The number of worldwide THRs is growing but because we have no national register, the number done in South Africa is unknown. This is the third survey attempting to track the number of THRs done in this country. A survey 6 years ago indicated that 8986 THRs were done annually. We sent out 521 questionnaires to members of the South African Orthopaedic Association. To date we have received 166 (31.86%) responses from members, 94 of whom perform THR. The data to date show that 4031 THRs are done annually, a mean of 42.88 operations per member. Fully cemented THR is still the most popular form (58.3%), followed by hybrid (25.37%) and uncemented (15.85%). The most popular cements are Palacos (65%) and CMW (28%). Four prostheses lead the field at this stage: Elite Plus (27%), C-stem (9%), osteal (7%) and metal-on-metal resurfacing (6%). We expect to have at least a 95% response by September 2004.
