European experience with cementless total hip replacements.

The differences between prostheses fixed with and without cement consist mainly of the design and the nature of the surface of the implant. The shapes of the sockets to be implanted without cement show a wide variety--cylinder, square, conus, ellipsoid with and without threads. The hemispherical shape, which was chosen for the acetabular component of the isoelastic hip joint, does not disturb the natural form and function of the hip joint since the outer surface is closely adapted to the original subchondral bone layer. Undesired stress concentrations therefore are eliminated. The fixation of the noncemented cup is secured by threads, pegs, screws, etc. and by ingrowth of bony tissue in the grooves of the surfaces. Except for some special forms, most of the stems are based on the self-locking principle. All prosthesis models show preparations that increase the surface area (ribs, wings, corrugations, or rims).