A study of implant failure in the Wagner resurfacing arthroplasty

Using clinical, radiographic, and pathological data, we investigated eighteen cases of early aseptic failure of an implant in patients who had undergone reconstruction of the hip with a Wagner resurfacing prosthesis. Sixteen patients required revision for loosening of the acetabular component, with eight of them also demonstrating loosening of the femoral component. One patient had loosening of the femoral component without failure of the acetabular component, and one patient sustained a femoral neck fracture that was associated with osteonecrosis. Six of the patients with loosening of the acetabular component had an associated significant loss of acetabular bone stock. Loosening was associated with the development of a membrane at the bone-cement interface in all patients. Histological examination of the membrane demonstrated a marked foreign-body response to wear products from the arthroplasty. Bone resorption appeared active at the bone-membrane interface. We concluded that the acetabular component of the Wagner prosthesis is prone to early loosening and that the early loosening is potentiated by a foreign-body response to debris resulting from arthroplastic wear.