Revision of the femoral component during revision hip arthroplasty may pose significant technical challenges, most notably femoral fracture and bone perforation. The in-cementing technique allows use of the original bone-cement interface which has been proven to be biomechanically stronger than recementing after complete removal of the original cement mantle.

This study reviews a series of 54 consecutive revision hip arthroplasty procedures carried out by the senior author using the in-cementing technique from November 1999 to March 2003. Patients were followed up clinically and radiologically with serial outpatient reviews and their functional outcome was assessed using the Harris hip scoring system, the Oxford hip scoring system and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) activity profile. Their physical and mental well-being was also assessed using the SF-36 self-questionnaire.

Fifty-four procedures were performed on 51 patients. There were 31 males and 20 females. The average age was 70.3+/-8.1 years (range: 45-83 years). The average time to revision from the original procedure was 132.8+/-59.0 months (range: 26-286 months). The average length of follow-up was 29.2+/-13.4 months (range: 6-51 months) post revision arthroplasty. Two patients suffered dislocations, one of which was recurrent and was revised with a Girdlestone's procedure. No patient displayed any evidence of radiographical loosening. The average Harris hip score of the study group was 85.2+/-11.6 (range: 51.9-98.5). The average Oxford hip score recorded was 19.6+/-7.7 (range: 12-41) and the average UCLA activity profile score was 5.9+/-1.6 (range: 3-8). The SF-36 questionnaire had an average value of 78.0+/-18.3 (range: 31.6-100).

In conclusion, the results of this study show excellent clinical and radiological results of the in-cementing technique with high patient satisfaction in terms of functional outcome. This technique merits consideration where possible in revision hip arthroplasty.