Rearthroplasty after conventional total hip prosthesis and double-cup prosthesis. A comparative study.

Revision of 19 Müller total hip prostheses and 9 ICLH double-cup prostheses is compared. In the Müller group the mean operation time was 186 min, the amount of blood transfused 3526 ml, and the hospital stay 34.9 days. The corresponding figures for the ICLH group were 94 min, 1389 ml, and 25.7 days. Revision of the conventional hip prostheses involved technical difficulties and complications such as femoral fractures and postoperative dislocations, which were not seen in the ICLH group, in which the revision was as easy to perform as the primary operation. The clinical result 6 months after revision was significantly better in the ICLH group. Thus, the double-cup prosthesis provides another possibility for revision. However, a relatively high incidence of early loosening indicates that it should not be used in older patients in whom one would expect a follow-up shorter than the lifetime of a conventional hip prosthesis.