A study published in September's British Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery concludes that a hip replacement device developed at Mayo Clinic is successful in conserving bone, making it an attractive choice for younger patients.
The study followed 162 consecutive replacements using the conservative device at Mayo Clinic. Before surgery 53 percent of the patients, whose average age was 50.8 years, walked with a moderate or severe limp, and 91 percent reported moderate or severe pain. At a mean of 6.2 years after replacement, 95 percent had no limp or only a slight one, and 91 percent felt no or slight pain. None of the patients had significant thigh pain.
"When patients receive a total hip replacement in their 70s, that joint is likely to last the rest of their lives," says Bernard F. Morrey, M.D., a Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeon who designed the Mayo Conservative Hip™and authored the study. "Patients in their 50s are much more likely to live long enough to need a second replacement, or revision, of the same joint. For these people, a bone-conserving option is desirable so that the subsequent revision can be done with conventional devices.
The 98 percent mechanical stability of this device and the relative absence of pain suggest that it is a good first choice for younger, more active patients."
Source: A Conservative Femoral Replacement for Total Hip Arthroplasty. British Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Sept. 2000. 952-958.