Background: As the number of young patients receiving total hip arthroplasty increases, bone-saving implantations facilitating possible future revision, such as the CUT femoral neck prosthesis, are gaining importance. There have been few medium-term results reported for this prosthesis, however, and its migration pattern has not been analyzed.
Patients and methods: 39 consecutive CUT femoral neck prostheses were implanted in 32 patients, mean age 37 (17-58) years, with symptomatic osteoarthritis and either less than 55 years of age or with an anatomic anomaly preventing implantation of a diaphyseal stem (n = 1). Patients were followed prospectively using routine clinical examination and radiostereometric analysis (RSA) at 6, 12, 26, and 52 weeks postoperatively and annually thereafter. This study evaluated the 5-year follow-up results.
Results: The mean Harris hip score increased from 26 (3-51) points preoperatively to 84 (66-98), 86 (55-98), and 87 (47-98) points at 3, 12, and 60 months. 3 stems were revised: 1 after luxation following excessive subsidence due to an undersized component and 2 due to persistent strong thigh pain. 5-year survival was 95% (95% CI: 87-100). Initial migration varied widely in magnitude; median total tip migration was 0.42 mm (0.09-9.4) at 6 weeks, 0.92 mm (0.18-5.9) at 1 year, and 1.10 mm (0.13-6.4) at 5 years. Even after high initial migration, stabilization was achieved in 31 of the 35 RSA-evaluable implants. 3 prostheses showed progressive continuous migration throughout the entire follow-up period, and were considered to be loose, suggesting reduced long-term survival.
Interpretation: Currently, we cannot recommend the CUT femoral neck prosthesis as a routine treatment option in (young) patients requiring THA. The CUT prosthesis may not reach the 90% survival benchmark at 10 years, and the prosthesis is difficult to implant. If initial stabilization is achieved, however, aseptic loosening is unlikely. A good clinical outcome was seen in the surviving prostheses. We will continue to follow this patient group.