https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673607604577.pdf

The operation of the century: total hip replacement

Total hip replacement using porous-coated cobalt-chrome femoral implants designed for biological fixation has been evaluated in 307 patients after two years and in 89 patients after five years. Histological study of 11 retrieved specimens showed bone ingrowth in nine and fibrous tissue fixation in two. Fixation by bone ingrowth occurred in 93% of the cases in which a press fit of the stem at the isthmus was achieved, but in only 69% of those without a press fit. The clinical results at two years were excellent. The incidence of pain and limp was much lower when there was either a press fit of the stem or radiographic evidence of bone ingrowth. Factors such as age, sex, and the disease process did not influence the clinical results. Most cases showed only slight resorptive remodelling of the upper femur, but in a few cases with a larger, more rigid stem, more extensive bone loss occurred. The results after five years showed no deterioration with time. Fixation by the ingrowth of bone or of fibrous tissue both appeared to be stable, but bone ingrowth gave better clinical results.

/pdf/porous-coated-hip-replacement-the-factors-governing-bone-36mf8d9hhh.pdf

Porous-coated hip replacement. The factors governing bone ingrowth, stress shielding, and clinical results

Certain roentgenographic signs have value in predicting the fixation of a cementless femoral component to bone by osseointegration. Other signs have value in predicting the gross stability of a cementless femoral component. The authors have determined the specificity and sensitivity of the signs for osseointegration in cases in which the histologic fixation has been confirmed after implant removal. The authors have also determined the specificity and sensitivity of the signs for gross implant stability in cases in which the stability has been confirmed at reoperation. Statistical methods were used to determine a numeric value for each of these roentgenographic signs, and these values were combined into a score. The score was divided into fixation by osseointegration and mechanical implant stability. The two scores were then combined into an overall score. When signs of osseointegration were present, the implant was always stable, and the overall scores were the highest. When signs of osseointegration were absent, the mechanical stability varied, and the scores were lower. A neutral or slightly negative score correlated with failed osseointegration but secondary successful implant stabilization. A very low negative score correlated with gross implant instability. To confirm the validity of the scoring system, the two-year postoperative score was determined for 1005 cases in which the clinical outcome was known. A strong correlation between the presence of symptoms and a low score confirmed the value of the scoring system for diagnosing implant loosening as the cause of symptoms. As a second test, the two-year and five-year postoperative results were compared in the same patients. A high two-year score correlated with durable implant stability through five years. A low two-year score correlated with a higher incidence of late symptomatic loosening.

Roentgenographic assessment of the biologic fixation of porous-surfaced femoral components.

https://mech.pg.edu.pl/documents/14057592/14057638/1611.pdf

Fabrication methods of porous metals for use in orthopaedic applications

Understanding and controlling the bone-implant interface

Roentgenograms of two human cadaveric pelves with three implanted acetabular components were taken in anatomic, tilted, and rotated positions to determine their effect on the measurement of cup migration. The best landmark for measuring migration along a vertical axis was the distance between the center of the cup and the teardrop line. The best measurement for cup migration along an horizontal axis was the distance between the center of the cup and the vertical line through the teardrop. When the teardrop is not visible, one should use the distance between the bottom of the cup and the obturator line, and the distance between the center of the cup and Kohler's line. Guidelines for roentgenographic comparability are as follows: at 10% magnification, the variation in distance between the obturator line and the teardrop line should be less than 5 mm, and the distance between the middle of the sacroiliac line and the vertical line through the pubis should be less than 0.5 cm.

Evaluation of cementless acetabular component migration. An experimental study.

Experimental canine model studies of stiff versus flexible, fully porous-coated, metallic femoral stems (differing by three- to fivefold in stiffness characteristics) revealed markedly different resorptive bone remodeling patterns. The flexible stem resulted in about 30% more cortical bone retention adjacent to the implant at one-year postimplantation and larger differences in dogs killed two and three years after surgery. Strain-gauge studies confirmed that there are differences in cortical bone strains with the two stem designs, the flexible stem producing a more uniform and more nearly normal strain distribution medially. Differences in cortical bone remodeling were quantified using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The bone mineral content in femora with the flexible stem decreased less than 20%, compared to normal. At three years postimplantation, the bone mineral content of the femora with the stiff stem was about 50% that of the femora with the flexible stem. Clinically, DEXA revealed that 5%-15% changes in bone mineral density at various periimplant sites were common within the first two years after surgery; these changes were not usually evident roentgenographically. Serial roentgenographically distinct bone resorption was usually associated with bone mineral density changes of 20%-50%. Five- to 13-year roentgenographic follow-up observations of 213 cases with the Anatomic Medullary Locking prosthesis showed that pronounced bone resorption occurred in 33% of patients. Larger stems (greater than 13 mm in diameter) and stems with extensive porous coating had a significantly higher incidence of pronounced bone resorption than smaller stems and those with proximal coating. The stiffness characteristics of the human femur were established as a function of canal size and compared with those of noncemented hip prostheses. Increased mechanical compatibility was found for stems made of titanium alloy and with design features that reduce cross-sectional area and moment of inertia. Clinical data suggest that to reduce the likelihood of pronounced bone resorption, it would be beneficial for the implant to possess a bending stiffness of about one half to one third that of the human femur.

Producing and avoiding stress shielding. Laboratory and clinical observations of noncemented total hip arthroplasty

We reviewed the radiographs of 137 patients (137 hips) who had been managed with a total hip arthroplasty, with insertion of an extensively porous-coated femoral component without cement, because of osteoarthrosis or avascular necrosis. A porous-coated acetabular component had been inserted with cement in sixty-three of these patients (Group A) and without cement in seventy-four patients (Group B). The radiographs were examined for osteolysis, either directly adjacent to the joint or at locations remote from the joint. The mean duration of follow-up was 105 months (range, fifty-four to 142 months). The rate of osteolysis of the acetabulum in the unrevised hips in which the acetabular component had been inserted with cement was 37 per cent (nineteen of fifty-one). The osteolysis was most frequently of the linear type, a pattern that was associated with a high prevalence of loosening in the hips that had a cemented cup (30 per cent [nineteen of sixty-three]). The rate of acetabular osteolysis (18 per cent [thirteen of seventy-one]) in the patients who had a cup that had not been inserted with cement and that had not been revised was not as high as that associated with the surviving cups that had been inserted with cement (p < 0.05). The osteolysis associated with the cups that had not been inserted with cement was localized and expansile, and it was not associated with loosening of the component. However, it produced more loss of bone than did the linear pattern of osteolysis around the cemented cups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Charles A. Engh

Papers

Porous-coated hip replacement. The factors governing bone ingrowth, stress shielding, and clinical results

Roentgenographic assessment of the biologic fixation of porous-surfaced femoral components.

Evaluation of cementless acetabular component migration. An experimental study.

Producing and avoiding stress shielding. Laboratory and clinical observations of noncemented total hip arthroplasty

Patterns of osteolysis around total hip components inserted with and without cement.