The uncemented Gerard bipolar double-cup arthroplasty of the hip. A five- to 11-year follow-up study.

Between 1978 and 1984, 183 hips in 154 patients with the uncemented Gerard double-cup arthroplasty were resurfaced. The clinical and radiographic results of the 106 original arthroplasties were reviewed after a median follow-up period of 98 months. Although many of these patients had clinically improved immediately, the Harris Hip score decreased significantly in most hips in subsequent years. No correlation was found between the clinical score and radiographic complications. Major revision surgery with removal of the double cup was performed in 54 of 183 patients, making the cumulative success rate after 132 months only 48%. Survival was significantly greater in patients younger than 50 years of age and in patients with a low body weight (Quetelet index less than 25). This high failure rate eliminates the Gerard double-cup arthroplasty, except possibly for the patient with a destructive inflammatory arthropathy for whom there are no other surgical alternatives.