Main roads
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A better designed hip replacement can reduce the risk of dislocation
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Bilateral mobility implants reduce the risk of hip fractures by 70%
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The researchers believe that the higher cost of the implant may be offset by the lower risk of complications
THURSDAY, July 9, 2026 (NewsDay News) — Hip replacement surgery can dramatically improve the life of someone with chronic hip pain, but patients must then move carefully to avoid dislocating their new hip.
But researchers report that a better-designed hip implant can reduce a patient’s risk of bone displacement by 70%. Lancet.
“When a hip replacement dislocates, it’s very painful,” said the lead researcher Dr. Nils Heilera consultant orthopedic surgeon at Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden, said in a news release.
“When this happens, patients require sedation or further surgery to repair the joint,” Hyler said. “Once the joint is separated, it reduces the quality of life because the patient may feel like they no longer have confidence in the implant.”
About 8% of people who have a hip replacement their artificial joints dislocated, the researchers said in background notes. Patients are advised not to cross their legs, pick up objects from the floor, or avoid bending over while recovering from surgery.
To avoid this problem, an innovative hip implant has been developed, which consists of a small ball embedded in a larger plastic ball.
Standard implants include a metal ball that fits into a metal socket placed in the person’s hip. Special surgery hospital.
Dual mobile implants have a large plastic head that fits into a polished metal hip socket, but a smaller metal or ceramic head is attached to the plastic head, HSS says. This provides an additional level of portability.
The dual-motion implant “improves dislocation stability by increasing the joint’s range of motion before dislocation,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
The dual traffic concept was developed in France in the 1970s but has only recently been adopted in the United States, HSS says.
To test its effectiveness, researchers in Sweden or the United Kingdom recruited 1,600 people aged 65 and older with hip fractures and randomly assigned them to receive standard hip implants or bilateral implants.
By one year after surgery, 1.3% of people who received bilateral implants had a hip fracture, compared with 4.2% of those who received standard implants.
The researchers said that this is a 70% reduction in the risk of placement.
The study found that the overall risk of surgical complications was lower in the group that received new implants.
Although dual mobile implants are more expensive than the standard model, researchers believe that the reduction in dislocations and complications may offset the higher upfront cost.
The researchers said they are conducting a full economic analysis to see if this works.
Most importantly, (bilateral implantation) does not require new technology or training. Surgeons are already familiar with both types of implants, meaning these changes can be implemented immediately in existing practices. Javier Griffinprofessor at Queen Mary University of London, said in a press release.
More information
The Hospital for Special Surgery has more information dual mobility hip replacement surgery.
Sources: Uppsala University, release, July 2, 2026; LancetJuly 2, 2026
What does this mean for you?
People who have had a hip replacement should ask their doctor about dual mobility implants.
