Freeze Dried Proximal Femoral Allografts in Revision of Femoral Stems

Femoral bone deficiency is a challenging problem in revision femoral arthroplasty in younger patients. We evaluated outcomes of revision femoral arthroplasty using a freeze-dried allograft prosthetic composite (APC).

This was a retrospective review of 16 patients (12 men and 4 women) who had unilateral proximal femoral deficiencies (Paprosky type III B, 13 patients; type IV, 3 patients) revised with freeze-dried APC. Follow-up at mean 7 years included assessment with Merle D’Aubigné score and radiographs.

At follow-up, the average hip score was improved for pain, function, and range of motion. The 5-year graft survival was 87%, and the estimated median survival was 8.8 years. There were 3 patients who walked without support, 10 patients who walked unlimited distance with a cane, 2 patients who walked with 2 crutches, and 1 patient who walked with a walker. Radiographs showed nonunion at the graft-host junction in 3 hips (19%), but only 1 patient was symptomatic. Asymptomatic trochanteric nonunion was observed in 4 hips (25%). There was moderate graft resorption in 2 patients at 9 years after surgery and mild graft resorption in 1 graft at 7 years. There was subsidence of <2 cm in 2 patients and 3.5 cm in 1 patient.

The present study showed acceptable results in treatment of major femoral deficiencies using freeze-dried APC in younger patients. Freeze-dried APC may be a useful for revision femoral arthroplasty.