Clinical and radiographic results of the muller straight stem used as á press-fit

Prior to the introduction of porous coating, 21 patients had 24 ME Muller straight-stem femoral prostheses inserted as a press fit for the treatment of osteoarthrosis. Five hips have been revised for aseptic loosening; the remaining 19 prostheses are still in situ after a mean of 7.3 years (range, 6.2–8.3 years). A prospective clinical assessment has been undertaken using a modified Harris hip score, with scores increasing on average from a preoperative 43 to a postoperative 79. Eighteen of the 19 remaining hips are functioning well. Variable distances of subsidence are evident in 10 hips. Despite the use of a prosthesis that was not designed for cementless proximal wedge fitting, the results indicate an exceptionally low incidence of bone resorption and lysis. Unlike cemented and some porous-coated prostheses, stress shielding and osteopenia were not a feature in this series