O1231 POLISHED VERSUS MATTE CEMENTED FEMORAL STEMS. A MINIMUM 10-YEAR FOLLOW-UP STUDY

Abstract

Aims: The purpose of this prospective randomized study was to report on the minimal 10-year follow-up results of a consecutive series of cemented total hip arthroplasty according to the surface finish of the femoral implant. Methods: Between January 1988 and December 1989, 311 total hip arthroplasties were performed in 286 patients. Implants were of Charnley Kerboull design combining a 22.2-mm femoral head and an all-polyethylene socket. The cemented femoral implant was available in two configurations: polished (Ra = 0.4 μm) and matte (Ra = 3 μm). The polished stem (MK III, Stryker Howmedica) was implanted in 166 hips, and the matte stem (CMK 3, Vecteur Orthopedic) in the remaining 145. The mean age of the patients was 63.6 years. Results: At the minimum 10-year follow-up evaluation, 187 patients (204 hips) were still alive and had not been revised at a mean of 11.7 years (10–14 years), 15 patients (15 hips) had been revised, 54 patients (58 hips) had died from unrelated causes, and 30 patients (34 hips) were lost to follow-up. The mean d’Aubigné hip score was 17.7 ± 0.3 at the latest follow-up. The survival rate at 13 years, using radiologic loosening as the end-point, was 97.3 ± 2.6% (95% confidence interval, 92.2 to 100%) for polished stems, versus 78.9 ± 5.8% (95% confidence interval, 67.6 to 90.3%) for matte stems (log-rank test, p = 0.0001). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that cemented fixation of femoral stems was significantly more reliable in the long-term with a polished surface.