The isoelastic hip prosthesis followed for 5 years

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Biomaterials Science
• Medical Device Engineering

Background:

• Nontraumatic hip disease necessitates surgical intervention, often hip replacement.
• The development of noncemented femoral components and bipolar cups aimed to improve long-term implant survival and patient function.
• Early adoption of novel implant designs requires rigorous clinical evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the clinical outcomes and survival rates of isoelastic noncemented femoral components combined with bipolar cups for nontraumatic hip disease.
• To identify the failure modes and complications associated with this specific hip arthroplasty construct.
• To evaluate the functional results of the implants after a minimum follow-up period of five years.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 58 patients (61 hips) underwent primary hip arthroplasty using an isoelastic noncemented femoral component and a bipolar cup between 1981 and 1982.
• Patients were treated for various forms of nontraumatic hip disease.
• Follow-up was conducted for a minimum of five years, with outcomes assessed through clinical review and scoring systems.

Main Results:

• Out of 58 initial patients, 47 patients (51 hips) were available for review after accounting for losses to follow-up and mortality.
• Seven failures were recorded: two infections, four technical errors, and one acetabular component migration.
• Of the 44 hips without failure, 42 (95.5%) achieved a 'good' or better clinical score at the minimum five-year follow-up.

Conclusions:

• The use of isoelastic noncemented femoral components with bipolar cups for nontraumatic hip disease demonstrated a high rate of good or excellent clinical outcomes in this early series.
• While technical errors and infection were noted complications, the overall survivorship and functional results were favorable.
• This study supports the viability of this implant combination in specific patient populations, though careful surgical technique is paramount.