People with hip joint damage that causes pain and interferes with daily activities despite treatment may be candidates for hip replacement surgery.

Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of this type of damage. However, other conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis (a chronic inflammatory disease that causes joint pain, stiffness, and swelling), osteonecrosis (or avascular necrosis, which is the death of bone caused by insufficient blood supply), injury, fracture, and bone tumours also may lead to breakdown of the hip joint and the need for hip replacement surgery.