Fixation of the femoral head prosthesis with methylmethacrylate

The techniques used in fixation of the femoral prosthesis in total hip replacement are often based on empiricism and raise questions about: venting the medullary canal with a catheter during the insertion of cement; the inclusion of blood into cement during insertion with possible deleterious effects; recementing a prosthesis; increased strength imparted to an endoprosthesis by cement itself. Biological variables are minimized by the use of paired wet formalin preserved femurs; one acting as control. A single static load was applied until failure. The results show trends and gross differences and are not statistically evaluated. The methylmethacrylate-bone-metal system consistently produces good results with reasonable but not careless variations in technique. A hemiprosthesis is presented which can easily be converted to a standard Charnley prosthesis by using a small amount of fresh cement.