The Quality of Osteolysis Grafting with Cementless Acetabular Component Retention

Periprosthetic osteolysis is a common cause for revision of total hip arthroplasty. When modular cementless acetabular components are stable, curettage and grafting of the osteo-lytic lesion while retaining the component are a good surgical option. Although the midterm outcome of this procedure is known, the quality of the surgical technique is not. We used preoperative and postoperative computed tomography to determine the percentage of periacetabular lesions that was grafted and the percentage of the lesion volume filled with an injectable bone graft substitute. We discovered, even with preoperative computed tomography reconstructions and surgical planning, four of 22 lesions were neglected at the time of surgery. In the 18 lesions that were treated, we were able to fill an average of 49% (range, 0-83%) of the lesion volume. These inconsistent results illustrate a need to further refine surgical techniques and instrumentation to treat one of the most common complications in total hip arthroplasty. Longer followup with repeat computed tomography scans or other imaging techniques would determine if the percentage of lesion fill has an effect on clinical outcome.