Alumina-alumina hip replacement in patients younger than 50 years old.

From April 1977 to December 1990, 131 total hip arthroplasties were performed on 113 patients younger than 50 years of age (median, 41 years); 64 were men and 49 women. The majority were active people. Sixty-six hips had no previous operations, and 33 had at least one previous arthroplasty. The femoral component was a cemented collared titanium alloy stem, and alumina socket was cemented for 99 hips and press-fit for 32. The mean follow-up period was five years, with 32 hips followed for more than ten years. Revision arthroplasty was considered as a failure. Survivorship analysis depicted a 97.5% rate of survival at five years, an 89.4% rate at ten years, and an 86.2% at 11 years. Nine revisions were performed: one experienced a femoral head rupture after three years, one had bipolar loosening, one experienced femoral cystic formation, and six were revised for acetabular cup loosening, all from the cemented group. Two revisions occurred on the same patient. No stem revision was necessary before ten years. Only one of these revisions was required in patients aged 40 or younger (64 patients). Alumina-alumina friction is an extremely interesting phenomenon in young patients, and could be related to the low wear debris production.