Total hip replacement surgery replaces the upper end of the thighbone (femur) with a metal ball and resurfaces the hip socket in the pelvic bone with a metal shell and plastic liner. New joint material replaces damaged cartilage.

Doctors recommend joint replacement surgery when hip pain and loss of function become severe and when medicines and other treatments no longer relieve pain. Your doctor will use X-rays to look at the bones and cartilage in your hip to see whether they are damaged and to make sure that the pain isn’t coming from somewhere else.