The cementless anatomic medullary locking femoral component: an independent clinical and radiographic assessment.

OBJECTIVE To review the clinical performance of the anatomic medullary locking (AML) femoral stem in total hip arthroplasty. DESIGN A clinical and radiographic review. SETTING A tertiary lower limb joint replacement centre. PATIENTS Two hundred and twenty-one patients with noninflammatory gonarthrosis. INTERVENTIONS Two hundred and twenty-seven primary total hip arthroplasties with the noncemented AML component completed by two surgeons. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Independent review by two experienced reviewers of the postoperative Harris hip score, radiographs of component fixation, size and degree of diaphyseal fill. RESULTS Harris hip score was 84 (range from 43 to 98); component fixation showed bone ingrowth in 41%, stable fixation with fibrous ingrowth in 56% and unstable fixation in 3%; severe thigh pain in 4% of cases correlated with unstable fixation, and there was mild thigh pain in 20% of cases. CONCLUSION The AML femoral stem performs well in replacement arthroplasty compared with other noncemented stems.