Revision of a cemented hemiarthroplasty of the
hip may be a hazardous procedure with high rates of intra-operative complications.
Removing well-fixed cement is time consuming and risks damaging
already weak bone or perforating the femoral shaft. The cement-in-cement
method avoids removal of intact cement and has shown good results
when used for revision total hip arthroplasty (THA). The use of
this technique for the revision of a hemiarthroplasty to THA has
not been previously reported. A total of 28 consecutive hemiarthroplasties (in 28 patients)
were revised to a THA using an Exeter stem and the cement-in-cement
technique. There were four men and 24 women; their mean age was
80 years (35 to 93). Clinical and radiographic data, as well as
operative notes, were collected prospectively and no patient was
lost to follow-up. Four patients died within two years of surgery. The mean follow
up of the remainder was 70 months (25 to 124). Intra-operatively
there was one proximal perforation, one crack of the
femoral calcar and one acetabular fracture. No femoral components
have required subsequent revision for aseptic loosening or are radiologically loose. Four patients with late complications (14%) have since undergone
surgery (two for a peri-prosthetic fracture, and one each for deep
infection and recurrent dislocation) resulting in an overall major
rate of complication of 35.7%. The cement-in-cement technique provides reliable femoral fixation
in this elderly population and may reduce operating time and rates
of complication. Cite this article:
Clinical, haematological or economic benefits of post-operative blood salvage with autologous blood re-transfusion have yet to be clearly demonstrated for primary total hip replacement. We performed a prospective randomised study to analyse differences in postoperative haemoglobin levels and homologous blood requirements in two groups of patients undergoing primary total hip replacement. A series of 158 patients was studied. In one group two vacuum drains were used and in the other the ABTrans autologous retransfusion system. A total of 58 patients (76%) in the re-transfusion group received autologous blood. There was no significant difference in the mean post-operative haemoglobin levels in the two groups. There were, however, significantly fewer patients with post-operative haemoglobin values less than 9.0 g/dl and significantly fewer patients who required transfusion of homologous blood in the re-transfusion group. There was also a small overall cost saving in this group.
