Originally introduced in 1997, porous tantalum is an attractive alternative metal for orthopaedic implants because of its unique mechanical properties. Porous tantalum has been used in numerous types of orthopaedic implants, including acetabular cups in total hip arthroplasty. The early clinical results from porous tantalum acetabular cups have been promising. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence of bone ingrowth and the incidence of osteolytic lesions in the acetabular cup -at 10 year follow up – in patients who had a total hip arthroplasty with a monoblock porous tantalum acetabular cup.

50 consecutive patients underwent a total hip arthroplasty with a monoblock porous tantalum acetabular component. All patients had computed tomography at an average of 10 years of follow-up. The computed tomography scan used a standard, validated protocol to evaluate bony ingrowth in the cup and for the presence of osteolysis.

The computed tomographic scans showed evidence of extensive bony ingrowth, and no evidence of osteolysis.

This study reports the 10-year results of a monoblock porous tantalum acetabular cup. This is the first study to evaluate a porous tantalum acetabular cup with the use of computed tomography. These results show that a porous tantalum monoblock cup has excellent bony ingrowth and no evidence osteolysis at 10 year follow-up. These results suggest that porous tantalum is an attractive material for implantation in young, active patients.