High failure rate with the GAP II ring and impacted allograft bone in severe acetabular defects.
BACKGROUND
Reconstruction rings and bone allografts have been proposed to manage severe acetabular bone loss. However, a high early failure rate of the Graft Augmentation Prosthesis (GAP) II reinforcement ring (Stryker Orthopaedics, Mahwah, NJ, USA) has been reported in one small series.


OBJECTIVE
We therefore determined (1) the survival of this device in combination with impacted morselized allograft bone in patients with severe defects and (2) the complication rate.


METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed 24 patients (21 aseptic and three septic) with severe acetabular bone loss (10 hips with Type III defects and 14 with Type IV defects according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons classification). We determined function and numbers of failures. The minimum followup was 24 months (mean, 34 months; range, 24-72 months).


RESULTS
At latest followup, the reconstruction had failed in nine of the 24 patients: six with aseptic loosening, three with infection. The average postoperative Merle d'Aubigné-Postel score of the patients whose reconstructions had not failed was 16.6 points; at latest followup, these patients had radiographic evidence of incorporation and consolidation of bone allografts. Seven of the nine patients whose reconstructions had failed underwent reoperation. Fatigue fracture of the ring at the plate-cup union occurred in five patients at an average of 45 months postoperatively. All patients with failed reconstructions who underwent reoperation were treated with Trabecular Metal(™) (Zimmer Inc, Warsaw, IN, USA) cups and were functioning well at latest followup.


CONCLUSIONS
We observed a high rate (37%) of early catastrophic failures of the GAP II reconstruction ring, particularly in patients with Type IV defects. Due to this high failure rate, we have abandoned its use.


METHODS
Level IV, therapeutic study. See the Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Hip Surgery Unit, Institute of Orthopaedics Carlos E Ottolenghi, Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina. martin.buttaro@hospitalitaliano.org.ar
Martin A
MA
Buttaro
Diego Muñoz
DM
de la Rosa
Fernando
F
Comba
Francisco
F
Piccaluga
D000077:Acetabulum / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016025:Bone Transplantation; D005260:Female; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000601:surgery*; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D007592:Joint Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous