Loosening of the femoral component of total hip replacement after plugging the femoral canal.

A roentgen follow-up study was done of 171 total hip replacements at an average of 3.3 years (range 2 to 5 years) after insertion to assess the loosening rate in older adult patients (average age 60 years) in whom the medullary canal was plugged. The cement (Simplex P) was introduced using a cement gun. The femoral components used were CAD and HD-2 in design, made of chrome cobalt alloy. Evaluation was made according to three categories of loosening: definite (requiring evidence of migration of the component or the cement), probable (requiring a continuous radiolucent zone around the cement mantle in one or more radiographic views), or possible (requiring a radiolucent zone that occupied 50% or more of the cement-bone interface in one or more views but was not continuous). One hip was revised for a loose femoral component. Another patient has asymptomatic subsidence of the femoral component. Thus the total incidence of definitely loose femoral components was 1.1%. No hip was classified as probably loose. Seven hips (4%) were rated as possibly loose. Compared to four other reported series of similar groups of patients followed for like duration, this incidence of definitely loose components is statistically significantly less than in nonplugged canals. The other differences among the series compared, such as stem design, type of cement introduction, modulus of elasticity of the metal used, presence or absence of a collar, and dates during which the surgery was done, are also discussed. Plugging the femoral canal; introducing the cement with a cement gun; using a femoral stem that largely fills the medullary canal, has a collar, and has a rounded rectangular cross section with no medial stress risers made of a superalloy with a modulus of elasticity of about 200 GPa--all these factors were associated with a low (1.1%) incidence of femoral component loosening at 3 years.