Custom total hip arthroplasty.

Custom total hip arthroplasty (THA) has been advocated as a primary operation to achieve optimal proximal fit and fill in THA. Because of the increased cost of the implant, it must be proved that survivorship of the custom component is improved compared with a well-cemented or cementless off-the-shelf femoral prosthesis. A series of 64 primary and revision femoral component custom titanium uncemented THAs were reviewed. In the primary custom group 90.9%, and in the revision group 80%, had good to excellent results using the Harris hip scoring system at a mean follow-up period of 6.5 years. The age range was 32 to 74 years (mean, 53 years). Thigh pain was present in 17% of the patients in this series. Significant osteolysis occurred in 4.7% of the cases. The average time to failure for the four primary custom THAs was 4.1 years, and for the four revision custom THAs, 2.4 years. Despite excellent proximal fit and fill, these short-term results have not resulted in improved success rates compared with a well-cemented or cementless off-the-shelf femoral component when performing THA.