Abstract
Background
Radiostereometric Analysis (RSA) is an accurate measure of implant migration following total joint replacement surgery. Early implant migration predicts later loosening and implant failure, with RSA a proven short-term predictor of long-term survivorship. The proximal migration of an acetabular cup has been demonstrated to be a surrogate measure of component loosening and the associated risk of revision. RSA was used to assess migration of the R3 acetabular component which utilises an enhanced porous ingrowth surface. Migration of the R3 acetabular component was also assessed when comparing the fixation technique of the femoral stems implanted.
Methods
Twenty patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty were implanted with the R3 acetabular cup. The median age was 70 years (range, 53–87 years). During surgery tantalum markers were inserted into the acetabulum and the outer rim of the polyliner. RSA examinations were performed postoperatively at 4 to 5 days, 6, 12 and 24 months. Data was analysed for fourteen patients to determine the migration of the acetabular cup relative to the acetabulum. Of these fourteen patients, six were implanted with a cementless femoral stem and eight with a cemented femoral stem. Patients were clinically assessed using the Harris Hip Score (HHS) and Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) preoperatively and at 6, 12 and 24 months postoperatively.
Results
RSA revealed no significant acetabular cup migration in all planes of translation and rotation with mean translations below 0.40 mm and mean rotations below 1 deg at 24 months. The data suggests that acetabular migration occurred primarily in the first 6 months postoperatively. We observed mean translations at 24 months of 0.36 mm (x-axis), 0.39 mm (y-axis) and 0.35 mm (z-axis). Mean rotations of 0.68 deg (x-axis), 0.99 deg (y-axis) and 0.77 deg (z-axis) were also observed at 24 months. Micromotion along the proximal-distal translation (y-axis) plane represented proximal migration of the acetabular component (Figure 1). On investigation of the femoral stems (cementless and cemented) implanted with the R3 acetabular cup, the mean proximal migration of the acetabular cup for both was 0.39 mm (CI 0.19–0.58). For cementless femoral stems a mean proximal migration of 0.45 mm (CI 0.09–0.98) and for cemented femoral stems a mean proximal migration of 0.35 mm (CI 0.24–0.45) were observed (Figure 1). A significant difference in the clinical assessment of patients when comparing pre-operative with 6, 12 and 24 months were also observed (p < 0.0001). All clinical assessments demonstrated equivalent results when comparing the post-operative follow-up time points and the R3 acetabular cup and stem combinations.
Conclusions
Mean translations and rotations were higher than previously reported for acetabular components with the enhanced porous ingrowth surface. The magnitude of proximal migration 24 months postoperatively was within published ‘acceptable’ levels, albeit within the ‘at risk’ range of 0.2–1.0 mm. Comparison of the proximal migration for cementless and cemented femoral stems expressed similar outcomes, a trend also observed with the clinical assessments. These findings support further investigation and analysis of the R3 acetabular component.
