A concise minimum eight year follow-up of proximally porous-coated tapered titanium femoral stem in primary total hip arthroplasty.

PURPOSE: Our goal was to assess clinical and radiographic outcomes using a second-generation circumferentially proximally porous-coated titanium alloy stem at a minimum of eight years of follow-up.

METHODS: Ninety-one hips (80 patients) with Fibre Metal Taper (FMT, Zimmer Inc, Warsaw, IN, USA) femoral stems implanted between May 1998 and April 2002 were followed prospectively and re-evaluated at a minimum of eight years postoperatively. The median patient age was 56 (range 34-78) years, with 40 women and 40 men. Radiographic data and clinical follow-up using Harris Hip Score (HHS) and EuroQol (EQ)-5D outcome measures were evaluated.

RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 9.61 (range 8-12.3) years. At the time of the most recent follow-up, the mean HHS was 85.8 (range 46-100) points, mean EQ-5D Weighted Health State Index was 0.76 (range 0.05-1.00), and mean EQ-5D Visual Analogue Score was 80 (range 24-100). All stems were biologically stable, with all hips having osseous ingrowth. One stem was revised due to early periprosthetic fracture with stem subsidence. No hip had diaphyseal osteolysis.

CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, the data presented here represent the longest clinical follow-up of this second-generation cementless, proximally porous-coated femoral stem. The stems were found to perform well clinically and radiographically beyond the first five years previously reported in the literature. Patients had high levels of satisfaction and function, and osseous fixation occurred reliably without evidence of distal osteolysis.