Cemented or uncemented femoral component in primary total hip replacement? A review from a clinical and radiological perspective.

Controversy exists regarding the optimal method of fixation for primary total hip replacement, particularly the femoral component. We performed a systematic literature review to explore whether cemented total hip replacement can achieve better clinical and radiological outcomes. A total of 29 publications were selected using computer-aided and manual searches. A qualitative comparison of results in clinical and radiological changes was then conducted. Most of the literature showed that better short-term clinical and functional outcomes could be obtained from cemented femoral fixation than from uncemented femoral fixation. Results were less clear for the mid-term clinical outcome, though in general, cemented fixation still appeared to show a superior clinical outcome. Radiographic differences are variable and do not seem to correlate with clinical findings. For the short- and mid-term, cemented femoral component is recommended. However, a long-term randomised trial combined with a large cohort study or registry is needed.