Wagner resurfacing hip arthroplasty. The results of one hundred consecutive arthroplasties after eight to ten years.

ABSTRACT

In a prospective study of 100 consecutive Wagner resurfacing hip arthroplasties in ninety-three patients, the outcomes for all hips were determined for an eight to ten-year follow-up period. By survivorship analysis, the rate of survival of the arthroplasty was calculated to be 70 per cent at five years, but only 40 per cent at eight years. The major cause of failure was aseptic loosening of the acetabular or femoral component, or both. Fracture of the neck of the femur occurred in three hips. Although the medium-term results (at fifty-six to eighty-three months) were better than those in most comparable studies of resurfacing arthroplasty, the poor long-term results (at ninety-one to 118 months) show that meaningful studies of new prosthetic designs must continue for at least eight years, and, if at all possible, must include 100 per cent follow-up. The survival curve for the resurfacing arthroplasties in this study can serve as the basis for comparison of the early, medium, and long-term results of future designs of resurfacing hip prostheses.