To present the survival of consecutive patients with a minimum of three years follow-up after undergoing a metal-on-metal hip resurfacing arthroplasty.

Twenty hips from twenty patients (male: 16, female: 4) who underwent metal-on-metal resurfacing arthroplasty between October 2001 and April 2004 were followed up for at least 3 years. The mean patient age was 49 years (range 23~70), and the mean follow-up period was 56 months (range 36~84 months). A clinical evaluation was performed using the Harris hip score, and radiologic evaluation was performed regularly after surgery with plain radiographs.

The mean Harris hip score improved from 46 points (range 73~32) preoperatively to 94 points at final follow-up. There were no cases of radiolucency or osteolysis around the stem or acetabular cup, and there was no migration of the acetabular or femoral component. The average femoral stem-shaft angle was 135degrees(range 121degrees- 139degrees), and at the final follow-up study, there was no change of the femoral stem.

In the short-term, metal-on-metal resurfacing arthroplasty performed on the basis of bone quality and patient selection, showed excellent clinical and radiological results. Hip resurfacing is an attractive option for young patients fearing a potentially difficult future revision or for more active patients with hip disease.