The Wagner surface replacement arthroplasty.

The Wagner resurfacing arthroplasty was designed to provide a more conservative means of treatment for patients with debilitating hip disease, while at the same time providing functional results similar to those of conventional total hip arthroplasty. The Wagner procedure is conservative on the femoral side, as it is successful in preserving the head and neck while providing options for salvage should the system fail. The design of the acetabular component, however, makes revision most difficult because of sacrifice of a relatively large surface area of bone that is necessary for implantation with the Wagner device. If the acetabular component fails, there is further destruction of bone that severely compromises revision surgery. Although the basic design premise of closely simulating the normal anatomy of the hip is sound, the results in this series do not support the long-term stability of such a system at the present time.