Low-friction arthroplasty with Boneloc bone—cement

We report the clinical and radiologic outcome of 109 Charnley low-friction arthroplasties implanted with Boneloc bone—cement (biomet, Bridgend, South Wales, UK) into 104 patients. The mean follow-up was 30 months (range, 2–48 months). There were 72 women (mean age, 71 years) and 32 men (mean age, 72). Cartridge-packed cement was used in 37 cases and vacuum-packed cement in 72 cases. Survivorship analysis based on revison for aeptic lossening showed 79% survival at 4 years. Seventeen (15.5%) hips have been revised for aseptic loosening to date, in which all stems and 4 cups were loose. Extensive femoral osteolysis was always present and resulted in 4 cases of cortical perforation at revision. Survivorship analysis based on revison and radiologic failure showed only 55% survival over the same period. When radiologic loosenings were included as failures, the vacuum-packed cement performed signigicantly worse than the cartridge-packed cement it replaced. These poor results were consistent with the withdrawal of Bonelec from clinical use in 1995, and we recommend indefinite follow-up ofr surviving prostheses.