Abstract
Total hip arthroplasty continues to be one of the most effective procedures. Aseptic loosening compromises the long term outcome of this otherwise successful procedure. Large hemispherical cups may be used during revision surgery for patients with severe bone loss. Acetabular revision with cementless components has been remarkably successful with some series reporting no revisions for aseptic loosening at an average follow-up of 13.9 years. Another study on 186 patients (196 hips) receiving jumbo acetabular components, noted a survivorship of 98% at 4 years and 96% at 16 years. Cementless acetabular revision is now feasible for a wide range of revision situations, including some cases of pelvic discontinuity. The Paprosky classification is useful in predicting the reconstructive technique that will be required. Type I and many Type II defects may be reconstructed with standard cementless components. Many Type II and Type III defects, which involve the loss of additional structural bone, can be reconstructed with a jumbo cup. A jumbo cup is defined by Whaley et al. as a component that is >61 mm in women and >65 mm in men, a definition that is based on a shell that is >10 mm greater than the average diameter cup implanted in women and men. The jumbo cup has the advantage of an increased contact area between host bone and cup which maximises the surface area for ingrowth or ongrowth. The increased area of contact also prevents cup migration by allowing for force dissipation over a large area. Use of a jumbo cup may also decrease the need to use bone graft. In contrast to positioning the cup in the so-called high hip center, a jumbo cup can help to restore the hip center of rotation.
The disadvantages of this technique are that host bone may have to be removed to implant the cup, that bone stock is not restored by the reconstruction, and that hemispherical cups have limited applicability in situations of oblong bone stock deficiency.
Jumbo acetabular components can be used in combination with both structural and cancellous bone graft. In these cases, the cementless cup must achieve adequate contact with host bone in order to allow bone ingrowth to occur.
