Long-term follow-up of primary total hip arthroplasty with the Alloclassic Variall system

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic results of primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) performed with the Alloclassic Variall system (a modified version of the Alloclassic Zweymüller system) and to compare them with those in the literature for the original system.

Between January 2001 and December 2002, 273 consecutive primary THAs were performed in 259 patients at a single centre with the study system, using ceramic-on-ceramic (81.7 %) or ceramic-on-highly-crosslinked-polyethylene (18.3 %) articulations.

At the time of this study, 28 patients (29 hips; 10.6 %) had died and 40 (43 hips; 15.8 %) were lost to follow-up. Seventeen patients (19 hips; 7.0 %) could be reached only by telephone. There were four revisions in four patients (1.5 %), all involving only the femoral component. Ten-year Kaplan-Meier survival with revision of any component for any reason as the endpoint was 98.4 % (95 % confidence interval: 96.9-100 %; 30 hips remained 'at risk'). A total of 170 unrevised patients (178 hips; 65.2 %) were assessed clinically and radiographically at a median follow-up of 9.3 years (interquartile range [IQR] 8.8-9.8 years). The median Harris hip score (HHS) was 99.9 points (IQR 97.7-100). The score did not differ significantly between the two articulations. There was no sign of radiographic loosening.

The ten-year implant survival and the HHS score outcomes for THAs performed with the novel system were in line with those documented in the literature for its predecessor.