Hydroxyapatite (HA) coated femoral stems require a press fit for initial stability prior to osteointegration occurring. However this technique can lead to perioperative femoral fracture. 506 consecutive patients under 72 years who underwent primary total hip replacements (THR) under 72 years were investigated for perioperative femoral fractures. All patients were independently assessed pre- and post-operatively in a research clinic. Assessment was made by Merle d'Aubigné and Postel (MDP) hip scores and radiographs. Between 1995 and 2001 patients were randomised to a partially HA coated, Osteonics Omnifit or fully HA coated Joint Replacement Instrumentation Furlong stem. Between 2001 and 2004 all patients received an Anatomique Benoist Girard (ABG II) stem partially coated. Fractures were identified from check radiographs and operative notes. The type of fracture was classified according to the modified Vancouver classification. The incidence of revision was also recorded.Introduction
Materials and Methods
The medium term results of the JRI Furlong Total hip replacement have been very impressive to date. We report the longest prospective series to date of a hydroxyapatite coated femoral prosthesis (Joint Replacement Instrumentation limited, London, UK) at 15–21 years follow up. We describe the long term clinical and radiological femoral stem survival of 331 consecutive JRI Furlong Hydroxyapatite coated total hip replacements in 291 patients at an average follow-up of 17.5 years (15 – 21 year). Two patients (0.6%) were lost to follow-up over the 21 years of the study period. Using revision of the femoral stem for any reason as an endpoint, we report a stem survival of 97.4 % (81.0 to 99.5). Using Aseptic loosening as an endpoint, stem survival was 100%. The average Merle, D’Aubine &
Postel scores recorded for the patients was 5.63/6 for Pain, 5.42/6 for mobility and 4.50/6 for function. There were no cases of anterior thigh pain relating to the uncemented femoral stem. These results compare favourably with the best long term survival of cemented or uncemented femoral stems used in total hip replacements.
Clinical outcomes and radiographic analysis was performed. The Vancouver Classification was used to classify periprosthetic fracture. The MDI score was calculated using radiographs, as a control (gold standard), Yeung’s CBR score was calculated [4]. See Figure 1. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was formulated for both and area under the curve (AUC) compared. Intra and inter-observer correlations were determined. Cost analysis was also worked out.
62 periprosthetic fractures occurred in the uncemented group (15.2%), 9 in the cemented group (5.9%), p<
0.001. The revision rate for sustaining a periprosthetic fracture (uncemented group) was 17.7%, p<
0.001 and 90 day mortality 19.7%, p<
0.03. MDI’s AUC was 0.985 compared to CBR’s 0.948, p<
0.001. See Figure 2. The MDI score cut-off to predict fracture was 21, sensitivity 98.3%, specificity 99.8%, PPV 90.5%, NPV 98%. ANCOVA ruled out any other confounding factors as being significant. The intra and inter-observer Pearson correlation scores were r=0.99, p<
0.001. The total extra cost due to the intra-operative fractures was £93,780.
The aim of this study was to compare two types of knee arthrodesis. Fourteen patients underwent arthrodesis of the knee in a single institution. Seven had a customised coupled nail (the Mayday arthrodesis nail), and six had external fixation applied, one patient had both procedures undertaken. Twelve patients had infected knee arthroplasty, one had recurrent dislocation following arthroplasty and one had an infected open meniscetomy. Comparison was made with the external fixation in which only two cases achieved bony union compared with all eight (100%) using the customised nail. Time to bony union was also considerably shorter in the later group, as was the length of hospital stay. We conclude that a customised intra-medullary nail is a superior method of knee arthrodesis compared with external fixation.