NO. It has been performed since the advent of joint replacement in the 1950s. Past implant systems were not durable enough; therefore stemmed total hip replacement has become the standard operation for treating severe hip arthritis. With modern cobalt chrome metal-metal bearings , there has been a worldwide resurgence of this operation. The US is far behind the rest of the world , primarily because the FDA has made obtaining modern implants extremely difficult. In England , approximately 12% of hip replacements are now done as hip surface replacements. In Australia , 20% of hip replacements are done as hip surface replacements. The percentages continue to grow; Europe , Australia , and even India are ahead of the US! There are now many published articles in peer reviewed journals and presentations at major orthopedic meetings on this subject. At this point , some insurance companies still find it convenient to classify hip surface replacement as experimental in order to avoid paying for this service. Despite the fact that it is truly in their best interest to cover this procedure; the costs and complications are less than Stemmed THR.