Component removal in revision total hip arthroplasty

One of the primary steps in revision hip arthroplasty is the extraction of retained components before surgical reconstruction. In revision arthroplasty, the removal of well-fixed components and cement can be extremely demanding, time consuming, and damaging to the remaining host bone. The aims of the current study were to examine the numerous operative techniques used during extraction of acetabular and femoral components and review the results of revision hip arthroplasty after cementless component removal. A review of 157 acetabular components and 113 femoral components removed from 219 patients during hip revision arthroplasty between 1985 and 2000 was done. The average age of the patients was 64.3 years. The average followup was 5 years (range, 0.7-12.5 years). An extended proximal femoral osteotomy was done in 37 (33%) of the femoral revisions. There were 14 (5%) acetabular failures for which the patients required reoperation. There were no femoral rerevisions. Complications included dislocation (6% after acetabular revision and 9% after femoral revision), infection (6%), femoral fracture (6%), hematoma (3.5%), acetabular fixation failure (2.5%), and femoral osteolysis (1%). The removal of cemented and well-fixed porous-coated implants can be done with adequate preoperative planning and a thorough knowledge of numerous implant removal techniques.