The Relative Cost of Cemented and Uncemented Total Hip Arthroplasties

The use of uncemented femoral stems in primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) has been slow to develop in the UK because of the lack of encouraging published long-term follow-up data, the continued success of the cemented primary THA, and the perceived excessive relative cost of the uncemented THA. In this article, we argue that the total costs of 3 “proven” uncemented stems are comparable with commonly used cemented femoral components, when all necessary materials are taken into consideration. In addition, we will also discuss other potential benefits and drawbacks for considering the use of uncemented stems.