Impaction bone grafting using freeze-dried allograft in revision hip arthroplasty.

We report on 32 patients undergoing revision hip arthroplasty using cemented components and impaction allografting with processed freeze-dried bone. The survivorship with this type of graft at a mean follow-up of 4 years was 91%. There were no femoral component failures, although revision was required in 3 patients because of failure of the acetabulum. Freeze-dried graft can require prolonged rehydration for satisfactory impaction. The results of impaction bone grafting with freeze-dried bone alone have been satisfactory, although we recommend caution in its use alone in the hostile acetabulum.