Patients researching hip resurfacing often start by comparing implants. It is a reasonable instinct, but it puts the question the wrong way round. The same implant placed by two different surgeons can give very different results, because resurfacing is unforgiving of imprecise positioning in a way that standard total hip replacement is not. The cap has to sit at exactly the right angle, the femoral neck must not be notched, and the right patients have to be selected in the first place. All of that is the surgeon's craft.
This is why national registries consistently find that surgeon experience predicts resurfacing outcomes more strongly than it predicts the outcomes of conventional hip replacement. When you choose well, you are really choosing three things: a high enough caseload, an honest approach to patient selection, and results the surgeon is willing to show you. Everything below comes back to those three.
You are entitled to ask any surgeon these questions directly, and a specialist will welcome them. What matters is not only the answer but the ease with which it is given.
Resurfacing has a well-recognised learning curve: peer-reviewed data show complication rates more than three times higher in low-volume hands, and consistent component positioning takes at least 75 dedicated cases to achieve. You are looking for someone who performs the operation regularly across many years, not occasionally alongside mostly standard replacements.
A good answer sounds like a clear number, a span of years, and comfort talking about how their results have settled over time.
No single device suits every hip. A surgeon who uses more than one of the modern resurfacing implants can match the bearing to your anatomy, sex and bone quality, rather than fitting every patient to the one system they stock.
A good answer sounds like a reasoned choice between options for your specific hip — not “I use the same one for everybody.”
In the UK, surgeon-level activity is tracked by the National Joint Registry, and many surgeons publish an NJR profile. A specialist should be comfortable discussing their results and the occasional case that needed revising.
A good answer sounds like an open conversation about numbers and the lessons learned — not a deflection.
The best resurfacing surgeons decline patients whose bone quality or anatomy makes a replacement the safer choice. A willingness to say no is a marker of judgement, not a shortfall in skill.
A good answer sounds like clear criteria for when they would and would not recommend resurfacing for you.
Resurfacing outcomes are shaped by structured rehabilitation and long-term monitoring. Ask how recovery is supported and how the hip is followed up over the years.
A good answer sounds like a defined pathway: physiotherapy, planned reviews, and a direct line if something is not right.
Takeaway The questions are simple. What you are really listening for is whether the surgeon answers openly, talks in specifics, and is as ready to discuss the cases that did not go to plan as the ones that did.
None of the following is automatically disqualifying, but each is worth pausing on, and worth raising directly.
A specialist has nothing to lose by addressing all of these head-on. The conversation itself tells you a great deal.
It is fair to ask any surgeon to be held to the standard above, including Mr Shakir Hussain. He is one of the UK's higher-volume hip resurfacing surgeons, with over 400 procedures performed across two implant systems — Adept and ReCerf — which means the choice of bearing is matched to the patient rather than the stock cupboard.
His training includes the British Hip Society Travelling Fellowship at the ENDO-Klinik in Hamburg, one of the highest-volume joint centres in Europe, and his practice is open about patient selection: a meaningful proportion of enquiries are advised that a total hip replacement is the better operation for them. His activity is recorded with the National Joint Registry, and independent patient reviews are published and verified on Doctify, currently averaging 4.98 from more than 500 ratings.
The clearest way to judge a surgeon is to sit across from them. A consultation is where your imaging, your anatomy and your goals get an honest assessment.
Book a ConsultationThere is no single magic number, but registry data consistently links higher surgeon volume to lower revision rates in hip resurfacing, more so than for standard hip replacement. Resurfacing has a recognised learning curve, so you want a surgeon for whom it is a regular, established part of their practice rather than an occasional operation. Ask directly how many they perform and how long they have been doing them.
No single resurfacing implant suits every patient. A surgeon who works with more than one system can match the bearing to your anatomy, sex and bone quality rather than fitting everyone to the one device they happen to stock. If a surgeon only offers one implant, ask what happens when that implant is not the best choice for you.
Yes. In the UK, surgeon-level activity and outcomes are tracked by the National Joint Registry, and many surgeons publish an NJR profile. A specialist should be comfortable discussing their results, their patient selection and the small number of cases that did not go to plan. Reluctance to talk about outcomes is itself an answer.
Usually the opposite. The best resurfacing surgeons turn down patients whose anatomy or bone quality makes a total hip replacement the safer choice. A surgeon willing to say resurfacing is not right for you is demonstrating judgement, not a lack of skill. Be more cautious of anyone who offers resurfacing to everyone who asks.
Bring this checklist to your consultation. Mr Hussain will talk you through his caseload, your imaging and whether resurfacing is genuinely the right operation for your hip — including when it is not.
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