[Cementless total hip arthroplasty--results of 8-year follow-up study]

The subjects of the clinical examinations were 382 patients who from 1994 to 1999 were treated with the method of total cementless arthroplasty. The observation time ranged from 3 to 8 years. In the examined group the secondary cause of degenerative changes was identified in 210 (55%) patients. In the remaining 172 cases (45%) the primary cause of degenerative changes in the hip was diagnosed. Four types of cementless endoprostheses, varied in their construction, structure of their surfaces and material they were made of, were used to carry out the postoperative treatment of the degenerative changes in the hip: Antega, Zweymüller SL PLUS (Endoprosthetic) or Alloclasic type of stem, GSS-CL and PM-Plasmapore. The findings of the clinical investigation made it possible to determine the probability of surviving of an endoprosthesis up to the 8th year after an operation depending on a type of implanted stem, which according to Kaplan-Meier's method, amounted to 0.9603. The results of Harris scale evaluation of the function of the operated joints demonstrated the existence of the relationship between the function and the course of bone osteointegration and growth process. The detailed analysis of the X-ray examinations, and especially of the roentgenometric ones, taking into account stability of the endoprosthesis stem enabled to distinguish two stages of the clinical and roentgenological changes: the early stage (up to 6 months after an operation) characterised by settling and micromotions of the stem and the late stage (starting 6-9 months after an operation) with slowly gradual increasing of the function and holding back of stem settling.