Aims. Surgeons and most engineers believe that bone compaction improves implant primary stability without causing undue damage to the bone itself. In this study, we developed a murine distal femoral implant model and tested this dogma. Methods. Each mouse received two femoral implants, one placed into a site prepared by drilling and the other into the contralateral site prepared by drilling followed by stepwise condensation. Results. Condensation significantly increased peri-implant bone density but it also produced higher strains at the interface between the bone and implant, which led to significantly more bone microdamage. Despite increased peri-implant bone density, condensation did not improve implant primary stability as measured by an in vivo lateral stability test. Ultimately, the condensed bone underwent resorption, which delayed the onset of new bone formation around the implant. Conclusion. Collectively, these multiscale analyses demonstrate that condensation does not positively contribute to implant stability or to new peri-implant bone formation. Cite this article:Bone Joint Res. 2020;9(2):60–70

Objectives. Periprosthetic femoral fractures (PFFs) have a higher incidence with cementless stems. The highest incidence among various cementless stem types was observed with double-wedged stems. Short stems have been introduced as a bone-preserving alternative with a higher incidence of PFF in some studies. The purpose of this study was a direct load-to-failure comparison of a double-wedged cementless stem and a short cementless stem in a cadaveric fracture model. Methods. Eight hips from four human cadaveric specimens (age mean 76 years (60 to 89)) and eight fourth-generation composite femurs were used. None of the cadaveric specimens had compromised quality (mean T value 0.4 (-1.0 to 5.7)). Each specimen from a pair randomly received either a double-wedged stem or a short stem. A materials testing machine was used for lateral load-to-failure test of up to a maximal load of 5000 N. Results. Mean load at failure of the double-wedged stem was 2540 N (1845 to 2995) and 1867 N (1135 to 2345) for the short stem (p < 0.001). All specimens showed the same fracture pattern, consistent with a Vancouver B2 fracture. The double-wedged stem was able to sustain a higher load than its short-stemmed counterpart in all cases. Failure force was not correlated to the bone mineral density (p = 0.718). Conclusion. Short stems have a significantly lower primary load at failure compared with double-wedged stems in both cadaveric and composite specimens. Surgeons should consider this biomechanical property when deciding on the use of short femoral stem. Cite this article: A. Klasan, M. Bäumlein, P. Dworschak, C. Bliemel, T. Neri, M. D. Schofer, T. J. Heyse. Short stems have lower load at failure than double-wedged stems in a cadaveric cementless fracture model. Bone Joint Res 2019;8:489–494. DOI: 10.1302/2046-3758.810.BJR-2019-0051.R1