Do abnormal hemipelvic bone stresses contribute to loosening and migration of screw-threaded cups?

Excellent long-term results have been reported with the Charnley low-friction arthroplasty. Failure of the cemented acetabular component has been identified as a problem in the longer term, while cemented hip replacements in active young patients have exhibited a disconcerting incidence of early clinical or radiological failure. This resulted in the development of the cementless arthroplasty. Bone responds favourably to an optimal stress window and reacts dynamically to metal implants that have a greatly differing modulus of elasticity. This study represents a comparative qualitative analysis of the peri-acetabular hemipelvic stresses after loading two cementless (press-fit and screw-threaded) acetabular components inserted into identical bone models. A simplified model of the artificial hip joint was constructed and the very sensitive stress analysis technique of holographic interferometry was used for the investigation. Peri-acetabular stress concentrations were noted with the screw-threaded cup. This may predispose to bone resorption and it is suggested that these could be implicated in the migration of these cups described in published reports.