variation in stress from the intact condition and bone stresses were low in comparison to the ultimate strength of cortical bone. There was less change in peak strain energy in the femoral head of the HRA-NoStem model than the HRA-Stem model. Cement mantle stresses in the HRA-NoStem model were slightly higher than for the HRA-Stem model and the peak compressive stress was close to the fatigue limit for bone cement.

These preliminary results suggest that the bone loading is more normal without the stem. However, there are increased cement mantle stresses.