Porous ingrowth fixation of the femoral component in a canine surface replacement of the hip.

Prosthetic fixation by growth of bone into porous implants coated with a sintered layer of cobalt chrome beads offers an attractive alternative to acrylic cementation. Experiments on dogs demonstrate that bone ingrowth occurred into the femoral component of a hip surface replacement. Methods of stabilizing prostheses in order to promote bone ingrowth must not interfere with the uniformity of stress transfer at the bone - implant interface. Ingrowth occurred as early as the second week postimplantation. The absence of any fibrous membrane formation in the interface between bone and metal suggests that sintered chrome cobalt is a highly compatible biological system, and that fixation by bone ingrowth is stable and does not promote osteoclasis and progression to a fibrous membrane at the interface.