There were several papers presented at the 21st Annual meeting of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons in Dallas, Texas in November of 2011. These papers demonstrated excellent long-term fixation both at 10 and 20 years using cementless femoral and acetabular components. Failures did occur due to wear at the bearing surface between the metal ball and polyethylene socket. Changes to the polyethylene, which were introduced over a decade ago, have improved the longevity of polyethylene inserts used for total hip replacements.
With the current concerns over metal-on-metal and ceramic-on-ceramic bearings, the most common bearing used today in the United States for younger and older individuals undergoing hip replacement is a metal ball mated with a crosslink polyethylene liner.
These studies confirm the durability of cementless fixation even in younger, more active individuals.
William P. Barrett, M.D.
