Primary cemented total hip arthroplasty: five to twelve year clinical and radiographic follow-up

A retrospective clinical and roentgenographic study was completed on 131 primary cemented total hip arthroplasties with a minimum of five years follow-up (mean, seven years; range, five to twelve years). Second generation cement technique including plugging of the medullary canal, cement gun filling, and pressurization of the canal was used. Acetabular cement was also pressurized. The total mechanical failure rate of the acetabular components was 18.4% compared to that of the femoral components which was 3.1%. There was a significantly higher incidence of acetabular component failure in rheumatoid arthritis patients (38.9%) compared to a preoperative diagnosis of primary osteoarthritis (14.1%) (p = 0.013). Yet there were no rheumatoid arthritis patients in the femoral component revision group. There were no differences in revision rates for metal-backed versus nonmetal-backed cups (p = 0.113). The average thickness of the proximal medial cement mantle was 2.8 millimeters in the loosening group and 5.4 millimeters in the nonloosening group (p = 0.333). All failures occurred in those patients whose proximal medial cement mantle was less than five millimeters. The authors strongly endorse the use of hybrid total hip arthroplasty and emphasize the need for meticulous surgical technique especially in obtaining a cement mantle of sufficient thickness in the proximal medial aspect of the femur.