A cement fixation system for total hip arthroplasty.

To combat the most common and most serious cause of mechanical failure of total hip arthroplastics, namely loosening, a method of improving the insertion of methacrylate is presented, called the cement fixation system. Using the cement gun with the keying hole seal, the methacrylate is pressure injected into the keying holes in the acetabulum. The acetabular cement compactor pressurizes the rest of the cement used in the acetabulum. The medullary canal of the femur is occluded by a bolus of methacrylate delivered to the desired depth by the medullary plug syringe. Thus, the cement is delivered from the plug proximally via the cement gun and femoral cement syringe. Finger packing is not used. The entire femoral cement mass is then pressurized using the femoral cement compactor. This cement fixation system produces higher extrusion pressure, better penetration of the cement, better fixation to the bone and reduces voids, defects, and discontinuities in the methacrylate mantle.