Uncemented total hip arthroplasty in young patients with juvenile chronic arthritis

The hip joint is commonly affected in juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) and involvement is usually bilateral. It is well established that the involvement of the hip in JCA is the most important reason that the patient will lose independence and mobility. The positive gains, both in terms of hip function and the overall functional capability, of the patients of JCA after hip replacement have been shown by several studies. There have been many reports regarding cemented total hip replacement in young patients with JCA. The short-term results have been excellent, but failure rates were considerably higher with further follow-up. To our knowledge there have been no other reports to date of the results of cementless arthroplasty of the hip in this condition. We reviewed the results of 25 primary uncemented total hip replacements (THR) in 16 patients with JCA. The mean postoperative follow-up time was 4.5 years (range 1-19 years). The clinical results were evaluated using the modified Harris hip score. The functional outcome was assessed by a scoring system described by Witt et al. The most significant long-term problem was acetabular loosening (12%) in our series.