Primary Cementless Acetabular Fixation at a Minimum of Twenty Years of Follow-up

The purpose of the present study was to analyze the longer-term results for a previously reported cohort of patients with cementless acetabular fixation and to compare the results with those for historical controls with cement fixation and a comparable follow-up period. One hundred and twenty consecutive nonselected total hip arthroplasties were performed in 108 patients with use of a cementless acetabular component. This series was evaluated at a minimum of twenty years of follow-up and was compared with 330 consecutive hip arthroplasties that had been performed by the same surgeon with use of cemented acetabular components and had been followed for a comparable period of time. Thirty-nine patients (forty-two hips) in the cementless fixation group were living at twenty years of follow-up. In the group of 120 hips with cementless acetabular fixation, twenty-two hips (18.3%) were revised during the follow-up period, but only one hip (0.8%) was revised because of loosening of the acetabular component, with no additional cup loosening since the previous report at thirteen to fifteen years of follow-up. In the group with cemented acetabular fixation with comparable follow-up, thirty-two hips (10%) were revised overall and eighteen hips (6%) were revised because of acetabular loosening. An additional twenty-five hips (8%) had acetabular cups that were loose on radiographs but had not undergone revision. At a minimum of twenty years of follow-up, cementless acetabular components provided superior long-term fixation compared with cemented components but the overall rates of acetabular revision for mechanical reasons were comparable.

Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.