title: Subsidence of the femoral prosthesis in total hip replacement in relation to the design of the stem.
abstract: A method is described of measuring radiological subsidence of a femoral prosthesis in relation to the femur after total hip arthroplasty. The method depends on measuring the distance from the tip of the femoral prosthesis to a fixed point in the bone. Subsidence after the use of a conventional design of femoral stem is compared with that after the use of a stem with a dorsal flange (Cobra). A significant reduction in the incidence and amount of subsidence was found when using the dorsal flange. There was also a notable absence of transverse fractures involving the cement near the tip of the stem, which occurred in 26 per cent of the cases using a conventional prosthesis.
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005269:Femur / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000502:physiology; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008722:Methods; D011474:Prosthesis Design